[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 78 (Friday, April 22, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24224-24225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08657]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Foreign Assets Control

[Docket No. OFAC-2022-0001]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request for Persons Providing Travel and Carrier Services to 
Cuba

AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed or continuing 
information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995. Currently, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) within the 
Department of the Treasury is soliciting comments concerning OFAC's 
information collection requirements for persons providing authorized 
travel or carrier services related to Cuba, which are contained within 
the Cuban Assets Control Regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 21, 2022 to 
be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions on the website for submitting comments.
    Email: [email protected] with Attn: Request for Comments 
(Cuban Travel and Carrier Services).
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and refer to Docket Number OFAC-2022-0001 and the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) control number 1505-0168. Comments received will be 
made available to the public via https://www.regulations.gov or upon 
request, without change and including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: OFAC: Assistant Director for 
Licensing, 202-622-2480; Assistant Director for Regulatory Affairs, 
202-622-4855; or Assistant Director for Sanctions Compliance & 
Evaluation, 202-622-2490.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Persons Providing Travel and Carrier Services to Cuba.
    OMB Number: 1505-0168.
    Type of Review: Extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Description: Requirements to retain records are codified in Sec.  
515.572(b) of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 CFR part 515 
(the ``Regulations''). Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction who provide 
authorized travel or carrier services related to Cuba are required to 
maintain for at least five years from the date of the transaction a 
certification from each customer indicating the name and address of 
each customer and the section of the Regulations (in the case of 
generally licensed travel), or the specific license number, that 
authorizes the person to travel to Cuba.
    The records covered by this information collection must be provided 
on request to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and will be used to 
monitor compliance with regulations governing persons subject to U.S. 
jurisdiction, including travel agents, airlines and vessel operators, 
providing authorized travel and carrier services with respect to Cuba 
and persons who travel to Cuba.
    Forms: Section 515.572(b)(1) does not specify any particular form 
of recordkeeping.
    Affected Public: Individuals, households, travel and carrier 
businesses, other for-profit businesses, non-governmental 
organizations. The likely respondents and record-keepers affected by 
this collection of information are U.S. travel and carrier businesses.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: OFAC estimates, based on multiple 
sources including data received from the U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security, U.S. Customs and Border

[[Page 24225]]

Protection, and information collected by OFAC, that the number of 
unique record-keepers is approximately 35,000 per year. OFAC believes 
the significant decline in the number of unique respondents over the 
past three years is largely due to a change in methodology, including 
improved data, as well as to other factors discussed below. Pursuant to 
this methodology, OFAC has identified a smaller number of travel 
service providers but a larger number of records per respondent. OFAC 
believes that the decline in the number of unique respondents can also 
be attributed to the following: (1) An overall decline in travel 
worldwide due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; (2) 
OFAC's elimination of the group people-to-people educational travel 
authorization in June 2019; and (3) amendments to the Department of 
Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security's regulations that restrict 
the temporary sojourn of aircraft and vessels to Cuba, also in June 
2019. OFAC assesses that the number of annual trips will likely slowly 
increase over the coming three years if travel restrictions due to the 
COVID-19 pandemic continue to ease, although there is some uncertainty 
due to the ongoing pandemic.
    Estimated Number of Records per Respondent: Based on newly acquired 
data and OFAC's revised methodology, the estimated number of records is 
approximately 10 per respondent. (Some recordkeepers may keep far more 
records and some far less; 10 is an average.)
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Records: Based on additional data 
and OFAC's revised methodology, the estimated total number of annual 
records is approximately 350,000. OFAC has factored into our assessment 
a likely increase in travel between the United States and Cuba over the 
next three years as pandemic travel restrictions ease, but believes 
that numbers of travelers will not rise to levels present when a wider 
variety of types of travel to Cuba were generally licensed.
    Estimated Time per Record: OFAC assesses that there is an average 
time estimate of 1 minute per record.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The estimated total annual 
reporting burden is approximately 5,800 hours.

Request for Comments

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and included in OFAC's request for OMB approval. All comments will 
become a matter of public record. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 
the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance 
of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has 
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (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; and (e) estimates 
of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and 
purchase of services required to provide information.
    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

Andrea M. Gacki,
Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
[FR Doc. 2022-08657 Filed 4-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AL-P