Schedule of Fees Authorized by 49 U.S.C. 30141

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 594

RIN 2127-AH26

[Docket No. NHTSA 98-3781; Notice 1]

Schedule of Fees Authorized by 49 U.S.C. 30141

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This document proposes fees for Fiscal Year 1999 and until

further notice, as authorized by 49 U.S.C. 30141, relating to the

registration of importers and the importation of motor vehicles not

certified as conforming to the Federal motor vehicle safety standards

(FMVSS).

NHTSA proposes that the fee for the registration of a new importer

be reduced from $501 to $491, and the fee for annual renewal of

registration be increased from $332 to $350. These fees include the

costs of maintaining the registered importer program. The fee required

to reimburse the U.S. Customs Service for bond processing costs would

increase by $0.25, from $5.15 to $5.40 per bond.

The fee payable for a petition seeking a determination that a

nonconforming vehicle is capable of conversion to meet the FMVSS would

remain at $199 if the petition claims that the nonconforming vehicle is

substantially similar to conforming vehicles. With respect to vehicles

that have no substantially similar counterpart, the petition fee would

remain at $721. In addition, the fee payable by the importer of each

vehicle that benefits from an eligibility determination would be

reduced from $134 to $125, regardless of whether the determination is

made pursuant to a petition or by NHTSA on its own

[[Page 30701]]

initiative (this does not apply to vehicles imported from Canada

admitted under VSA 80-83).

Finally, the new fee adopted in 1997 under which a registered

importer must pay a processing cost of $14 for review of each

conformity package that it submits would be increased to $16. However,

if the HS-7 Declaration form for the vehicle is filed electronically

with the U.S. Customs Service though the Automated Broker Interface,

and the Registered Importer has an e-mail address and pays by credit

card, the fee would be reduced to $13 per vehicle.

DATES: Comments are due on the proposed rule July 20, 1998. The

effective date of the final rule would be October 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Entwistle, Office of Vehicle

Safety Compliance, Office of Safety Assurance, NHTSA (202-366-5306).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

On June 24, 1996, at 61 FR 32411, NHTSA published the latest in a

series of notices which discussed in full the rulemaking history of 49

CFR part 594 and the fees authorized by the Imported Vehicle Safety

Compliance Act of 1988, P.L. 100-562, since recodified as 49 U.S.C.

30141-47. The reader is referred to that notice for background

information relating to this rulemaking action. The fees authorized by

the statute were initially established to become effective January 31,

1990, and have been in effect and occasionally modified since then.

The fees applicable in any fiscal year are to be established before

the beginning of such year. This document proposes fees that would

become effective on October 1, 1998, the beginning of FY99. The statute

authorizes fees to cover the costs of the importer registration

program, to cover the cost of making import eligibility determinations,

and to cover the cost of processing the bonds furnished to the Customs

Service. NHTSA last amended the fee schedule in 1996; it has applied in

Fiscal Years 1997-98.

As a general statement applicable to consideration of all fees,

they are based on actual time and costs associated with the task, which

reflect the slight increase in hourly costs in the past two fiscal

years attributable to the approximately 2.3 percent raise in salaries

of employees on the General Schedule that became effective on January 1

each year in the years 1997 and 1998, and the combined locality raises

of 1.232 percent.

Requirements of the Fee Regulation

Section 594.6--Annual Fee for Administration of the Importer

Registration Program

Section 30141(a)(3) of Title 49 U.S.C. provides that registered

importers must pay ``the annual fee the Secretary of Transportation

establishes * * * to pay for the costs of carrying out the registration

program for importers * * *.'' This fee is payable both by new

applicants and by registered importers seeking to renew their

registration.

In accordance with the statutory directive, NHTSA reviewed the

existing fees and their bases in an attempt to establish fees which

would be sufficient to recover the costs of carrying out the

registration program for importers for at least the next fiscal year.

The initial component of the Registration Program Fee is the portion of

the fee attributable to processing and acting upon registration

applications. The agency has determined that this portion of the fee

should be decreased from $301 to $290 for new applications, and

increased from $132 to $149 for renewals. The higher cost of $290 over

$149 for a new application is warranted because the average cost of

processing a new application is substantially greater than that of an

application for renewal, and the adjustments proposed reflect the

agency's recent experience in time spent reviewing both new and renewal

applications.

The agency must also recover costs attributable to maintenance of

the registration program which arise from the agency's need to review a

registrant's annual statement and to verify the continuing validity of

information already submitted. These costs also include anticipated

costs attributable to possible revocation or suspension of

registrations.

Based upon the agency's review of the costs associated with this

program, the portion of the fee attributable to the registration

program is approximately $201 per registered importer, an increase of

$1. When this $201 is added to the $290 representing the registration

application component, the cost to an applicant equals $491, which is

the fee proposed by NHTSA. It represents a decrease of $10 from the

existing fee. When the $201 is added to the $149 representing the

renewal component, the cost to a renewing registered importer is $350,

which represents an increase of $18.

Sec. 594.6(h) recounts indirect costs that were previously

estimated at $7.07 per man-hour. This should be raised to $12.12, based

on the agency costs discussed above.

