International Services Surveys: BE-93 Annual Survey of Royalties, License Fees and Other Receipts and Payments for Intangible Rights Between U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons

AGENCY:

Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

These final rules amend the reporting requirements for the BE-93, Annual Survey of Royalties, License Fees, and Other Receipts and Payments Between U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.

The BE-93 survey is conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act. The data are needed to support U.S. trade policy initiatives, compile the U.S. international transactions accounts and the national income and product accounts, assess U.S. competitiveness in international trade in services, and improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market opportunities.

The revised rules raise the exemption level for the BE-93 survey to $2 million in covered receipts or payments, from $500,000 on the previous (1999) survey. Raising the exemption level will reduce respondent burden, particularly for small companies.

DATES:

These rules will be effective January 12, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

R. David Belli, Chief, International Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; phone (202) 606-9800.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In the September 21, 2000, Federal Register, volume 65, No. 184, 65 FR 57117-57119, BEA published a notice of proposed rulemaking setting forth revised reporting requirements for the BE-93 Annual Survey of Royalties, License Fees, and Other Receipts and Payments for Intangible Rights Between U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons. No comments on the proposed rules were received. Thus, these final rules are the same as the proposed rules.

These final rules amend 15 CFR part 801 by revising paragraph 801.9(b)(5)(ii) to set forth revised reporting requirements for the BE-93, Annual Survey of Royalties, License Fees, and Other Receipts and Payments Between U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons. The survey is conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (P.L. 94-472, 90 Stat. 2059, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended). Section 3103(a) of the Act provides that the President shall, to the extent he deems necessary and feasible, conduct a regular data collection program to secure current information related to international investment and trade in services. In Section 3 of Executive Order 11961, as amended by Executive Order 12518, the President delegated the authority under the Act as concerns international trade in services to the Secretary of Commerce, who has redelegated it to BEA.

The BE-93 is an annual survey of U.S. royalty and license fee transactions for intangible rights with unaffiliated foreign persons. The data are needed to support U.S. trade policy initiatives, compile the U.S. international transactions accounts and national income and product accounts, assess U.S. competitiveness in international trade in services, and improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market opportunities.

The change to the BE-93 annual survey contained in these final rules is to require a BE-93 from all U.S. persons whose total receipts from, or total payments to, unaffiliated foreign persons for intangible rights exceeded $2 million during the reporting year. The new exemption level is an increase from the current level of $500,000. The increase is intended to reduce respondent burden, particularly for small companies. The data collected on the BE-93 are disaggregated by country and by type of intangible right.

Executive Order 12866

These final rules are not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.

Executive Order 13132

These final rules do not contain policies with Federalism implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism assessment under E.O. 13132.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The collection of information required in these final rules has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection displays a currently valid OMB Control Number; such a Control Number (0608-0017) has been displayed.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to vary from less than one hour to 25 hours, with an overall average burden of 4 hours. This includes time for reviewing the instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing the reviewing the collection of information.

Comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information should be addressed to: Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BE-1), U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; and to the Office of Management and Budget, O.I.R.A. Paperwork Reduction Project 0608-0017, Washington, DC 20530. (Attention PRA Desk Officer for BEA.)

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Assistant General Counsel for Regulation, Department of Commerce, has certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business Administration, under the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), that these final rules will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. While the survey does not collect data on total sales or other measures of the overall size of businesses that respond to the survey, historically the respondent universe has been comprised mainly of major U.S. corporations. With the proposed increase in the exemption level for the survey from $500,000 to $2 million in covered receipts or payments, even fewer small businesses can be expected to be subject to reporting than in the past. Of those smaller businesses that must report, most will tend to have specialized operations and activities and will likely report only one type of royalty or license transaction, often limited to transactions with a single partner country; therefore, the burden on them can be expected to be small.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801

• Economic statistics
• Balance of payments
• Foreign trade
• Penalties
• Report and recordkeeping requirements

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA amends 15 CFR part 801, as follows:

PART 801—SURVEY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES BETWEEN U.S. AND FOREIGN PERSONS

1. The authority citation for 15 CFR part 801 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108; and E.O. 11961, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p.86 as amended by E.O. 12013, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 147; E.O. 12318, 3 CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173; and E.O. 12518, 3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p. 348.

2. Section 801.9 is amended by revising paragraph (b)(5)(ii) to read as follows: