General Licenses Issued Pursuant to Venezuela-Related Executive Order 13835, 14572-14573 [2020-05109]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 50 / Friday, March 13, 2020 / Rules and Regulations
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taxpayers, as defined in section
7122(c)(3), are also exempt from
payment of the offer in compromise user
fee with respect to offers submitted after
July 1, 2019.
Special Analyses
Certain IRS regulations, including this
one, are exempt from the requirements
of Executive Order 12866, as
supplemented and reaffirmed by
Executive Order 13563. These
regulations do not have a significant
effect on the economy as the fees paid
to request an offer in compromise are
generally applied to offset existing tax
obligations so no amounts are kept in
excess of amounts owed to the IRS. In
addition, the IRS estimates that
approximately 31 percent of the offer in
compromise cases closed annually are
from low-income taxpayers and
taxpayers making offers in compromise
based on doubt as to liability. As
taxpayers making these offers in
compromise are not charged a fee, there
is no effect on the economy. Therefore,
a regulatory impact assessment is not
required.
It is hereby certified that these
regulations will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. This
certification is based on the information
that follows. There is no significant
economic impact from these regulations
on any small entity required to pay a fee
prescribed by these regulations to
request an offer in compromise because
generally the fee is applied to offset an
existing tax obligation that the small
entity owes the IRS. As such, the fee
does not represent a payment of any
amount greater than what a small entity
already owes the IRS. In addition, as
small entities making offers in
compromise based on doubt as to
liability will continue not to be charged
a fee, these small entities will not be
impacted economically by these
regulations. Further, the economic
impact of these regulations will not be
on a substantial number of small entities
because few small entities submit offers
in compromise. In FY 2017, the IRS
received a total of 52,016 processable
offers, of which 3,851, or 7.4 percent,
were from taxpayers with a business
liability. In FY 2018, the IRS received
49,901 processable offers, of which
3,325 or 6.6 percent were from
taxpayers with a business liability.
Taxpayers with a business liability
include all businesses, thus the number
of businesses that could be classified as
small businesses would be even less
significant than the 7.4 percent and 6.6
percent requesting offers in compromise
in FY 2017 and FY 2018, respectively.
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Accordingly, this rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
Pursuant to section 7805(f) of the
Code, the notice of proposed rulemaking
preceding these final regulations was
submitted to the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration for comment on its
impact on small business. No comments
were received.
Statement of Availability of IRS
Documents
IRS Revenue Procedures, Revenue
Rulings notices, and other guidance
cited in this document are published in
the Internal Revenue Bulletin (or
Cumulative Bulletin) and are available
from the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Publishing Office,
Washington, DC 20402, or by visiting
the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov.
Drafting Information
The principal author of these
regulations is Jordan L. Thomas of the
Office of the Associate Chief Counsel
(Procedure and Administration). Other
personnel from the Treasury
Department and the IRS participated in
their development.
Register by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services under
authority of section 673(2) of the
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1981 (95 Stat. 357, 511) or such other
measure that is adopted by the
Secretary; or
(iii) Made by a low-income taxpayer,
as described in section 7122(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code, and submitted
after July 1, 2019.
*
*
*
*
*
(d) Applicability date. This section is
applicable beginning April 27, 2020.
Sonita Lough,
Deputy Commissioner for Services and
Enforcement.
Approved: February 24, 2020.
David J. Kautter,
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (Tax
Policy).
[FR Doc. 2020–05115 Filed 3–12–20; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of Foreign Assets Control
31 CFR Part 591
List of Subjects in 26 CFR Part 300
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, User fees.
General Licenses Issued Pursuant to
Venezuela-Related Executive Order
13835
Adoption of Amendments to the
Regulations
Accordingly, 26 CFR part 300 is
amended as follows:
AGENCY:
PART 300—USER FEES
Paragraph 1. The authority citation
for part 300 continues to read as
follows:
■
Authority: 31 U.S.C. 9701.
Par. 2. Section 300.3 is amended by
revising paragraphs (b)(1) and (d) to
read as follows:
■
§ 300.3
Offer to compromise fee.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) * * *
(1) The fee for processing an offer to
compromise submitted before April 27,
2020, is $186. The fee for processing an
offer to compromise submitted on or
after April 27, 2020, is $205. No fee will
be charged if an offer is—
(i) Based solely on doubt as to liability
as defined in § 301.7122–1(b)(1) of this
chapter;
(ii) Made by a low-income taxpayer,
that is, an individual whose income
falls at or below the dollar criteria
established by the poverty guidelines
updated annually in the Federal
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Office of Foreign Assets
Control, Treasury.
