Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule; Staff Report, 25908-25909 [2013-10405]
Download as PDF
25908
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 86 / Friday, May 3, 2013 / Proposed Rules
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 435
RIN 3084–AB07
Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise
Rule; Staff Report
Federal Trade Commission
(‘‘Commission’’ or ‘‘FTC’’).
ACTION: Staff report; notice of
availability.
erowe on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The FTC announces the
publication of the Staff Report on the
Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise
Rule (‘‘MTOR’’ or ‘‘Rule’’). The Staff
Report sets forth the staff’s
recommendations to the Commission on
the various proposed amendments to
the MTOR.
DATES: Comments on the Staff Report
must be received on or before July 15,
2013.
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. Write ‘‘16 CFR Part 435—Mail or
Telephone Order Merchandise’’ on your
comment, and file your comment online
at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/
ftc/mtorstaffreport by following the
instructions on the web-based form. If
you prefer to file your comment on
paper, mail or deliver your comment to
the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Room H–113 (Annex N), 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jock
Chung, (202) 326–2984, Attorney,
Division of Enforcement, Bureau of
Consumer Protection, Federal Trade
Commission, Room M–8102B, 600
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington,
DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
MTOR prohibits sellers from soliciting
mail or telephone order sales unless
sellers have a reasonable basis to expect
that they will be able to ship, after
receipt of a properly completed order,
the ordered merchandise within the
time stated on the solicitation or, if no
time is stated, within 30 days. The
MTOR further requires a seller to seek
the buyer’s consent to the delayed
shipment when the seller learns that it
cannot ship within the time stated or, if
no time is stated, within 30 days. If the
buyer does not consent, the seller must
promptly refund all money paid for the
unshipped merchandise.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
14:51 May 02, 2013
Jkt 229001
On September 11, 2007, as part of its
rule review process,1 the Commission
published a request for public
comment,2 which also served as an
Advance Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking.3 It then published a Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM’’) in
2011.4
Pursuant to the Commission’s Rules
of Practice, and the rulemaking
procedures specified earlier in the
NPRM, the Commission now announces
the availability of the Staff Report on the
MTOR. The Staff Report summarizes the
rulemaking record to date, and sets forth
the staff’s recommendation that the
Commission revise the Rule to respond
to new methods of accessing the
Internet and making payments and
refunds. The Staff Report has not been
endorsed or adopted by the
Commission.
The Staff Report to the Federal Trade
Commission and Proposed Revised
Trade Regulation Rule for the Mail or
Telephone Order Merchandise Rule is
available at the FTC’s Web site at
https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/regreview/
index.shtml. A paper copy can be
obtained from the FTC Public Reference
Room, Room 130–H, 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580,
either in person or by calling (202) 326–
2222.
The Commission invites interested
parties to submit written data, views,
and arguments on the recommendations
announced by the Staff Report by
following the instructions in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice.
Comments previously submitted in the
ongoing rulemaking procedures are
already part of the rulemaking record
and need not be repeated.
I. Request for Comment
You can file a comment online or on
paper. For the Commission to consider
your comment, we must receive it on or
before July 15, 2013. Write ‘‘16 CFR Part
435—Mail or Telephone Order
Merchandise’’ on your comment. Your
comment—including your name and
your state—will be placed on the public
record of this proceeding, including, to
the extent practicable, on the public
Commission Web site, at https://
www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm.
As a matter of discretion, the
1 The Commission reviews all its rules and guides
periodically to ensure that they remain relevant.
These periodic reviews seek information about the
costs and benefits of the Commission’s rules and
guides as well as their economic and regulatory
impact. The information obtained assists the
Commission in identifying rules and guides that
warrant modification or rescission.
2 72 FR 51728 (Sept. 11, 2007).
3 15 U.S.C. 57a(b)(2)(A).
4 76 FR 60765 (Sept. 30, 2011).
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Commission tries to remove individuals’
home contact information from
comments before placing them on the
Commission Web site.
