[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 27514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09293]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') 
requests that the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') extend for 
an additional three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') 
clearance for information collection requirements in its Informal 
Dispute Settlement Procedures Rule (``the Dispute Settlement Rule'' or 
``the Rule''). The current clearance expires on July 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.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Informal Dispute Settlement Procedures Rule (the Dispute 
Settlement Rule or the Rule), 16 CFR part 703.
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0113.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: The Dispute Settlement Rule is one of three rules \1\ 
that the FTC implemented pursuant to requirements of the Magnuson-Moss 
Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. 2301 et seq. (``Warranty Act'' or ``Act'').\2\ 
The Dispute Settlement Rule, 16 CFR part 703, specifies the minimum 
standards which must be met by any informal dispute settlement 
mechanism (``IDSM'') that is incorporated into a written consumer 
product warranty and which the consumer is required to use before 
pursuing legal remedies under the Act in court (known as the ``prior 
resort requirement'').\3\
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    \1\ The other two rules relate to the information that must 
appear in any written warranty offered on a consumer product costing 
more than $15 and the pre-sale availability of warranty terms.
    \2\ 40 FR 60168 (Dec. 31, 1975).
    \3\ The Dispute Settlement Rule applies only to those firms that 
choose to require consumers to use an IDSM. Neither the Rule nor the 
Act requires warrantors to set up IDSMs. A warrantor is free to set 
up an IDSM that does not comply with the Rule as long as the 
warranty does not contain a prior resort requirement.
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    The Dispute Settlement Rule standards for IDSMs include 
requirements concerning the mechanism's structure (e.g., funding, 
staffing, and neutrality), the qualifications of staff or decision 
makers, the mechanism's procedures for resolving disputes (e.g., 
notification, investigation, time limits for decisions, and follow-up), 
recordkeeping, and annual audits. The Rule requires that IDSMs 
establish written operating procedures and provide copies of those 
procedures upon request.
    Likely Respondents: Warrantors that Use an IDSM (Automobile 
Manufacturers) and Informal Dispute Settlement Mechanisms.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 9,267 (derived from 6,210 
recordkeeping hours in addition to 2,070 reporting hours and 987 
disclosure hours).
    Estimated Annual Labor Costs: $239,093.
    Estimated Annual Capital or Other Non-labor Costs: $344,560.
    Request for Comment: On January 9, 2023, the FTC sought public 
comment on the information collection requirements in the Dispute 
Settlement Rule. 88 FR 1231 (Jan. 9, 2023). No relevant comments were 
received during the public comment period. Pursuant to 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. 
For more details about the Rule requirements and the basis for the 
calculations summarized below, see 88 FR 1231.
    Your comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on 
the 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 ensuring 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 ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or 
financial information which is . . . privileged or confidential''--as 
provided in 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. 2023-09293 Filed 5-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P