[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 5, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23923-23925]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09423]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Services Surveys: BE-125, Quarterly Survey of Transactions in 
Selected Services and Intellectual Property With Foreign Persons

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

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DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before July 6, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of Economic 
Analysis, at [email protected] or [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 0608-0067 in the subject line of your 
comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise 
sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of 
Economic Analysis, (301) 278-9189, and [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The Quarterly Survey of Transactions in Selected Services and 
Intellectual Property with Foreign Persons (Form BE-125) is a survey 
that collects data from U.S. persons who engage in covered transactions 
in selected services or intellectual property with foreign persons. A 
U.S. person means any individual, branch, partnership, associated 
group, association, estate, trust, corporation, or other organization 
(whether or not organized under the laws of any State), resident in the 
United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. A 
U.S. person must report if they had combined sales of covered services 
or intellectual property to foreign persons that exceeded $6 million 
for the previous fiscal year, or are expected to exceed that amount 
during the current fiscal year, or if they had combined purchases of 
covered services or intellectual property from foreign persons that 
exceeded $4 million for the previous fiscal year, or are expected to 
exceed that amount during the current fiscal year.
    The data are needed to monitor U.S. trade in services, to analyze 
the impact of these cross-border services on the U.S. and foreign 
economies, to compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts, to 
support U.S. commercial policy on trade in services, to conduct trade 
promotion, and to improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify 
and evaluate market opportunities. The data are used in estimating the 
trade in services component of the U.S. international transactions 
accounts (ITAs) and national income and product accounts (NIPAs).
    The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is proposing minor 
modifications to the existing transaction categories covered by the BE-
125 survey and a change to the survey due date, beginning with 
reporting for first quarter 2022. The proposed modifications to the BE-
125 survey would allow BEA to align its statistics more closely with 
international economic accounting guidelines and to increase the 
quality and usefulness of BEA's statistics on trade in services.
    BEA proposes to eliminate the three transaction categories of other 
intellectual property. Rights to use other intellectual property (code 
8.1), rights to reproduce and/or distribute other intellectual property 
(code 8.2), and outright sales or purchases of proprietary rights 
related to other intellectual property (code 8.3) would no longer be 
collected. BEA typically reclassifies transactions reported to BEA in 
these categories to research and development (R&D) services 
(transaction code 29.1, the provision of customized and non-customized 
R&D services; and, transaction code 29.2, other R&D services, including 
testing) and to other selected services (transaction code 42). With the 
elimination of the other intellectual property categories, respondents 
will be instructed to report transactions in these alternate 
categories.
    BEA also proposes to change the due date of the survey to 30 days 
after the close of each quarter from 45 days for the three quarters 
that are not the final fiscal quarter of the year. For the final fiscal 
quarter of the year, reports would be due 45 days after the close of 
the quarter instead of 90 days. Shortening the reporting timeline will 
allow BEA to produce more accurate and complete trade in services 
statistics in preliminary estimates of the ITAs, which is critical 
information for policymakers' timely decisions on international trade 
policy. The earlier due date will allow BEA to use more reported data 
for preliminary statistics, improving the accuracy of both the 
aggregates and the country and service-type details, and reducing 
revisions in subsequent statistical releases. In addition, the proposed 
reporting deadlines are also consistent with the reporting deadlines of 
BEA's quarterly direct investment surveys.
    BEA estimates there will be no change in the average number of 
burden hours per response, which is currently estimated to be 21 hours. 
While survey respondents will have to file earlier, the burden for the 
survey is unchanged because the same information will be required on 
the survey as in the past. The language in the instructions and 
definitions will be reviewed and adjusted as necessary to clarify 
survey requirements.

II. Method of Collection

    BEA contacts potential respondents by mail at the end of each 
quarter. Respondents would be required to file the completed BE-125 
forms within 30 days after the end of each fiscal quarter that is not 
the final fiscal quarter of the year and within 45 days after the close 
of the final fiscal quarter of the year. Reports would be required from 
each U.S. person that had combined sales of covered services or 
intellectual property to foreign persons that exceeded $6 million for 
the previous fiscal year, or are expected to exceed that amount during 
the current fiscal year, or that had combined purchases of covered 
services or intellectual property from foreign persons that exceeded $4 
million for the previous fiscal year, or that are expected to exceed 
that amount during the current fiscal year. Entities required to report 
will be contacted individually by BEA. Entities not contacted by BEA 
have no reporting responsibilities.
    BEA offers its electronic filing option, the eFile system, for use 
in reporting on Form BE-125. For more information about eFile, go to 
www.bea.gov/efile. In addition, BEA posts all its survey forms and 
reporting instructions on its website, www.bea.gov/ssb. These may be 
downloaded, completed, printed, and submitted via fax or mail.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0608-0067.
    Form Number(s): BE-125.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 8,800 annually (2,200 filed each 
quarter; 1,700 reporting mandatory data, and 500 that would file 
exemption claims or voluntary responses).
    Estimated Time per Response: 21 hours is the average for those 
reporting data and one hour is the average for those filing an 
exemption claim. Hours may vary considerably among respondents because 
of differences in company size and complexity.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 144,800.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: International Investment and Trade in Services

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Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended).

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-09423 Filed 5-4-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P