ACTION: Publication of General Licenses.
The Department of the
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets
Control (OFAC) is publishing three
Venezuela-related general licenses in
the Federal Register: General Licenses 5
and 5A, which have been superseded,
and General License 5B, each of which
was previously issued on OFAC’s
website.
SUMMARY:
General License 5B was issued
on January 17, 2020 and the
authorizations in such General License
will be effective April 22, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
OFAC: Assistant Director for Licensing,
202–622–2480; Assistant Director for
Regulatory Affairs, 202–622–4855; or
Assistant Director for Sanctions
Compliance & Evaluation, 202–622–
2490.
DATES:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Availability
This document and additional
information concerning OFAC are
available on OFAC’s website
(www.treasury.gov/ofac).
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 50 / Friday, March 13, 2020 / Rules and Regulations
Background
On March 8, 2015, the President,
invoking the authority of, inter alia, the
International Emergency Economic
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701–1706),
issued Executive Order (E.O.) 13692
(‘‘Blocking Property and Suspending
Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to
the Situation in Venezuela’’) (80 FR
12747, March 11, 2015) (E.O. 13692). In
E.O. 13692, the President found that the
situation in Venezuela, including the
Government of Venezuela’s erosion of
human rights guarantees, persecution of
political opponents, curtailment of press
freedoms, use of violence and human
rights violations and abuses in response
to antigovernment protests, and
arbitrary arrest and detention of
antigovernment protestors, as well as
the exacerbating presence of significant
public corruption, constitutes an
unusual and extraordinary threat to the
national security and foreign policy of
the United States, and declared a
national emergency to deal with that
threat.
The President has issued six
additional Executive orders pursuant to
the national emergency declared in E.O.
13692: E.O. 13808 of August 24, 2017
(‘‘Imposing Additional Sanctions With
Respect to the Situation in Venezuela’’)
(82 FR 41155, August 29, 2017); E.O.
13827 of March 19, 2018 (‘‘Taking
Additional Steps to Address the
Situation in Venezuela’’) (83 FR 12469,
March 21, 2018); E.O. 13835 of May 21,
2018 (‘‘Prohibiting Certain Additional
Transactions With Respect to
Venezuela’’) (83 FR 24001, May 24,
2018) (E.O. 13835); E.O. 13850 of
November 1, 2018 (‘‘Blocking Property
of Additional Persons Contributing to
the Situation in Venezuela’’) (83 FR
55243, November 2, 2018), E.O. 13857
of January 25, 2019 (‘‘Taking Additional
Steps To Address the National
Emergency With Respect to Venezuela’’)
(84 FR 509, January 30, 2019), and E.O.
13884 of August 5, 2019 (‘‘Blocking
Property of the Government of
Venezuela’’) (84 FR 38843, August 7,
2019).
OFAC, in consultation with the
Department of State, issued Venezuelarelated General License (GL) 5 on July
19, 2018, pursuant to E.O. 13835, to
authorize certain transactions related to
the Petro´leos de Venezuela, S.A. 2020
8.5 Percent Bond that were prohibited
by Subsection 1(a)(iii) of E.O. 13835. On
October 24, 2019, OFAC issued GL 5A,
which replaced and superseded GL 5.
GL 5A delayed until January 22, 2020
the effectiveness of the authorization
that was previously contained in GL 5.
On January 17, 2020, OFAC issued GL
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5B, which replaced and superseded GL
5A. GL 5B further delayed until April
22, 2020 the effectiveness of the
authorization that was previously
contained in GL 5. As a result, no
transactions may be conducted pursuant
to GL 5B until April 22, 2020. The text
of GL 5, GL 5A, and GL 5B is provided
below.
Office of Foreign Assets Control
November 1, 2018, E.O. 13835, E.O.
13827 of March 19, 2018, E.O. 13808 of
August 24, 2017, or E.O. 13692 of March
8, 2015, each as amended by E.O. 13857,
or any part of 31 CFR chapter V.
(c) Effective October 24, 2019, General
License No. 5, dated July 19, 2018, is
replaced and superseded in its entirety
by this General License No. 5A.
Executive Order 13835 of May 21,
2018—Prohibiting Certain Additional
Transactions With Respect to Venezuela
Andrea Gacki
Director
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Dated: October 24, 2019
General License No. 5
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Authorizing Certain Transactions
Related to the Petroleos de Venezuela
SA 2020 8.5 Percent Bond
(a) Except as provided in paragraph
(b) of this general license, all
transactions related to, the provision of
financing for, and other dealings in the
Petroleos de Venezuela SA 2020 8.5
Percent Bond that would be prohibited
by Subsection l(a)(iii) of Executive
Order 13835 of May 21, 2018
(‘‘Prohibiting Certain Additional
Transactions With Respect to
Venezuela’’) (E.O. 13835) are
authorized.
