Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 10072-10074 [2019-05081]
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10072
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 19, 2019 / Notices
A. Cox, III as Trustee, Fontana,
Wisconsin, Maureen T. Cox-Scanlon
GST Trust, Maureen T. Cox-Scanlon as
Trustee, Downers Grove, Illinois,
Michael J. Cox GST Trust, Michael J.
Cox as Trustee, Rosemary P. CoxConway GST Trust, Rosemary P. CoxConway as Trustee, Thomas M. Cox
GST Trust, Thomas M. Cox as Trustee,
Robert J. Cox GST Trust, Robert J. Cox
as Trustee, Catherine M. Cox Murphy
GST Trust, Catherine M. Cox Murphy as
Trustee, Margaret M. Cox-Petrucelli GST
Trust, Margaret M. Cox-Petrucelli as
Trustee, Mary H. Cox-Coffey GST Trust,
and Mary H. Cox Coffey as Trustee, all
of Oak Brook, Illinois; to acquire voting
shares of Rush-Oak Corporation, and
thereby indirectly acquire Oak Bank,
both of Chicago, Illinois.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, March 14, 2019.
Yao-Chin Chao,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2019–05161 Filed 3–18–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
Federal Trade Commission
(FTC or Commission).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The FTC plans to ask the
Office of Management and Budget
(‘‘OMB’’) to extend for an additional
three years the current Paperwork
Reduction Act (‘‘PRA’’) clearance for
information collection requirements
contained in the Mail, internet, or
Telephone Order Merchandise Rule
(MITOR). That clearance expires on May
31, 2019.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before May 20, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a
comment online or on paper by
following the instructions in the
Request for Comments part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below. Write ‘‘Paperwork Reduction
Act: FTC File No. P072108’’ on your
comment, and file your comment online
at https://www.regulations.gov by
following the instructions on the webbased form. If you prefer to file your
comment on paper, mail your comment
to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC–5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC
20580, or deliver your comment to the
following address: Federal Trade
SUMMARY:
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Jkt 247001
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW,
5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jock
Chung, 202–326–2984, Attorney,
Enforcement Division, Bureau of
Consumer Protection, 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Mail Drop CC–9528,
Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Originally
known as the Mail Order Merchandise
Rule, the MITOR, 16 CFR part 435 was
promulgated in 1975 in response to
consumer complaints that many
merchants were failing to ship
merchandise ordered by mail on time,
failing to ship at all, or failing to provide
prompt refunds for unshipped
merchandise. The Commission
amended the Rule, effective on March 1,
1994, to include merchandise ordered
by telephone, including by telefax or by
computer through the use of a modem
(e.g., internet sales), and renamed it the
‘‘Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise
Rule.’’ In 2014, the Commission
amended the Rule, effective December
8, 2014, to clarify that the Rule covers
all internet merchandise orders and
permits flexibility in making refunds
and refund notices, including refund
obligations for non-enumerated
payments. 79 FR 55615 (Sept. 17, 2014).
Generally, the MITOR requires a
merchant to: (1) Have a reasonable basis
for any express or implied shipment
representation made in soliciting the
sale (if no express time period is
promised, the implied shipment
representation is 30 days); (2) notify the
consumer and obtain the consumer’s
consent to any delay in shipment; and
(3) make prompt and full refunds when
the consumer exercises a cancellation
option or the merchant is unable to meet
the Rule’s other requirements.1
Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3521,
Federal agencies must get OMB
approval for each collection of
information they conduct or sponsor.
‘‘Collection of information’’ includes
agency requests or requirements to
submit reports, keep records, or provide
information to a third party. 44 U.S.C.
3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). The FTC is
seeking renewed clearance for the
1 The MITOR does not impose a recordkeeping
requirement per se. Title 16 CFR 435.1(d) provides,
however, that in an action for noncompliance, the
absence of records that establish that a respondentseller uses systems and procedures to assure
compliance will create a rebuttable presumption
that the seller was not compliant. Merchants
customarily keep records regarding their systems
and procedures in the ordinary course of business,
but their retention of these documents does not
constitute a ‘‘collection of information’’ under
OMB’s regulations that implement the PRA. See 5
CFR 1320.3(b)(2).
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Sfmt 4703
information collection requirements
associated with the Commission’s rules
and regulations under the MITOR (OMB
Control Number 3084–0106).
