[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27513-27514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09276]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is seeking public 
comment on its proposal to extend for an additional three years the 
Office of Management and Budget clearance for its Rule Governing Pre-
Sale Availability of Written Warranty Terms. The current clearance 
expires on May 31, 2023.

DATES: Comments must be filed by June 1, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Written comments and 
recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent 
within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting 
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using 
the search function. The reginfo.gov web link is a United States 
Government website produced by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) and the General Services Administration (GSA). Under PRA 
requirements, OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) 
reviews Federal information collections.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Basford, Attorney, Division of 
Marketing Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade 
Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 
326-2343.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Pre-Sale Availability of Written Warranty Terms (Pre-Sale 
Availability Rule or Rule), 16 Part CFR 702.
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0112.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Background

    The Pre-Sale Availability Rule, 16 CFR part 702, is one of three 
rules \1\ that the FTC issued as required by the Magnuson Moss Warranty 
Act, 15 U.S.C. 2301 et seq. (Warranty Act or Act).\2\ The Pre-Sale 
Availability Rule requires sellers and warrantors to make the text of 
any written warranty on a consumer product costing more than $15 
available to the consumer before sale. Among other things, the Rule 
requires sellers to make the text of the warranty readily available 
either by (1) displaying it in close proximity to the product or (2) 
furnishing it on request and posting signs in prominent locations 
advising consumers that the warranty is available. The Rule requires 
warrantors to provide materials to enable sellers to comply with the 
Rule's requirements and also sets out the methods by which warranty 
information can be made available before the sale if the product is 
sold through catalogs, mail order, or door to door sales. In addition, 
in 2016, the FTC revised the Rule to allow warrantors to post warranty 
terms on internet websites if they also provide a non-internet based 
method for consumers to obtain the warranty terms and satisfy certain 
other conditions.\3\ The revised Rule also allows certain sellers to 
display warranty terms pre-sale in an electronic format if the 
warrantor has used the online method of disseminating warranty terms.
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    \1\ The other two rules relate to the information that must 
appear in a written warranty on a consumer product costing more than 
$15 if a warranty is offered and minimum standards for informal 
dispute settlement mechanisms that are incorporated into a written 
warranty.
    \2\ 40 FR 60168 (Dec. 31, 1975).
    \3\ 81 FR 63664-70 (Sept. 15, 2016).
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    Likely Respondents: Manufacturers and retailers of consumer 
products.
    Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 2,764,837 hours (149,017 hours for 
manufacturers + 2,615,820 hours for retailers).

 Manufacturers account for approximately 149,017 hours (27,094 
manufacturers x 5.5 hours)
 Retailers account for approximately 2,615,820 hours (523,164 
retailers x 5.0 burden hours)

    Estimated Annual Cost Burden: $67,738,531 (which is derived from 
$35,942,894 for sales associates + $31,795,637 for clerical workers).

 Sales Associates: (1,382,419 hours) ($26/hour) = $35,942,894
 Clerical Workers: (1,382,419 hours) ($23/hour) = $31,795,637

    Total Annual Capital or Other Non-labor Costs: De minimis.

Request for Comment

    On January 9, 2023, the FTC sought public comment on the 
information collection requirements associated with the Rule. 88 FR 
1229. No germane comments were received. Pursuant to the OMB 
regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq., the FTC is providing this second opportunity for public comment 
while seeking OMB approval to renew the pre-existing clearance for the 
Rule.
    Your comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on 
the

[[Page 27514]]

public record of this proceeding. Because your comment will be made 
public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment 
does not include any sensitive personal information, such as anyone's 
Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other 
state identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport 
number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You 
are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not 
include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or 
other individually identifiable health information. In addition, your 
comment should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or 
financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as 
provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 
4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in particular competitively 
sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, 
formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer 
names.

Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-09276 Filed 5-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P