Sections 594.7, 594.8--Fees To Cover Agency Costs in Making Importation

Eligibility Determinations

Section 30141(a)(3) also requires registered importers to pay

``other fees the Secretary of Transportation establishes to pay for the

costs of * * * (B) making the decisions under this subchapter.'' This

includes decisions on whether the vehicle sought to be imported is

substantially similar to a motor vehicle originally manufactured for

import into and sale in the United States, and certified as meeting the

FMVSS, and whether it is capable of being readily altered to meet those

standards. Alternatively, where there is no substantially similar U.S.

motor vehicle, the decision is whether the safety features of the

vehicle comply with or are capable of being altered to comply with the

FMVSS. These decisions are made in response to petitions submitted by

registered importers or manufacturers, or pursuant to the

Administrator's initiative.

The fee for a vehicle imported under an eligibility decision made

pursuant to a petition is payable in part by the petitioner and in part

by other importers. The fee to be charged for each vehicle is the

estimated pro rata share of the costs in making all the eligibility

determinations in a fiscal year.

Inflation and the small raises under the General Schedule also must

be taken into count in the computation of costs. However, NHTSA has

been able to reduce its processing costs through combining several

decisions in a single Federal Register notice as well as achieving

efficiencies through improved word processing techniques. Accordingly,

NHTSA does not propose a change in the fee of $199 presently required

to accompany a ``substantially similar'' petition, or the fee of $721

for petitions for vehicles that are not substantially similar and that

have no certified counterpart. In the event that a petitioner requests

an inspection of a vehicle, the fee will remain at $550 for each of

those types of petitions.

The importer of each vehicle determined to be eligible for

importation pursuant to a petition currently must pay $134 upon its

importation, the same fee applicable to those whose vehicles covered by

an eligibility determination on the agency's initiative (other than

vehicles imported from Canada that are covered by code VSA 80-83, for

which no eligibility determination fee is assessed). It is proposed

that this fee be reduced by $9 to $125 per vehicle, based upon a

decrease in administrative costs

[[Page 30702]]

expended on this aspect of the registered importer program.

Section 594.9--Fee To Recover the Costs of Processing the Bond

Section 30141(a)(3) also requires a registered importer to pay

``any other fees the Secretary of Transportation establishes * * * to

pay for the costs of-(A) processing bonds provided to the Secretary of

the Treasury'' upon the importation of a nonconforming vehicle to

ensure that the vehicle will be brought into compliance within a

reasonable time or if the vehicle is not brought into compliance within

such time, that it is exported, without cost to the United States, or

abandoned to the United States.

The statute contemplates that NHTSA will make a reasonable

determination of the cost to the United States Customs Service of

processing the bond. In essence, the cost to Customs is based upon an

estimate of the time that a GS 9, Step 5 employee spends on each entry,

which Customs judged to be 20 minutes.

Because of the modest salary and locality raises in the General

Schedule that were effective at the beginning of 1997 and 1998, NHTSA

proposes that the current processing fee be increased by $0.25, from

$5.15 per bond to $5.40.

Section 594.10--Fee for review and Processing of Conformity Certificate

This is a new fee, adopted pursuant to Sec. 30141(a)(3), which

became effective on October 29, 1997. It requires each registered

importer to pay $14 per vehicle to cover the cost of the agency's

review of any certificate of conformity furnished to the Administrator

pursuant to Sec. 591.7(e) (62 FR 50882).

Based upon an analysis of the direct and indirect costs for the

review and processing of these certificates in the months since the fee

was adopted, NHTSA has found that the costs averaged $16 per vehicle

and it is therefore proposing that the fee be increased by $2, to $16

per certificate. However, if a registered importer enters a vehicle

with the U.S. Customs Service through the Automated Broker Interface,

has an e-mail address to receive communications from NHTSA, and pays

the fee by credit card, NHTSA has estimated that the reduction in cost

to the agency would be approximately $3, and this would be passed on to

the Registered Importer by reducing the fee to $13 per vehicle.

Effective Date

The proposed effective date of the final rule is October 1, 1998.

Rulemaking Analyses

A. Executive Order 12866 and DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures

This rulemaking action was not reviewed under Executive Order

12886. Further, NHTSA has determined that the action is not significant

under Department of Transportation regulatory policies and procedures.

Based on the level of the fees and the volume of affected vehicles,

NHTSA currently anticipates that the costs of the final rule will be so

minimal as not to warrant preparation of a full regulatory evaluation.

The action does not involve any substantial public interest or

controversy. There will be no substantial effect upon State and local

governments. There will be no substantial impact upon a major

transportation safety program. Both the number of registered importers

and determinations are estimated to be comparatively small. A

regulatory evaluation analyzing the economic impact of the final rule

adopted on September 29, 1989, was prepared, and is available for

review in the docket.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

The agency has also considered the effects of this action in

relation to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.).

I certify that this action will not have a substantial economic impact

upon a substantial number of small entities.