Burden Estimates
Estimated total annual hours burden:
2,692,350 hours.
In its 2016 PRA-related Federal
Register Notices 2 and corresponding
submission to OMB, FTC staff estimated
that established companies each spend
an average of 50 hours per year on
compliance with the Rule, and that new
industry entrants spend an average of
230 hours (an industry estimate) for
compliance measures associated with
start-up.3 Thus, the total estimated
hours burden was calculated by
multiplying the estimated number of
established companies × 50 hours,
multiplying the estimated number of
new entrants × 230 hours, and adding
the two products.
No substantive provisions in the Rule
have been amended or changed since
staff’s 2016 submission to OMB. Thus,
the Rule’s disclosure requirements
remain the same. Moreover, the
Commission received no public
comments regarding the above-noted
estimates; thus, staff will apply them to
the current PRA burden analysis.
Since the prior submission to OMB,
however, the number of businesses
engaged in the sale of merchandise
subject to the MITOR has increased. The
most currently available data from the
U.S. Census Bureau indicates that,
between 2005 and 2016, the number of
businesses subject to the MITOR grew
from 15,924 to 37,206, or an average
increase of 1,935 new businesses a year
[(37,206 businesses in 2016¥15,924
businesses in 2005) ÷ 11 years].4
Assuming this growth rate continues in
2019 through 2022, the average number
of established businesses during the
three-year period for which OMB
2 81 FR 2860 (Jan. 19, 2016); 81 FR 21549 (Apr.
12, 2016).
3 Most of the estimated start-up time relates to the
development and installation of computer systems
geared to more efficiently handle customer orders.
4 Conceptually, this might understate the number
of new entrants. Given the virtually unlimited
diversity of retail establishments, it is very unlikely
that there is a reliable external measure;
nonetheless, as in the past, the Commission invites
public comment that might better inform these
estimates. For example, many online marketplace
sellers that use Amazon.com Inc’s marketplace to
sell to customers have agreements which provide
that Amazon handles packaging and shipping the
products to customers. Whether Amazon.com is
also the entity responsible for sending customers
delay notices when necessary could affect which
entity is subject to MITOR disclosure requirements,
Amazon or the individual marketplace seller.
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 19, 2019 / Notices
clearance is sought for the Rule would
be 44,946: 5
Established
businesses
Year:
2019–20
2020–21
2021–22
Average:
...................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................
In an average year during the threeyear OMB clearance period, staff
estimates that established businesses
and new entrants will devote 2,692,350
hours to comply with the MITOR
[(44,946 established businesses × 50
hours) + (1,935 new entrants × 230
hours) = 2,692,350].
The estimated PRA burden per
merchant to comply with the MITOR is
likely overstated because much of the
estimated time burden for disclosurerelated compliance would arguably be
incurred even absent the Rule. Over the
years, industry trade associations and
individual witnesses have consistently
taken the position that providing
consumers with notice about the status
of their orders fosters consumer loyalty
and encourages repeat purchases, which
are important to marketers’ success. In
recent years, the demands of the
internet’s online marketplace and its
leading retailers such as Amazon.com,
Walmart.com, and Ebay.com have
driven many businesses to upgrade the
information management systems to
track and ship orders more effectively.6
These upgrades were primarily
prompted by the industry’s need to deal
with growing consumer demand for
merchandise that is timely shipped.
Accordingly, most companies now
provide updated order information of
the kind required by the Rule in their
ordinary course of business to meet
consumer expectations regarding timely
shipment, notification of delay, and
prompt and full refunds.7
Estimated labor costs: $63,862,542.
FTC staff derived labor costs by
applying appropriate hourly cost figures
to the burden hours described above.
According to the most recent data
available from the Bureau of Labor and
Statistics,8 the mean hourly income for
workers in sales and related occupations
was $23.72/hour. The bulk of the
burden of complying with the MITOR is
borne by clerical personnel along with
assistance from sales personnel. Staff
believes that the mean hourly income
for workers in sales and related
occupations is an appropriate measure
of a direct marketer’s average labor cost
to comply with the Rule. Thus, the total
annual labor cost to new and
established businesses for MITOR
compliance during the three-year period
for which OMB approval is sought
would be approximately $63,862,542
(2,692,350 hours × $23.72/hr.). Relative
to direct industry sales, this total is
negligible.9
Estimated annual non-labor cost
burden: $0 or minimal.
