Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 248 / Friday, December 28, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 67069 

1The 2015 Act was enacted as part of the 

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Public Law 114–74 

(Nov. 2, 2015). 2OMB, Implementation of the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements 

Act of 2015, February 24, 2016. https://obamaw

hitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/ 

memoranda/2016/m-16-06.pdf. 3 DHS published a correction to the IFR on 

August 23, 2016 to correct one amendatory 

instruction. See 81 FR 57442. 

4OMB, Implementation of the 2017 annual 

adjustment pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015, December 16, 2016. https://obama

whitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/ 

memoranda/2017/m-17-11_0.pdf. 

5OMB, Implementation of Penalty Inflation 

Adjustments for 2018, Pursuant to the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements 

Act of 2015, December 15, 2017. https://

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ 

M-18-03.pdf. 

6Public Law 82–414, as amended (INA). The INA 

contains provisions that impose penalties on 

persons, including carriers and aliens, who violate 

specified provisions of the INA. While CBP is 

responsible for enforcing various provisions of the 

INA and assessing penalties for violations of those 

provisions, all the penalty amounts CBP can assess 

for violations of the INA are set forth in one section 

of title 8 of the CFR—8 CFR 280.53. For a complete 

list of the INA sections for which penalties are 

assessed, in addition to a brief description of each 

violation, see the IFR preamble at 81 FR 42989– 

42990. 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 79; 15 U.S.C. 717– 

717z; 16 U.S.C. 791a–828c, 2601–2645; 31 

U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101–7352. 

§ 141.14 [Removed] 

■ 6. Remove § 141.14. 

[FR Doc. 2018–28250 Filed 12–27–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

19 CFR Part 4 

[CBP Dec. 18–16] 

RIN 1651–AB32 

Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustments for 

Inflation 

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection, DHS. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule adjusts for inflation 

the amounts that U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection (CBP) can assess as 

civil monetary penalties for the 

following two violations—transporting 

passengers coastwise for hire by certain 

vessels (known as Bowaters vessels) that 

do not meet specified conditions; and 

employing a vessel in a trade without a 

required Certificate of Documentation. 

These adjustments are being made in 

accordance with the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act) 

which was enacted on November 2, 

2015. Other CBP civil penalty amounts 

were adjusted pursuant to this 2015 Act 

in rule documents published in the 

Federal Register on July 1, 2016; 

January 27, 2017; December 8, 2017; and 

April 2, 2018, but the adjustments for 

these two civil penalties were 

inadvertently left out of those 

documents. 

DATES: This rule is effective on 

December 28, 2018. The adjusted 

penalty amounts will be applicable for 

penalties assessed after December 28, 

2018 if the associated violations 

occurred after November 2, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Millie Gleason, Office of Field 

Operations, U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection. Phone: (202) 325–4291. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Statutory and Regulatory Background 

On November 2, 2015, the President 

signed into law the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015 (Pub. L. 114– 

74 section 701 (Nov. 2, 2015)) (2015 

Act).1 The 2015 Act amended the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461 

note) (1990 Inflation Adjustment Act) to 

improve the effectiveness of civil 

monetary penalties and to maintain 

their deterrent effect. The 2015 Act 

required agencies to: (1) Adjust the level 

of civil monetary penalties with an 

initial ‘‘catch-up’’ adjustment through 

issuance of an interim final rule (IFR) 

and (2) make subsequent annual 

adjustments for inflation. Through the 

‘‘catch-up’’ adjustment, agencies were 

required to adjust the maximum 

amounts of civil monetary penalties to 

more accurately reflect inflation rates. 

The 2015 Act directed the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to issue 

guidance to agencies on implementing 

the initial ‘‘catch-up’’ adjustment. The 

2015 Act required that agencies publish 

their IFRs in the Federal Register no 

later than July 1, 2016 and that the 

adjusted amounts were to take effect no 

later than August 1, 2016. 

For the subsequent annual 

adjustments, the 2015 Act requires 

agencies to increase the penalty 

amounts by a cost-of-living adjustment. 

The 2015 Act directs OMB to provide 

guidance to agencies each year to assist 

agencies in making the annual 

adjustments. The 2015 Act requires 

agencies to make the annual 

adjustments no later than January 15 of 

each year and to publish the 

adjustments in the Federal Register. 

The Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS) undertook a review of 

the civil penalties that DHS and its 

components administer to determine 

which penalties would need 

adjustments. On July 1, 2016, DHS 

published an IFR adjusting the civil 

monetary penalties with an initial 

‘‘catch-up’’ adjustment, as required by 

the 2015 Act. See 81 FR 42987. DHS 

calculated the adjusted penalties based 

upon nondiscretionary provisions in the 

2015 Act and upon guidance issued by 

OMB on February 24, 2016.2 The 

adjusted penalties were effective for 

civil penalties assessed after August 1, 

2016 (the effective date of the IFR) 

where the associated violations 

occurred after November 2, 2015 (the 

date of enactment of the 2015 Act).3 On 

January 27, 2017, DHS published a final 

rule adopting as final the civil monetary 

penalty adjustment methodology from 

the IFR and making the 2017 annual 

inflation adjustment pursuant to the 

2015 Act and upon guidance OMB 

issued to agencies on December 16, 

2016.4 See 82 FR 8571. On April 2, 2018, 

DHS published a final rule making the 

2018 annual inflation adjustment 

pursuant to the 2015 Act and the 

guidance OMB issued to agencies on 

December 15, 2017.5 See 83 FR 13826. 

