# Direct Investment Surveys: Raising Exemption Level for Quarterly Report Form BE-577 > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A94-30393 ## Record - **Collection:** Federal Register - **Document type:** Uncategorized Document - **Published:** December 12, 1994 ## Text DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Bureau of Economic Analysis 15 CFR Part 806 [Docket No. 94108-4308] RIN 0691-AA23 Direct Investment Surveys: Raising Exemption Level for Quarterly Report Form BE-577 AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce. ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This proposed rule will amend 15 CFR 806.14 to raise the exemption level for filing quarterly Form BE-577, Direct Transactions of U.S. Reporter With Foreign Affiliate. The BE-577 is a mandatory survey of U.S. direct investment abroad conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce. Under this proposed rule, the exemption level for the survey--the level below which reports are not required--would be raised from $15 million to $20 million. This change will reduce the number of respondents that otherwise must report in the survey, thus reducing both the reporting and processing burdens. (As noted below, however, BEA is proposing the addition of a number of items to the survey form that do not require a rule change and that will increase reporting burden, exactly offsetting the reduction in burden due to raising the exemption level.) DATES: Comments on this proposed rule will receive consideration if submitted in writing on or before January 26, 1995. ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to the Office of the Chief, International Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, or hand delivered to Shipping and Receiving, Section M-100, 1441 L Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005. Comments received will be available for public inspection in Room 7006, 1441 L Street, N.W., between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Betty L. Barker, Chief, International Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; phone (202) 606-9800. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BE-577, Direct Transactions of U.S. Reporter With Foreign Affiliate, is part of BEA's regular data collection program for U.S. direct investment abroad. The survey is mandatory and is conducted pursuant to the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 90 Stat. 2059, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended). The exemption level is set in terms of the size of a U.S. company's foreign affiliates. Under this proposed rule, the exemption level for the BE-577 survey will be raised from $15 million to $20 million. Thus, if an affiliate is owned 10 percent or more by the U.S. company and has assets, sales, or net income greater than $20 million (positive or negative), it will have to be reported. The last time the exemption level was raised was May 1, 1986. Raising the exemption level lowers the number of reports that otherwise must be filed, thus reducing the reporting and processing burdens. The proposed changes would be effective commencing on January 1, 1995 with the reports for the first quarter of 1995. BEA is proposing changes to the BE-577 survey form in addition to the raising of the exemption level. These changes, however, do not require rule changes and are not reflected in the proposed rule. They are a result of changes made to the related BE-10, Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad--1994. They include the combination of two items that appeared on the 1994 BE-577 survey and the addition of other items that are on the 1994 BE-10 but were not on the 1994 BE-577. Changes in the survey instructions are being made primarily for purposes of clarification and to reflect the combination or addition of items on the form. Added to the form are items, to be completed annually, on services transactions between U.S. Reporters and their foreign affiliates by type and an item, to be completed quarterly by affiliates classified in banking, on the U.S. Reporter's share of the affiliate's provision for loan losses. The additional detail on services transactions by type will move BEA's services data into closer conformity with international guidelines in the fifth edition of the International Monetary Fund's Balance of Payments Manual, which suggest that services transactions be disaggregated by specific types of services. The item on the loan losses of banks is needed by BEA to adjust net income of U.S. multinational companies to an economic accounting basis, as required for entry into the U.S. national income and product accounts. The reporting burden for the 1995 BE-577 survey is estimated at 46,000 hours, 4,000 hours more than the estimate currently in the OMB inventory. The increase reflects an adjustment in the hours currently in the OMB inventory to account for an increase in the number of respondents, due to natural growth in the affiliate sample, since the estimate in the inventory was made. There is no net change in burden hours due to program changes; the increase in burden due to the addition of new items to the form is exactly offset by the decrease in burden due to raising the exemption level. A copy of the proposed survey forms may be obtained from: Office of the Chief, Direct Investment Abroad Branch, International Investment Division (BE-69(A), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; phone (202) 606-5566. Executive Order 12612 The proposed rule does not contain policies with Federalism implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism assessment under E.O. 12612. Executive Order 12866 The proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866. Paperwork Reduction Act The proposed rule contains a collection of information requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. A request for review of the forms has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget under section 3504(h) of the Paperwork Reduction Act. The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to be 1.15 hours per response (form). The burden on the U.S. Reporter will vary depending on the number of forms that must be submitted in a given reporting period; this ranges from 1 to 225 forms. The estimated burden of 1.15 hours per form includes the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Comments from the public regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information should be addressed to: Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BE-1), U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; and to the Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department of Commerce. Regulatory Flexibility Act The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation, Department of Commerce, has certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business Administration, under the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), that the proposed rule, if adopted, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Because it raises the exemption level for filing the survey, it will actually reduce the reporting requirements of smaller entities. List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 806 Balance of payments, Economic statistics, U.S. investment abroad, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Dated: October 27, 1994. Carol S. Carson, Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis. For the reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA proposes to amend 15 CFR Part 806 as follows: PART 806--DIRECT INVESTMENT SURVEYS 1. The authority citation for 15 CFR Part 806 continues to read as follows: Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108; and E.O. 11961 (3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 86), as amended by E.O. 12013 (3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 147), E.O. 12318 (3 CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173), and E.O. 12518 (3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p. 348). Sec. 806.14 [Amended] 2. Sec. 806.14(e), is amended by deleting ``$15,000,000'' and inserting ``$20,000,000'' in its place. [FR Doc. 94-30393 Filed 12-9-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-EA-M --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A94-30393. Public record. Not legal advice.