[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 148 (Thursday, August 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51400-51402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16576]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; 
Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of Reports Relating to Currency 
in Excess of $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business or Received as 
Bail by Court Clerks; Form 8300

AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Treasury.

[[Page 51401]]


ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden, FinCEN invites comments on a proposed renewal, 
without change, of an information collection found in existing Bank 
Secrecy Act regulations. Specifically, FinCEN invites comment on a 
renewal of existing information collection requirements for reports of 
currency in excess of $10,000 received by a trade or business or by 
court clerks as bail. These transactions are reported on Form 8300. 
This request for comments is made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA).

DATES: Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before 
October 2, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Federal E-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Refer to Docket Number 
FINCEN-2023-0010 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control 
number 1506-0018.
     Mail: Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket Number FINCEN-
2023-0010 and OMB control number 1506-0018.
    Please submit comments by one method only. Comments will be 
reviewed consistent with the PRA \1\ and applicable OMB regulations and 
guidance. All comments submitted in response to this notice will become 
a matter of public record. Therefore, you should submit only 
information that you wish to make publicly available.
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    \1\ Public Law 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FinCEN Regulatory Support Section 
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(RSS) at 1-800-767-2825 or electronically at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Statutory and Regulatory Provisions

    The legislative framework generally referred to as the Bank Secrecy 
Act (BSA) consists of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting 
Act of 1970, as amended by the Uniting and Strengthening America by 
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct 
Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), Public Law 107-56 (October 26, 
2001), and other legislation, including the Anti-Money Laundering Act 
of 2020 (AML Act).\2\ The BSA is codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829b, 12 U.S.C. 
1951-1960, and 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314 and 5316-5336, and notes thereto, 
with implementing regulations at 31 CFR chapter X.
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    \2\ The AML Act was enacted as Division F, sections 6001-6511, 
of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Public Law 116-283, 134 Stat. 3388 (2021).
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    The BSA authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury (the 
``Secretary''), inter alia, to require financial institutions to keep 
records and file reports that are determined to have a high degree of 
usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory matters, risk assessments or 
proceedings, or in the conduct of intelligence or counter-intelligence 
activities to protect against international terrorism, and to implement 
AML programs and compliance procedures.\3\ Regulations implementing the 
BSA appear at 31 CFR chapter X. The authority of the Secretary to 
administer the BSA has been delegated to the Director of FinCEN.\4\
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    \3\ Section 358 of the USA PATRIOT Act expanded the purpose of 
the BSA by including a reference to reports and records ``that have 
a high degree of usefulness in intelligence or counterintelligence 
activities to protect against international terrorism.'' Section 
6101 of the AML Act further expanded the purpose of the BSA to cover 
such matters as preventing money laundering, tracking illicit funds, 
assessing risk, and establishing appropriate frameworks for 
information sharing.
    \4\ Treasury Order 180-01 (Jan. 14, 2020).
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    31 U.S.C. 5331 of the BSA and 26 U.S.C. 6050I of the Internal 
Revenue Code require that certain transactions be reported to both 
FinCEN and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the form and manner 
prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. Specifically, reporting is 
required by any person engaged in a trade or business who, in the 
course of such trade or business, receives more than $10,000 in coins 
or currency in one transaction or two or more related transactions.\5\ 
Reporting is also required by any clerk of a federal or state court who 
receives more than $10,000 in currency as bail for any individual 
charged with a specified criminal offense.\6\ Reports filed under these 
authorities are made through the joint FinCEN/IRS Form 8300.\7\ 
Furthermore, verification requirements apply to transactions requiring 
the filing of Form 8300.\8\ Reports filed under 31 CFR 1010.330 and 31 
CFR 1010.331 must be maintained for five years after the date of 
filing.\9\
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    \5\ 31 CFR 1010.330. Pursuant to 31 CFR 1021.330(c), non-gaming 
businesses at casino hotels and resorts are separate trades or 
businesses in which the receipt of currency in excess of $10,000 is 
reportable under 31 U.S.C. 5331 and 31 CFR 1010.330.
    \6\ 31 CFR 1010.331.
    \7\ Currency transactions reportable under 31 U.S.C. 5313 or 31 
CFR 1010.311, 1010.313, 1020.315, 1021.311, or 1021.313 are excluded 
from the Form 8300 reporting requirement. There are also several 
exceptions to the reporting requirement included in the regulation.
    \8\ 31 CFR 1010.330(e)(2); 31 CFR 1010.331(c)(2).
    \9\ 31 CFR 1010.330(e)(3); 31 CFR 1010.331(c)(1) (incorporating 
the requirements of 26 CFR 1.6050I-2(c)(3)(i)).
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II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    Title: Reports Relating to Currency in Excess of $10,000 Received 
in a Trade or Business or Received as Bail by Court Clerks; Form 8300 
(31 CFR 1010.330 and 31 CFR 1010.331).
    OMB Control Number: 1506-0018.
    Form Number: Form 8300.
    Abstract: FinCEN is issuing this notice to renew the OMB control 
number for the Form 8300 and the regulations at 31 CFR 1010.330 and 31 
CFR 1010.331.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit institutions, and 
non-profit institutions.
    Type of Review: Renewal without change of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Frequency: As required.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 35,000 Form 8300 filers.\10\
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    \10\ In 2022, FinCEN received Forms 8300 from 34,832 unique 
filers based on their tax identification number (TIN). FinCEN is 
rounding this estimate to 35,000 respondents annually.
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    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden: The information 
required to be reported on the Form 8300 is basic information to which 
a filer would have access in the course of doing business. For 
instance, the Form 8300 requires a trade or business or court clerk to 
report identifying information about the individual from whom the cash 
was received, as well as any person on whose behalf the transaction was 
conducted. The Form 8300 also requires the filer to report a 
description of the transaction and method of payment, as well as 
identifying information for the business that received the cash. As 
this information is readily available to a trade or business or court 
clerk, FinCEN estimates that reporting this information will take 20 
minutes on average. In addition, while the Form 8300 may be filed 
electronically, which allows the filer to save an electronic version of 
the form and satisfy the recordkeeping requirement, many filers choose 
to file a paper copy of the Form 8300. Therefore, FinCEN estimates that 
the recordkeeping requirement will take 10 minutes on average. FinCEN 
estimates total hourly burden of reporting and recordkeeping for each 
Form 8300 is 30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 400,112 Forms 8300 were filed in 
calendar year 2022.