The applicable requirements impose
minimal start-up costs, as businesses
subject to the Rule generally have or
obtain necessary equipment for other
business purposes, i.e., inventory and
order management, and customer
relations. For the same reason, staff
anticipates printing and copying costs to
be minimal, especially given that mail,
internet, and telephone order merchants
have increasingly turned to electronic
communications to notify consumers of
delay and to provide cancellation
options. Staff believes that the above
requirements necessitate ongoing,
regular training so that covered entities
stay current and have a clear
understanding of federal mandates, but
that this would be a small portion of,
and subsumed within, the ordinary
training that employees receive apart
from that associated with the
information collected under the Rule.
5 As noted above, the existing OMB clearance for
the Rule expires on May 31, 2019, and the FTC is
seeking to extend the clearance for three years.
6 Brian Baskin, ‘‘Amazon’s Free Shipping Pushes
Small Retailers, Delivery Firms to Compete,’’ The
Wall Street Journal, Apr. 8, 2017, available at
https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazons-freeshipping-pushes-small-retailers-delivery-firms-tocompete-1491649203.
7 Under the OMB regulation implementing the
PRA, burden is defined to exclude any effort that
would be expended regardless of any regulatory
requirement. 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2).
8 See Table 1, National employment and wage
data from the Occupational Employment Statistics
survey by occupation, May 2017, at https://
www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm.
9 Considering that sales for ‘‘electronic shopping
and mail order houses’’ grew from $295 billion in
2011 to $434 billion in 2015 (according to
‘‘Estimated Annual U.S. Retail Trade Sales—Total
and E-commerce: 1998–2015,’’ available at https://
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Request for Comments
The FTC invites comments on: (1)
Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
PO 00000
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43,011
44,946
46,881
44,946
New entrants
1,935
1,935
1,935
1,935
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden of the proposed collection
of information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (4) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on those who are to respond.
You can file a comment online or on
paper. For the FTC to consider your
comment, we must receive it on or
before May 20, 2019. Write ‘‘Paperwork
Reduction Act: FTC File No. P072108’’
on your comment. 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, or to send them
to the Commission by courier or
overnight service. To make sure that the
Commission considers your online
comment, you must file it through the
https://www.regulations.gov website by
following the instructions on the webbased form. Your comment—including
your name and your state—will be
placed on the public record of this
proceeding, including, including the
https://www.regulations.gov website. As
a matter of discretion, the Commission
tries to remove individuals’ home
contact information from comments
before placing them on
www.regulations.gov.
If you file your comment on paper,
write ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act: FTC
File No. P072108’’ on your comment
and on the envelope, and mail your
comment to the following address:
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Suite CC–5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your
www.census.gov/data/tables/2015/econ/arts/
annual-report.html, staff estimates the annual mail,
internet, or telephone sales to consumers in the
three-year period for which OMB clearance is
sought will average $607 billion. Thus, the
projected average labor cost for MITOR compliance
by existing and new businesses for that period
would amount to 0.01% of sales.
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 19, 2019 / Notices
comment to the following address:
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th
Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex
J), Washington, DC 20024. If possible,
submit your paper comment to the
Commission by courier or overnight
service.
Because your comment will be placed
on the publicly accessible FTC website
at www.regulations.gov, you are solely
responsible for making sure that your
comment does not include any sensitive
or confidential information. In
particular, your comment should not
include any sensitive personal
information, such as your or anyone
else’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 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 ‘‘trade secret or any
commercial or financial information
which . . . . is privileged or
confidential’’—as provided by 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.
Comments containing material for
which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form,
must be clearly labeled ‘‘Confidential,’’
and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c).
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). Your
comment will be kept confidential only
if the General Counsel grants your
request in accordance with the law and
the public interest. Once your comment
has been posted publicly at
www.regulations.gov, we cannot redact
or remove your comment unless you
submit a confidentiality request that
meets the requirements for such
treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and
the General Counsel grants that request.
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
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public comments that it receives on or
before May 20, 2019. You can find more
information, including routine uses
permitted by the Privacy Act, in the
Commission’s privacy policy, at https://
www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacypolicy.