Because your comment will be made
public, you are solely responsible for
making sure that your comment doesn’t
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
doesn’t include any sensitive health
information, such as medical records or
other individually identifiable health
information. In addition, don’t include
any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or
financial information which is obtained
from any person and 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).
In particular, don’t include
competitively sensitive information
such as costs, sales statistics,
inventories, formulas, patterns, devices,
manufacturing processes, or customer
names.
If you want the Commission to give
your comment confidential treatment,
you must file it in paper form, with a
request for confidential treatment, and
you have to follow the procedure
explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR
4.9(c).5 Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the FTC General
Counsel, in his or her sole discretion,
grants your request in accordance with
the law and the public interest.
Postal mail addressed to the
Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a
result, we encourage you to submit your
comments online. To make sure that the
Commission considers your online
comment, you must file it at https://
ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/
mtorstaffreport by following the
instruction on the web-based form. If
this Notice appears at https://
www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also
may file a comment through that Web
site.
If you file your comment on paper,
write ‘‘16 CFR Part 435—Mail or
Telephone Order Merchandise’’ on your
comment and on the envelope, and mail
or deliver it to the following address:
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
5 In particular, the written request for confidential
treatment that accompanies the comment must
include the factual and legal basis for the request,
and must identify the specific portions of the
comment to be withheld from the public record. See
FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
E:\FR\FM\03MYP1.SGM
03MYP1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 86 / Friday, May 3, 2013 / Proposed Rules
Secretary, Room H–113 (Annex N), 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20580. If possible, submit your
paper comment to the Commission by
courier or overnight service.
Visit the Commission Web site at
https://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice
and the news release describing it. The
FTC Act and other laws that the
Commission administers permit the
collection of public comments to
consider and use in this proceeding as
appropriate. The Commission will
consider all timely and responsive
public comments that it receives on or
before July 15, 2013. You can find more
information, including routine uses
permitted by the Privacy Act, in the
Commission’s privacy policy, at https://
www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
Upon completion of the comment
period, the staff will make final
recommendations to the Commission
about the Rule. If the Commission
adopts the proposed revised Rule as
recommended by the staff, or
alternatively determines to make
changes to the proposed revised Rule, it
will publish in a future Federal Register
notice the final text of the Rule,
statement of Basis and Purpose on the
Rule, and an announcement of when the
revised Rule will become effective.
II. Communications to Commissioners
and Commissioner Advisors by Outside
Parties
erowe on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
Pursuant to Commission Rule
1.18(c)(1), the Commission has
determined that communications with
respect to the merits of this proceeding
from any outside party to any
Commissioner or Commissioner advisor
shall be subject to the following
treatment. Written communications and
summaries or transcripts of oral
communications shall be placed on the
rulemaking record if the communication
is received before the end of the
comment period on the Staff Report.
They shall be placed on the public
record if the communication is received
later. Unless the outside party making
an oral communication is a member of
Congress, such communications are
permitted only if advance notice is
published in the Weekly Calendar and
Notice of ‘‘Sunshine’’ Meetings.6
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013–10405 Filed 5–2–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750–01–P
6 See 15 U.S.C. 57a(i)(2)(A), 45 FR 50814 (1980),
45 FR 78626 (1980).
VerDate Mar<15>2010
14:51 May 02, 2013
Jkt 229001
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
26 CFR Part 1
[REG–125398–12]
RIN 1545–BL43
Minimum Value of Eligible EmployerSponsored Plans and Other Rules
Regarding the Health Insurance
Premium Tax Credit
Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This document contains
proposed regulations relating to the
health insurance premium tax credit
enacted by the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act and the Health Care
and Education Reconciliation Act of
2010, as amended by the Medicare and
Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010, the
Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer
Protection and Repayment of Exchange
Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011, and
the Department of Defense and FullYear Continuing Appropriations Act,
2011. These proposed regulations affect
individuals who enroll in qualified
health plans through Affordable
Insurance Exchanges (Exchanges) and
claim the premium tax credit, and
Exchanges that make qualified health
plans available to individuals and
employers. These proposed regulations
also provide guidance on determining
whether health coverage under an
eligible employer-sponsored plan
provides minimum value and affect
employers that offer health coverage and
their employees.