(b) This general license does not
authorize any transaction that is
otherwise prohibited by E.O. 13835,
Executive Order 13827 of March 19,
2018, Executive Order 13808 of August
24, 2017, Executive Order 13692 of
March 8, 2015, or any part of 31 CFR
chapter V.
Bradley T. Smith
Acting Director
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Dated: July 19, 2018
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Executive Order 13835 of May 21,
2018—Prohibiting Certain Additional
Transactions With Respect to Venezuela
General License No. 5A
Authorizing Certain Transactions
Related to the Petro´leos de Venezuela,
S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond on or After
January 22, 2020
(a) Except as provided in paragraph
(b) of this general license, on or after
January 22, 2020, all transactions related
to, the provision of financing for, and
other dealings in the Petro´leos de
Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond
that would be prohibited by Subsection
l(a)(iii) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13835,
as amended by E.O. 13857 of January
25, 2019, are authorized.
(b) This general license does not
authorize any transaction that is
otherwise prohibited by E.O. 13884 of
August 5, 2019, or E.O. 13850 of
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14573
Executive Order 13835 of May 21,
2018—Prohibiting Certain Additional
Transactions With Respect to Venezuela
General License No. 5B
Authorizing Certain Transactions
Related to the Petro´leos de Venezuela,
S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond on or After
April 22, 2020
(a) Except as provided in paragraph
(b) of this general license, on or after
April 22, 2020, all transactions related
to, the provision of financing for, and
other dealings in the Petro´leos de
Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond
that would be prohibited by Subsection
l(a)(iii) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13835,
as amended by E.O. 13857 of January
25, 2019, are authorized.
(b) This general license does not
authorize any transaction that is
otherwise prohibited by E.O. 13884 of
August 5, 2019, or E.O. 13850 of
November 1, 2018, E.O. 13835, E.O.
13827 of March 19, 2018, E.O. 13808 of
August 24, 2017, or E.O. 13692 of March
8, 2015, each as amended by E.O. 13857,
or any part of 31 CFR chapter V.
(c) Effective January 17, 2020, General
License No. 5A, dated October 24, 2019,
is replaced and superseded in its
entirety by this General License No. 5B.
Andrea Gacki
Director
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Dated: January 17, 2020
Dated: March 9, 2020.
Andrea Gacki,
Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
[FR Doc. 2020–05109 Filed 3–12–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–AL–P
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[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 50 (Friday, March 13, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14572-14573]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05109]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of Foreign Assets Control
31 CFR Part 591
General Licenses Issued Pursuant to Venezuela-Related Executive
Order 13835
AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury.
ACTION: Publication of General Licenses.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets
Control (OFAC) is publishing three Venezuela-related general licenses
in the Federal Register: General Licenses 5 and 5A, which have been
superseded, and General License 5B, each of which was previously issued
on OFAC's website.
DATES: General License 5B was issued on January 17, 2020 and the
authorizations in such General License will be effective April 22,
2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: OFAC: Assistant Director for
Licensing, 202-622-2480; Assistant Director for Regulatory Affairs,
202-622-4855; or Assistant Director for Sanctions Compliance &
Evaluation, 202-622-2490.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Availability
This document and additional information concerning OFAC are
available on OFAC's website (www.treasury.gov/ofac).
[[Page 14573]]
Background
On March 8, 2015, the President, invoking the authority of, inter
alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-
1706), issued Executive Order (E.O.) 13692 (``Blocking Property and
Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in
Venezuela'') (80 FR 12747, March 11, 2015) (E.O. 13692). In E.O. 13692,
the President found that the situation in Venezuela, including the
Government of Venezuela's erosion of human rights guarantees,
persecution of political opponents, curtailment of press freedoms, use
of violence and human rights violations and abuses in response to
antigovernment protests, and arbitrary arrest and detention of
antigovernment protestors, as well as the exacerbating presence of
significant public corruption, constitutes an unusual and extraordinary
threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United
States, and declared a national emergency to deal with that threat.