[[Page 51402]]

    Estimated Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden: The 
estimated total annual PRA burden is 200,056 hours (400,112 Forms 8300 
filed in calendar year 2022 multiplied by 30 minutes and converted to 
hours).
    Estimated Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost: FinCEN 
estimates the following annual burden cost: 200,056 hours x $52.55 per 
hour \11\ = $10,512,942.80.
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    \11\ The average hourly wage rate is calculated from the May 
2022 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly wage for ``13-
1041 Compliance Officer'' of $37.01, plus an additional 42% for 
benefits to produce a fully-loaded rate of $52.55. The ratio between 
benefits and wages for private industry workers is $11.86 (hourly 
benefits)/$28.37 (hourly wages) = 0.42, as of March 2023. The 
benefit factor is 1 plus the benefit/wages ratio, or 1.42. $37.01 
multiplied by 1.42 equals $52.55. See U.S. Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation: Private 
Industry dataset (March 2023), available at https://www.bls.gov/web/ecec/ecec-private-dataset.xlsx.
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    An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of 
information displays a valid OMB control number. Records required to be 
retained under the BSA must be retained for five years.
    Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice 
will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All 
comments will become a matter of public record. Comments are invited 
on: (i) whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information shall have practical utility; (ii) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (iii) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; (iv) 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 (v) 
estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

Himamauli Das,
Acting Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
[FR Doc. 2023-16576 Filed 8-2-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-02-P