[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 36 (Thursday, February 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13379-13380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03538]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)-sponsored information 
collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that the agency 
receives on or before March 25, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 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.
    Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and 
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Howell by telephone at 202-
693-6782, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under title I of ERISA, the administrator of 
each welfare plan and each pension plan, unless otherwise exempt, is 
required to file an annual report with the Secretary containing the 
information set forth in section 103 of ERISA. The statutory annual 
reporting requirements under titles I and IV of ERISA, as well as the 
Internal Revenue Code (the Code), are satisfied generally by filing the 
appropriate annual return/report (the Form 5500).
    On April 27, 1995, the Department implemented the Delinquent Filer

[[Page 13380]]

Voluntary Compliance Program (the DFVC Program) in an effort to 
encourage annual reporting compliance. Under the DFVC Program, 
administrators otherwise subject to the assessment of higher civil 
penalties are permitted to pay reduced civil penalties for voluntarily 
complying with the annual reporting requirements under title I of 
ERISA. The only information collection requirement included in the DFVC 
Program is the requirement of providing data necessary to identify the 
plan along with the penalty payment. This data is the only means by 
which each penalty payment is associated with the relevant plan. With 
respect to most pension plans and welfare plans, the requirement is 
satisfied by sending, along with the penalty payment, a copy of the 
delinquent annual report (without attachments or schedules) which is 
filed with the Department at a different address under the EFAST 
system. In the event that the plan administrator files the delinquent 
annual report using a 1998 or prior plan year form, a paper copy of 
only the first page of the Form 5500 or Form 5500-C, as applicable, 
should be submitted along with the penalty payment.
    Certain pension plans for highly compensated employees, commonly 
called ``top hat'' plans, and apprenticeship plans may file a one-time 
statement in lieu of annual reports. With respect to such plans, 
information collection requirements of the DFVC Program are satisfied 
by sending a completed first page of an annual report form along with 
the penalty payment. The one-time statements are required to be sent to 
a different address within the Department. The DFVC Program is designed 
to allow the processing of all penalty payments at a single location 
within the Department. For additional substantive information about 
this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on 
August 25, 2023 (88 FR 58312).
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid 
OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions 
of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to 
comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid 
OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
    DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for 
three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than 
three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information 
collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive 
a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.
    Agency: DOL-EBSA.
    Title of Collection: Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0089.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,638.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 10,638.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 5,319 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $9,393.

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))

Michael Howell,
Senior Paperwork Reduction Act Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2024-03538 Filed 2-21-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P