Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Services Surveys: BE-9, Quarterly Survey of Foreign Airline Operators' Revenues and Expenses in the United States, 42835 [2024-10708]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• Bureau of Economic Analysis

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 96 (Thursday, May 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 42835]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10708]



[[Page 42835]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Services Surveys: BE-9, Quarterly Survey of Foreign Airline 
Operators' Revenues and Expenses in the United States

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before July 15, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of Economic 
Analysis, by email to [email protected] or [email protected]. 
Please reference OMB Control Number 0608-0068 in the subject line of 
your comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of 
Economic Analysis; 301-278-9189; or via email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Quarterly Survey of Foreign Airline Operators' Revenues and 
Expenses in the United States (BE-9) collects data from U.S. offices, 
agents, or other representatives of foreign airline operators that 
transport passengers or freight and express to or from the United 
States. A U.S. office, agent, or other representative of a foreign 
airline operator must report if total covered revenues or total covered 
expenses were $5 million or more in the previous year or are expected 
to be $5 million or more during the current year.
    The data are needed to monitor U.S. trade in transport services, to 
analyze the impact of these cross-border services on the U.S. and 
foreign economies, to compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts, 
to support U.S. commercial policy on trade in transport services, to 
conduct trade promotion, and to improve the ability of U.S. businesses 
to identify and evaluate market opportunities. The data are used in 
estimating the trade in transport services component of the U.S. 
international transactions accounts (ITAs) and national income and 
product accounts (NIPAs).
    The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is not proposing any changes 
to the survey reporting requirements or to the data items collected on 
the survey.
    BEA does not plan to change the exemption levels used for the 
current quarterly survey. BEA estimates there will be no change in the 
average number of burden hours per response. The language in the 
instructions and definitions will be reviewed and adjusted as necessary 
to clarify survey requirements.

II. Method of Collection

    BEA contacts potential respondents by mail at the end of each 
quarter. Respondents would be required to file the completed BE-9 forms 
within 30 days after the end of each quarter of the year. Reports would 
be required from each U.S. offices, agents, or other representatives of 
foreign airline operators that transport passengers to or from the 
United States, whose total covered revenues or total covered expenses 
were $5 million or more during the previous year or are expected to 
exceed that amount during the current year. Entities required to report 
will be contacted individually by BEA. Entities not contacted by BEA 
have no reporting responsibilities.
    BEA offers its electronic filing option, the eFile system, for use 
in reporting on Form BE-9. For more information about eFile, go to 
www.bea.gov/efile. In addition, BEA posts all its survey forms and 
reporting instructions on its website, www.bea.gov/ssb. These may be 
downloaded, completed, printed, and submitted via fax or mail.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0608-0068.
    Form Number(s): BE-9.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 500 annually (125 filed each 
quarter; 115 reporting mandatory data, and 10 that would file exemption 
claims or voluntary responses).
    Estimated Time per Response: 6 hours is the average for the 115 
respondents filing mandatory data and 1 hour for those filing an 
exemption claim or voluntary response. Hours may vary considerably 
among respondents because of differences in company size and 
complexity.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,800.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: International Investment and Trade in Services 
Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended).

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-10708 Filed 5-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P