The following is NHTSA's statement providing the factual basis for

the certification (5 U.S.C. Sec. 605(b)). The proposed amendment would

primarily affect entities that currently modify nonconforming vehicles

and which are small businesses within the meaning of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act; however, the agency has no reason to believe that a

substantial number of these companies cannot pay the fees proposed by

this action which are only modestly increased (and in some instances

decreased) from those now being paid by these entities, and which can

be recouped through their customers. The cost to owners or purchasers

of altering nonconforming vehicles to conform with the FMVSS may be

expected to increase (or decrease) to the extent necessary to reimburse

the registered importer for the fees payable to the agency for the cost

of carrying out the registration program and making eligibility

decisions, and to compensate Customs for its bond processing costs.

Governmental jurisdictions will not be affected at all since they

are generally neither importers nor purchasers of nonconforming motor

vehicles.

C. Executive Order 12612 (Federalism)

The agency has analyzed this action in accordance with the

principles and criteria contained in Executive Order 12612

``Federalism'' and determined that the action does not have sufficient

federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a Federalism

Assessment.

D. National Environmental Policy Act

NHTSA has analyzed this action for purposes of the National

Environmental Policy Act. The action will not have a significant effect

upon the environment because it is anticipated that the annual volume

of motor vehicles imported through registered importers will not vary

significantly from that existing before promulgation of the rule.

E. Civil Justice

This proposed rule will not have any retroactive effect. Under 49

U.S.C. 30103(b), whenever a Federal motor vehicle safety standard is in

effect, a state may not adopt or maintain a safety standard applicable

to the same aspect of performance which is not identical to the Federal

standard. Section 30161 sets forth a procedure for judicial review of

final rules establishing, amending or revoking Federal motor vehicle

safety standards. That section does not require submission of a

petition for reconsideration or other administrative proceedings before

parties may file suit in court.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 594

Imports, Motor vehicle safety, Motor vehicles.

In consideration of the foregoing, 49 CFR part 594 would be amended

as follows:

PART 594--SCHEDULE OF FEES AUTHORIZED BY 49 U.S.C. 30141

1. The authority citation for part 594 would continue to read as

follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30141, 30166; delegation of authority at 49

CFR 1.50.

2. Section 594.6 would be amended by;

a. Revising the year ``1996'' in paragraph (d) to read ``1998,'';

b. Revising the introductory text of paragraph (a);

c. Revising paragraph (b);

d. Revising paragraph (f)(6);

e. Revising the final sentence of paragraph (h); and

f. Revising paragraph (i), to read as follows:

Sec. 594.6 Annual fee for administration of the registration program.

(a) Each person filing an application to be granted the status of a

Registered

[[Page 30703]]

Importer pursuant to part 592 of this chapter on or after October 1,

1998, shall pay an annual fee of $491, as calculated below, based upon

the direct and indirect costs attributable to:

* * * * *

(b) That portion of the initial annual fee attributable to the

processing of the application for applications filed on and after

October 1, 1998, is $290. The sum of $290, representing this portion,

shall not be refundable if the application is denied or withdrawn.

* * * * *

(f) * * *

(6) Verifying through inspection or otherwise that a Registered

Importer is able technically and financially to carry out its

responsibilities pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118 et seq.

* * * * *

(h) * * * This cost is $12.12 per man-hour for the period beginning

October 1, 1998.

(i) Based upon the elements, and indirect costs of paragraphs (f),

(g), and (h) of this section, the component of the initial annual fee

attributable to administration of the registration program, covering

the period beginning October 1, 1998, is $201. When added to the costs

of registration of $290, as set forth in paragraph (b) of this section,

the costs per applicant to be recovered through the annual fee are

$491. The annual renewal registration fee for the period beginning

October 1, 1996, is $350.

3. Section 594.8 would be amended by revising the first sentence in

paragraph (b) and in paragraph (c) to read as follows:

Sec. 594.8 Fee for importing a vehicle pursuant to a determination by

the Administrator.

* * * * *

(b) If a determination has been made pursuant to a petition, the

fee for each vehicle is $125. * * *

(c) If a determination has been made pursuant to the

Administrator's initiative, the fee for each vehicle is $125. * * *

4. Section 594.9(c) would be revised to read as follows:

Sec. 594.9 Fee for reimbursement of bond processing costs.

* * * * *

(c) The bond processing fee for each vehicle imported on and after

October 1, 1998, for which a certificate of conformity is furnished, is

$5.40.

5. Section 594.10(d) would be revised to read as follows:

Sec. 594.19 Fee for review and processing of conformity certificate.

* * * * *

(d) The review and processing fee for each certificate of

conformity submitted on and after October 1, 1998, is $16. However, if

the vehicle covered by the certificate has been entered electronically

with the U.S. Customs Service through the Automated Broker Interface

and the registered importer submitting the certificate has an e-mail

address, the fee for the certificate is $13, provided that the fee is

paid by a credit card issued to the registered importer.

Issued on: May 22, 1998.

Kenneth N. Weinstein,

Associate Administrator for Safety Assurance.

[FR Doc. 98-14151 Filed 6-4-98; 8:45 am]

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