The President has issued six additional Executive orders pursuant
to the national emergency declared in E.O. 13692: E.O. 13808 of August
24, 2017 (``Imposing Additional Sanctions With Respect to the Situation
in Venezuela'') (82 FR 41155, August 29, 2017); E.O. 13827 of March 19,
2018 (``Taking Additional Steps to Address the Situation in
Venezuela'') (83 FR 12469, March 21, 2018); E.O. 13835 of May 21, 2018
(``Prohibiting Certain Additional Transactions With Respect to
Venezuela'') (83 FR 24001, May 24, 2018) (E.O. 13835); E.O. 13850 of
November 1, 2018 (``Blocking Property of Additional Persons
Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela'') (83 FR 55243, November 2,
2018), E.O. 13857 of January 25, 2019 (``Taking Additional Steps To
Address the National Emergency With Respect to Venezuela'') (84 FR 509,
January 30, 2019), and E.O. 13884 of August 5, 2019 (``Blocking
Property of the Government of Venezuela'') (84 FR 38843, August 7,
2019).
OFAC, in consultation with the Department of State, issued
Venezuela-related General License (GL) 5 on July 19, 2018, pursuant to
E.O. 13835, to authorize certain transactions related to the
Petr[oacute]leos de Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond that were
prohibited by Subsection 1(a)(iii) of E.O. 13835. On October 24, 2019,
OFAC issued GL 5A, which replaced and superseded GL 5. GL 5A delayed
until January 22, 2020 the effectiveness of the authorization that was
previously contained in GL 5. On January 17, 2020, OFAC issued GL 5B,
which replaced and superseded GL 5A. GL 5B further delayed until April
22, 2020 the effectiveness of the authorization that was previously
contained in GL 5. As a result, no transactions may be conducted
pursuant to GL 5B until April 22, 2020. The text of GL 5, GL 5A, and GL
5B is provided below.
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Executive Order 13835 of May 21, 2018--Prohibiting Certain Additional
Transactions With Respect to Venezuela
General License No. 5
Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to the Petroleos de Venezuela
SA 2020 8.5 Percent Bond
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this general license,
all transactions related to, the provision of financing for, and other
dealings in the Petroleos de Venezuela SA 2020 8.5 Percent Bond that
would be prohibited by Subsection l(a)(iii) of Executive Order 13835 of
May 21, 2018 (``Prohibiting Certain Additional Transactions With
Respect to Venezuela'') (E.O. 13835) are authorized.
(b) This general license does not authorize any transaction that is
otherwise prohibited by E.O. 13835, Executive Order 13827 of March 19,
2018, Executive Order 13808 of August 24, 2017, Executive Order 13692
of March 8, 2015, or any part of 31 CFR chapter V.
Bradley T. Smith
Acting Director
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Dated: July 19, 2018
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Executive Order 13835 of May 21, 2018--Prohibiting Certain Additional
Transactions With Respect to Venezuela
General License No. 5A
Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to the Petr[oacute]leos de
Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond on or After January 22, 2020
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this general license, on
or after January 22, 2020, all transactions related to, the provision
of financing for, and other dealings in the Petr[oacute]leos de
Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond that would be prohibited by
Subsection l(a)(iii) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13835, as amended by
E.O. 13857 of January 25, 2019, are authorized.
(b) This general license does not authorize any transaction that is
otherwise prohibited by E.O. 13884 of August 5, 2019, or E.O. 13850 of
November 1, 2018, E.O. 13835, E.O. 13827 of March 19, 2018, E.O. 13808
of August 24, 2017, or E.O. 13692 of March 8, 2015, each as amended by
E.O. 13857, or any part of 31 CFR chapter V.
(c) Effective October 24, 2019, General License No. 5, dated July
19, 2018, is replaced and superseded in its entirety by this General
License No. 5A.
Andrea Gacki
Director
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Dated: October 24, 2019
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Executive Order 13835 of May 21, 2018--Prohibiting Certain Additional
Transactions With Respect to Venezuela
General License No. 5B
Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to the Petr[oacute]leos de
Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond on or After April 22, 2020
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this general license, on
or after April 22, 2020, all transactions related to, the provision of
financing for, and other dealings in the Petr[oacute]leos de Venezuela,
S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond that would be prohibited by Subsection
l(a)(iii) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13835, as amended by E.O. 13857 of
January 25, 2019, are authorized.
(b) This general license does not authorize any transaction that is
otherwise prohibited by E.O. 13884 of August 5, 2019, or E.O. 13850 of
November 1, 2018, E.O. 13835, E.O. 13827 of March 19, 2018, E.O. 13808
of August 24, 2017, or E.O. 13692 of March 8, 2015, each as amended by
E.O. 13857, or any part of 31 CFR chapter V.
(c) Effective January 17, 2020, General License No. 5A, dated
October 24, 2019, is replaced and superseded in its entirety by this
General License No. 5B.
Andrea Gacki
Director
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Dated: January 17, 2020
Dated: March 9, 2020.
Andrea Gacki,
Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
[FR Doc. 2020-05109 Filed 3-12-20; 8:45 am]
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