DATES: Written (including electronic)
comments and requests for a public
hearing must be received by July 2,
2013.
Send submissions to:
CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–125398–12), Room
5203, Internal Revenue Service, PO Box
7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington,
DC 20044. Submissions may be handdelivered Monday through Friday
between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
to CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–125398–12),
Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue
Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC, or sent electronically
via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov (IRS REG–125398–
12).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Concerning the proposed regulations,
Andrew S. Braden, (202) 622–4960;
concerning the submission of comments
and/or requests for a public hearing,
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
Frm 00031
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
25909
Oluwafunmilayo Taylor, (202) 622–7180
(not toll-free calls).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Beginning in 2014, under the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act,
Public Law 111–148 (124 Stat. 119
(2010)), and the Health Care and
Education Reconciliation Act of 2010,
Public Law 111–152 (124 Stat. 1029
(2010)) (collectively, the Affordable Care
Act), eligible individuals who purchase
coverage under a qualified health plan
through an Affordable Insurance
Exchange may receive a premium tax
credit under section 36B of the Internal
Revenue Code (Code). Section 36B was
subsequently amended by the Medicare
and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010,
Public Law 111–309 (124 Stat. 3285
(2010)); the Comprehensive 1099
Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of
Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of
2011, Public Law 112–9 (125 Stat. 36
(2011)); and the Department of Defense
and Full-Year Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2011, Public Law
112–10 (125 Stat. 38 (2011)).
Notice 2012–31 (2012–20 IRB 910)
requested comments on methods for
determining whether health coverage
under an eligible employer-sponsored
plan provides minimum value (MV).
Final regulations under section 36B (TD
9590) were published on May 23, 2012
(77 FR 30377). The final regulations
requested comments on issues to be
addressed in further guidance. The
comments have been considered in
developing these proposed regulations.
Minimum Value
Individuals generally may not receive
a premium tax credit if they are eligible
for affordable coverage under an eligible
employer-sponsored plan that provides
MV. An applicable large employer (as
defined in section 4980H(c)(2)) may be
liable for an assessable payment under
section 4980H if a full-time employee
receives a premium tax credit.
Under section 36B(c)(2)(C)(ii), a plan
fails to provide MV if the plan’s share
of the total allowed costs of benefits
provided under the plan is less than 60
percent of the costs. Section
1302(d)(2)(C) of the Affordable Care Act
provides that, in determining the
percentage of the total allowed costs of
benefits provided under a group health
plan, the regulations promulgated by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services
(HHS) under section 1302(d)(2) apply.
HHS published final regulations
under section 1302(d)(2) on February
25, 2013 (78 FR 12834). The HHS
regulations at 45 CFR 156.20 define the
percentage of the total allowed costs of
E:\FR\FM\03MYP1.SGM
03MYP1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 86 (Friday, May 3, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25908-25909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10405]
[[Page 25908]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 435
RIN 3084-AB07
Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule; Staff Report
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'' or ``FTC'').
ACTION: Staff report; notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The FTC announces the publication of the Staff Report on the
Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (``MTOR'' or ``Rule''). The
Staff Report sets forth the staff's recommendations to the Commission
on the various proposed amendments to the MTOR.
DATES: Comments on the Staff Report must be received on or before July
15, 2013.
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. Write ``16 CFR Part 435--Mail
or Telephone Order Merchandise'' on your comment, and file your comment
online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/mtorstaffreport by
following the instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file
your comment on paper, mail or deliver your comment to the following
address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113
(Annex N), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jock Chung, (202) 326-2984, Attorney,
Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade
Commission, Room M-8102B, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC
20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MTOR prohibits sellers from soliciting
mail or telephone order sales unless sellers have a reasonable basis to
expect that they will be able to ship, after receipt of a properly
completed order, the ordered merchandise within the time stated on the
solicitation or, if no time is stated, within 30 days. The MTOR further
requires a seller to seek the buyer's consent to the delayed shipment
when the seller learns that it cannot ship within the time stated or,
if no time is stated, within 30 days. If the buyer does not consent,
the seller must promptly refund all money paid for the unshipped
merchandise.