Heather Hippsley,
Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2019–05081 Filed 3–18–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750–01–P
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension
Federal Trade Commission
(‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The FTC intends to ask the
Office of Management and Budget
(‘‘OMB’’) to extend for an additional
three years the current Paperwork
Reduction Act (‘‘PRA’’) clearance for the
FTC’s enforcement of the information
collection requirements in its regulation
‘‘Duties of Furnishers of Information to
Consumer Reporting Agencies’’
(‘‘Information Furnishers Rule’’), which
applies to certain motor vehicle dealers,
and its shared enforcement with the
Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection (‘‘BCFP’’) of the furnisher
provisions (subpart E) of the BCFP’s
Regulation V regarding other entities.
That clearance expires on June 30, 2019.
DATES: Comments must be filed by May
20, 2019.
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 ‘‘Information Furnishers
Rule, PRA Comment, P135407,’’ on your
comment and file your comment online
at https://www.regulations.gov/, by
following the instructions on the webbased form. If you prefer to file your
comment on paper, mail your comment
to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC–5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC
20580, or deliver your comment to the
following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW,
5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tiffany George (202–326–3040),
Attorney, Division of Privacy and
Identity Protection, Bureau of Consumer
SUMMARY:
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Protection, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW,
CC–8232, Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
Dodd-Frank Act,1 most of the FTC’s
rulemaking authority for the furnisher
provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (‘‘FCRA’’) 2 transferred to the BCFP.
The FTC, however, retained its
furnishers rulemaking authority for
motor vehicle dealers that are
predominantly engaged in the sale and
servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing
and servicing of motor vehicles, or
both.3 In addition, the FTC retained its
authority to enforce the furnisher
provisions of the FCRA and rules issued
under those provisions. Thus, the FTC
and BCFP have overlapping
enforcement authority for many entities
subject to BCFP’s Regulation V (subpart
E) and the FTC has sole enforcement
authority for the motor vehicle dealers
subject to the FTC rule.
Under section 660.3 of the FTC’s
Information Furnishers Rule 4 and
section 1022.42 of the BCFP Rule,5
furnishers must establish and
implement reasonable written policies
and procedures regarding the accuracy
and integrity of the information relating
to consumers that they furnish to a
consumer reporting agency (‘‘CRA’’) for
inclusion in a consumer report.6 Section
660.4 of the FTC Rule and section
1022.43 of the BCFP Rule require that
entities which furnish information
about consumers to a CRA respond to
direct disputes from consumers. These
provisions also require that a furnisher
notify consumers by mail or other
means (if authorized by the consumer)
within five business days after making
a determination that a dispute is
frivolous or irrelevant (‘‘F/I dispute’’).
Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3521,
Federal agencies must get OMB
approval for each collection of
information they conduct or sponsor.
‘‘Collection of information’’ includes
agency requests or requirements to
submit reports, keep records, or provide
information to a third party. 44 U.S.C.
1 Public
Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010).
U.S.C. 1681 et seq.
3 See Dodd-Frank Act, § 1029(a), (c).
4 16 CFR part 660.
5 12 CFR part 1022.
6 The rule also provides that an entity is not a
furnisher when it: Provides information to a CRA
solely to obtain a consumer report for a permissible
purpose under the FCRA; is acting as a CRA as
defined in section 603(f) of the FCRA; is an
individual consumer to whom the furnished
information pertains; or is a neighbor, friend, or
associate of the consumer, or another individual
with whom the consumer is acquainted or who may
have knowledge about the consumer’s character,
general reputation, personal characteristics, or
mode of living in response to a specific request
from a CRA.
2 15
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10072-10074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05081]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The FTC plans to ask the Office of Management and Budget
(``OMB'') to extend for an additional three years the current Paperwork
Reduction Act (``PRA'') clearance for information collection
requirements contained in the Mail, internet, or Telephone Order
Merchandise Rule (MITOR). That clearance expires on May 31, 2019.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 20, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by
following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Paperwork Reduction
Act: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment, and file your comment
online at https://www.regulations.gov by following the instructions on
the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office
of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address:
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center,
400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC
20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jock Chung, 202-326-2984, Attorney,
Enforcement Division, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Mail Drop CC-9528, Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Originally known as the Mail Order
Merchandise Rule, the MITOR, 16 CFR part 435 was promulgated in 1975 in
response to consumer complaints that many merchants were failing to
ship merchandise ordered by mail on time, failing to ship at all, or
failing to provide prompt refunds for unshipped merchandise. The
Commission amended the Rule, effective on March 1, 1994, to include
merchandise ordered by telephone, including by telefax or by computer
through the use of a modem (e.g., internet sales), and renamed it the
``Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule.'' In 2014, the Commission
amended the Rule, effective December 8, 2014, to clarify that the Rule
covers all internet merchandise orders and permits flexibility in
making refunds and refund notices, including refund obligations for
non-enumerated payments. 79 FR 55615 (Sept. 17, 2014).
