Automated Clearinghouse Credit

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

19 CFR Parts 24 and 178

[T.D. 99-11]

RIN 1515-AC26

Automated Clearinghouse Credit

AGENCY: Customs Service, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document adopts as a final rule interim amendments to the

Customs Regulations which provided for payments of funds to Customs by

Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) credit. Under ACH credit, a payer

transmits daily statement, deferred tax, and bill payments

electronically through a financial institution directly to a Customs

account maintained by the Department of the Treasury. ACH credit allows

the payer to exercise more control over the payment process, does not

require the disclosure of bank account information to Customs, and

expands the types of payments that may be made through ACH.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 16, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben Robbin, Financial Systems

Division, Financial Management Services Center, Office of Finance, U.S.

Customs Service (317-298-1520, ext. 1428).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On May 28, 1998, Customs published T.D. 98-51 in the Federal

Register (63 FR 29122) setting forth interim amendments to the Customs

Regulations to provide for the electronic transfer of funds to Customs

for commercial transactions through the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH)

credit procedure. Under ACH credit, a payer transmits daily statement,

deferred tax, and bill payments electronically through a financial

institution directly to a Customs account maintained by the Department

of the Treasury. The ACH credit procedure offers a number of advantages

when compared to the previously implemented ACH debit procedure

provided for in Sec. 24.25 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 24.25).

These advantages include the fact that ACH credit allows the payer to

exercise more control over the payment process, does not require the

disclosure of bank account information to the Government, expands the

types of payments that may be made through ACH, and does not require

action on the part of the Government when an individual payment is

effected.

The interim amendments contained in T.D. 98-51 involved (1) the

addition of a new Sec. 24.26 (19 CFR 24.26) to cover the ACH credit

procedure and (2) a number of consequential wording changes in

Sec. 24.25 to clarify when the references to ACH in that section

pertain only to the ACH debit procedure and not to the ACH credit

procedure of new Sec. 24.26. These interim regulatory amendments went

into effect on June 29, 1998, and the notice prescribed a public

comment period which closed on July 27, 1998.

No comments were received during the prescribed public comment

period. Accordingly, Customs believes that the interim regulatory

amendments should be adopted as a final rule without change. This

document also includes an appropriate update of the list of information

collection approvals contained in Sec. 178.2 of the Customs Regulations

(19 CFR 178.2).

Executive Order 12866

This document does not meet the criteria for a ``significant

regulatory action'' as specified in Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

Pursuant to the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5

U.S.C. 601 et seq.), it is certified that the amendments will not have

a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small

entities. ACH credit is a voluntary payment procedure that provides

increased benefits in efficiency, control, and privacy to payers who

elect to make payments to Customs by electronic funds transfer.

Accordingly, the amendments are not subject to the regulatory analysis

or other requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The collection of information contained in this final rule has been

reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in

accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d))

under control number 1515-0218. An agency may not conduct or sponsor,

and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information

unless it displays a valid control number assigned by OMB.

The collection of information in this final rule is in Sec. 24.26.

This information is required in connection with an election to use the

ACH credit procedure for making electronic payments of funds to

Customs. The information will be used by the U.S. Customs Service to

ensure that payments to Customs are properly transmitted, received, and

credited. The likely respondents are business organizations including

importers, exporters and manufacturers.

The estimated average annual burden associated with the collection

of information in this final rule is .083 hours per respondent or

recordkeeper. Comments concerning the accuracy of this burden estimate

and suggestions for reducing this burden should be directed to the U.S.

Customs Service, Information Services Group, Office of Finance, 1300

Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20229, and to OMB,

Attention: Desk Officer for the Department of the Treasury, Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs, Washington, D.C. 20503.

[[Page 7501]]

List of Subjects

19 CFR Part 24

Accounting, Claims, Customs duties and inspection, Imports, Taxes.

19 CFR Part 178

Administrative practice and procedure, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Amendments to the Regulations

For the reasons stated in the preamble, under the authority of 19

U.S.C. 66 and 1624 the interim rule amending 19 CFR Part 24 which was

published at 63 FR 29122 on May 28, 1998, is adopted as a final rule

without change, and Part 178 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part

178) is amended as set forth below.

PART 178--APPROVAL OF INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS

1. The authority citation for Part 178 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 1624; 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

2. Section 178.2 is amended by adding a new listing to the table in

numerical order to read as follows:

Sec. 178.2 Listing of OMB control numbers.

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OMB control

19 CFR Section Description No.

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Sec. 24.26........................ Automated 1515-0218

Clearinghouse Credit.

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Raymond W. Kelly,

Commissioner of Customs.

Approved: January 15, 1999.

John P. Simpson,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

[FR Doc. 99-3619 Filed 2-12-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820-02-P