On September 11, 2007, as part of its rule review process,\1\ the
Commission published a request for public comment,\2\ which also served
as an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.\3\ It then published a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM'') in 2011.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Commission reviews all its rules and guides periodically
to ensure that they remain relevant. These periodic reviews seek
information about the costs and benefits of the Commission's rules
and guides as well as their economic and regulatory impact. The
information obtained assists the Commission in identifying rules and
guides that warrant modification or rescission.
\2\ 72 FR 51728 (Sept. 11, 2007).
\3\ 15 U.S.C. 57a(b)(2)(A).
\4\ 76 FR 60765 (Sept. 30, 2011).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pursuant to the Commission's Rules of Practice, and the rulemaking
procedures specified earlier in the NPRM, the Commission now announces
the availability of the Staff Report on the MTOR. The Staff Report
summarizes the rulemaking record to date, and sets forth the staff's
recommendation that the Commission revise the Rule to respond to new
methods of accessing the Internet and making payments and refunds. The
Staff Report has not been endorsed or adopted by the Commission.
The Staff Report to the Federal Trade Commission and Proposed
Revised Trade Regulation Rule for the Mail or Telephone Order
Merchandise Rule is available at the FTC's Web site at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/regreview/index.shtml. A paper copy can be obtained
from the FTC Public Reference Room, Room 130-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW., Washington, DC 20580, either in person or by calling (202) 326-
2222.
The Commission invites interested parties to submit written data,
views, and arguments on the recommendations announced by the Staff
Report by following the instructions in the ADDRESSES section of this
notice. Comments previously submitted in the ongoing rulemaking
procedures are already part of the rulemaking record and need not be
repeated.
I. Request for Comment
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before July 15, 2013.
Write ``16 CFR Part 435--Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise'' on your
comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the
extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the
Commission tries to remove individuals' home contact information from
comments before placing them on the Commission Web site.
Because your comment will be made public, you are solely
responsible for making sure that your comment doesn't 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 doesn't include
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, don't
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information
which is obtained from any person and 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). In particular, don't
include competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales
statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing
processes, or customer names.
If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for
confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained
in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\5\ Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole
discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the
public interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ In particular, the written request for confidential
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/mtorstaffreport by following the instruction on the web-based form.
If this Notice appears at https://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also
may file a comment through that Web site.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``16 CFR Part 435--Mail or
Telephone Order Merchandise'' on your comment and on the envelope, and
mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission,
Office of the
[[Page 25909]]
Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex N), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your paper comment to the
Commission by courier or overnight service.
Visit the Commission Web site at https://www.ftc.gov to read this
Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws
that the Commission administers permit the collection of public
comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The
Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that
it receives on or before July 15, 2013. You can find more information,
including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in the
Commission's privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
Upon completion of the comment period, the staff will make final
recommendations to the Commission about the Rule. If the Commission
adopts the proposed revised Rule as recommended by the staff, or
alternatively determines to make changes to the proposed revised Rule,
it will publish in a future Federal Register notice the final text of
the Rule, statement of Basis and Purpose on the Rule, and an
announcement of when the revised Rule will become effective.
II. Communications to Commissioners and Commissioner Advisors by
Outside Parties
Pursuant to Commission Rule 1.18(c)(1), the Commission has
determined that communications with respect to the merits of this
proceeding from any outside party to any Commissioner or Commissioner
advisor shall be subject to the following treatment. Written
communications and summaries or transcripts of oral communications
shall be placed on the rulemaking record if the communication is
received before the end of the comment period on the Staff Report. They
shall be placed on the public record if the communication is received
later. Unless the outside party making an oral communication is a
member of Congress, such communications are permitted only if advance
notice is published in the Weekly Calendar and Notice of ``Sunshine''
Meetings.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ See 15 U.S.C. 57a(i)(2)(A), 45 FR 50814 (1980), 45 FR 78626
(1980).
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-10405 Filed 5-2-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P