Generally, the MITOR requires a merchant to: (1) Have a reasonable
basis for any express or implied shipment representation made in
soliciting the sale (if no express time period is promised, the implied
shipment representation is 30 days); (2) notify the consumer and obtain
the consumer's consent to any delay in shipment; and (3) make prompt
and full refunds when the consumer exercises a cancellation option or
the merchant is unable to meet the Rule's other requirements.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The MITOR does not impose a recordkeeping requirement per
se. Title 16 CFR 435.1(d) provides, however, that in an action for
noncompliance, the absence of records that establish that a
respondent-seller uses systems and procedures to assure compliance
will create a rebuttable presumption that the seller was not
compliant. Merchants customarily keep records regarding their
systems and procedures in the ordinary course of business, but their
retention of these documents does not constitute a ``collection of
information'' under OMB's regulations that implement the PRA. See 5
CFR 1320.3(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, Federal agencies must get OMB
approval for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor.
``Collection of information'' includes agency requests or requirements
to submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third
party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). The FTC is seeking renewed
clearance for the information collection requirements associated with
the Commission's rules and regulations under the MITOR (OMB Control
Number 3084-0106).
Burden Estimates
Estimated total annual hours burden: 2,692,350 hours.
In its 2016 PRA-related Federal Register Notices \2\ and
corresponding submission to OMB, FTC staff estimated that established
companies each spend an average of 50 hours per year on compliance with
the Rule, and that new industry entrants spend an average of 230 hours
(an industry estimate) for compliance measures associated with start-
up.\3\ Thus, the total estimated hours burden was calculated by
multiplying the estimated number of established companies x 50 hours,
multiplying the estimated number of new entrants x 230 hours, and
adding the two products.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ 81 FR 2860 (Jan. 19, 2016); 81 FR 21549 (Apr. 12, 2016).
\3\ Most of the estimated start-up time relates to the
development and installation of computer systems geared to more
efficiently handle customer orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No substantive provisions in the Rule have been amended or changed
since staff's 2016 submission to OMB. Thus, the Rule's disclosure
requirements remain the same. Moreover, the Commission received no
public comments regarding the above-noted estimates; thus, staff will
apply them to the current PRA burden analysis.
Since the prior submission to OMB, however, the number of
businesses engaged in the sale of merchandise subject to the MITOR has
increased. The most currently available data from the U.S. Census
Bureau indicates that, between 2005 and 2016, the number of businesses
subject to the MITOR grew from 15,924 to 37,206, or an average increase
of 1,935 new businesses a year [(37,206 businesses in 2016-15,924
businesses in 2005) / 11 years].\4\ Assuming this growth rate continues
in 2019 through 2022, the average number of established businesses
during the three-year period for which OMB
[[Page 10073]]
clearance is sought for the Rule would be 44,946: \5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Conceptually, this might understate the number of new
entrants. Given the virtually unlimited diversity of retail
establishments, it is very unlikely that there is a reliable
external measure; nonetheless, as in the past, the Commission
invites public comment that might better inform these estimates. For
example, many online marketplace sellers that use Amazon.com Inc's
marketplace to sell to customers have agreements which provide that
Amazon handles packaging and shipping the products to customers.
Whether Amazon.com is also the entity responsible for sending
customers delay notices when necessary could affect which entity is
subject to MITOR disclosure requirements, Amazon or the individual
marketplace seller.
\5\ As noted above, the existing OMB clearance for the Rule
expires on May 31, 2019, and the FTC is seeking to extend the
clearance for three years.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Established
Year: businesses New entrants
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019-20................................. 43,011 1,935
2020-21................................. 44,946 1,935
2021-22................................. 46,881 1,935
Average:................................ 44,946 1,935
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In an average year during the three-year OMB clearance period,
staff estimates that established businesses and new entrants will
devote 2,692,350 hours to comply with the MITOR [(44,946 established
businesses x 50 hours) + (1,935 new entrants x 230 hours) = 2,692,350].
The estimated PRA burden per merchant to comply with the MITOR is
likely overstated because much of the estimated time burden for
disclosure-related compliance would arguably be incurred even absent
the Rule. Over the years, industry trade associations and individual
witnesses have consistently taken the position that providing consumers
with notice about the status of their orders fosters consumer loyalty
and encourages repeat purchases, which are important to marketers'
success. In recent years, the demands of the internet's online
marketplace and its leading retailers such as Amazon.com, Walmart.com,
and Ebay.com have driven many businesses to upgrade the information
management systems to track and ship orders more effectively.\6\ These
upgrades were primarily prompted by the industry's need to deal with
growing consumer demand for merchandise that is timely shipped.
Accordingly, most companies now provide updated order information of
the kind required by the Rule in their ordinary course of business to
meet consumer expectations regarding timely shipment, notification of
delay, and prompt and full refunds.\7\
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\6\ Brian Baskin, ``Amazon's Free Shipping Pushes Small
Retailers, Delivery Firms to Compete,'' The Wall Street Journal,
Apr. 8, 2017, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazons-free-shipping-pushes-small-retailers-delivery-firms-to-compete-1491649203.
\7\ Under the OMB regulation implementing the PRA, burden is
defined to exclude any effort that would be expended regardless of
any regulatory requirement. 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2).
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Estimated labor costs: $63,862,542.
FTC staff derived labor costs by applying appropriate hourly cost
figures to the burden hours described above. According to the most
recent data available from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics,\8\ the
mean hourly income for workers in sales and related occupations was
$23.72/hour. The bulk of the burden of complying with the MITOR is
borne by clerical personnel along with assistance from sales personnel.
Staff believes that the mean hourly income for workers in sales and
related occupations is an appropriate measure of a direct marketer's
average labor cost to comply with the Rule. Thus, the total annual
labor cost to new and established businesses for MITOR compliance
during the three-year period for which OMB approval is sought would be
approximately $63,862,542 (2,692,350 hours x $23.72/hr.). Relative to
direct industry sales, this total is negligible.\9\
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\8\ See Table 1, National employment and wage data from the
Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2017,
at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm.
\9\ Considering that sales for ``electronic shopping and mail
order houses'' grew from $295 billion in 2011 to $434 billion in
2015 (according to ``Estimated Annual U.S. Retail Trade Sales--Total
and E-commerce: 1998-2015,'' available at https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2015/econ/arts/annual-report.html, staff estimates the
annual mail, internet, or telephone sales to consumers in the three-
year period for which OMB clearance is sought will average $607
billion. Thus, the projected average labor cost for MITOR compliance
by existing and new businesses for that period would amount to 0.01%
of sales.
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Estimated annual non-labor cost burden: $0 or minimal.
The applicable requirements impose minimal start-up costs, as
businesses subject to the Rule generally have or obtain necessary
equipment for other business purposes, i.e., inventory and order
management, and customer relations. For the same reason, staff
anticipates printing and copying costs to be minimal, especially given
that mail, internet, and telephone order merchants have increasingly
turned to electronic communications to notify consumers of delay and to
provide cancellation options. Staff believes that the above
requirements necessitate ongoing, regular training so that covered
entities stay current and have a clear understanding of federal
mandates, but that this would be a small portion of, and subsumed
within, the ordinary training that employees receive apart from that
associated with the information collected under the Rule.
Request for Comments
The FTC invites comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who
are to respond.
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider
your comment, we must receive it on or before May 20, 2019. Write
``Paperwork Reduction Act: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment.
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, or to send them to the Commission by courier or
overnight service. To make sure that the Commission considers your
online comment, you must file it through the https://www.regulations.gov website by following the instructions on the web-
based form. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, including
the https://www.regulations.gov website. As a matter of discretion, the
Commission tries to remove individuals' home contact information from
comments before placing them on www.regulations.gov.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``Paperwork Reduction Act:
FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office
of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your
[[Page 10074]]
comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of
the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite
5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper
comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.
Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible FTC
website at www.regulations.gov, you are solely responsible for making
sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else'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 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 ``trade secret or any commercial or financial
information which . . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided
by 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.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). 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). Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has
been posted publicly at www.regulations.gov, we cannot redact or remove
your comment unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the
requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General
Counsel grants that request.
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 May 20, 2019.
You can find more information, including routine uses permitted by the
Privacy Act, in the Commission's privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.
Heather Hippsley,
Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2019-05081 Filed 3-18-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