As discussed in Section II below, 

several civil monetary penalties 

assessed by CBP and subject to the 2015 

Act were inadvertently omitted from 

these DHS rulemakings. 

II. CBP Penalties 

CBP assesses or enforces penalties 

under various titles of the United States 

Code (U.S.C.) and the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR). These penalties 

include civil monetary penalties for 

certain violations of title 8 of the CFR 

pursuant to the Immigration and 

Nationality Act of 1952,6 as well as 

certain civil monetary penalties for 

customs violations for laws codified in 

title 19 of the U.S.C. and the CFR. CBP 

assesses many of the title 19 penalties 

under the Tariff Act of 1930, as 

amended, and as discussed in the IFR 

preamble at 81 FR 42987, the 2015 Act 

specifically exempts Tariff Act penalties 

from the inflation adjustment 

requirements in the 2015 Act. For that 

reason, DHS did not list those penalties 

in the tables of CBP penalty adjustments 

in the DHS rulemakings. There are also 

various other monetary penalties found 

throughout the U.S.C. and CFR which 

CBP may seek to issue or enforce but 

which were not included in the tables 

because they fall within the purview of 


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7For example, CBP may enforce the Clean 

Diamond Trade Act penalty set forth in 19 U.S.C. 

3907, which falls within the purview of the 

Department of the Treasury. See 31 CFR part 501, 

app. A. 

8The term ‘‘Bowaters corporation’’ is defined in 

46 U.S.C. 12118(a)(1). It means a corporation that 

has filed a certificate under oath with the Secretary 

of Homeland Security stating that the corporation 

meets the conditions set forth in 46 U.S.C. 

12118(a)(1)(A)–(F). Among other things, the 

corporation must be incorporated under the laws of 

the United States or a State, the majority of the 

officers and directors must be citizens of the United 

States, and it must buy or produce in the United 

States at least 75 percent of the raw materials used 

or sold in its operations. 

another Department or Agency for 

purposes of the 2015 Act.7

Several non-Tariff Act penalties that 

are assessed by CBP were inadvertently 

omitted from the DHS rulemakings. On 

December 8, 2017, CBP published a 

rule, correcting for three penalties that 

had been omitted from the DHS 

rulemakings for the following three 

violations—transporting passengers 

between coastwise points in the United 

States by a non-coastwise qualified 

vessel; towing a vessel between 

coastwise points in the United States by 

a non-coastwise qualified vessel; and 

dealing in or using an empty stamped 

imported liquor container after it has 

already been used once. See 82 FR 

57821. 

However, two additional non-Tariff 

Act penalties that are assessed by CBP 

were inadvertently omitted from the 

DHS rulemakings and the CBP 

correction rulemaking. The first is a 

penalty set forth at 46 U.S.C. 12118(f)(3) 

for transporting passengers coastwise for 

hire by certain vessels (known as 

Bowaters vessels) that do not meet 

specified conditions. This penalty is 

incurred if a vessel that is used 

primarily in manufacturing or mineral 

industries and owned by a Bowaters 

corporation transports passengers for 

hire except as a service for a parent or 

subsidiary of the corporation owning 

the vessel or under a bareboat charter to 

a corporation otherwise qualifying as a 

citizen of the United States.8 The 

conditions under which a vessel 

identified as a Bowaters vessel under 

the authority of 46 U.S.C. 12118 may 

transport passengers coastwise for hire 

are detailed in 46 U.S.C. 12118(d)(2) 

and 19 CFR 4.80(d). The penalty amount 

is only set forth in the statute and is not 

reflected in the CBP regulations. The 

second is a penalty for employing a 

vessel in a trade without a required 

Certificate of Documentation pursuant 

to 19 U.S.C. 1706a and 19 CFR 4.80(i). 

A Certificate of Documentation is form 

CG–1270 issued by the U.S. Coast 

Guard. This form is required for the 

operation of a vessel in certain trades. 

See 19 CFR 4.0(c) and 46 CFR part 67. 

This final rule adjusts these penalty 

amounts using the same civil monetary 

penalty adjustment methodology that 

DHS announced in the IFR (81 FR 

42987) and finalized in the DHS final 

rule (82 FR 8571), and detailed below. 

III. Inflation Adjustment Methodology 

Required by 2015 Act 

A. Overview 

The 2015 Act provides a new method 

for calculating inflation adjustments. 

The new method differs substantially 

from the methods that agencies used in 

the past when conducting inflation 

adjustments pursuant to the 1990 

Inflation Adjustment Act. The new 

method is intended to more accurately 

reflect inflation. Previously, when 

agencies conducted adjustments to civil 

penalties, they did so under rules that 

required significant rounding of figures. 

For example, an agency would round a 

penalty increase that was greater than 

$1,000, but less than or equal to 

$10,000, to the nearest multiple of 

$1,000. While this allowed penalties to 

be kept at round numbers, it meant that 

agencies would often not increase 

penalties at all if the inflation factor was 

not large enough. Furthermore, 

increases to penalties were capped at 10 

percent, which meant that longer 

periods without an inflation adjustment 

could cause a penalty to rapidly lose 

value in real terms. Over time, the 

formula used in the 1990 Inflation 

Adjustment Act calculations frequently 

caused penalties to lose value relative to 

actual inflation. The 2015 Act removed 

these rounding rules, and instead 

instructs agencies to round penalties to 

the nearest $1. While this creates 

penalty values that are no longer round 

numbers, it does ensure that agencies 

will increase penalties each year to a 

figure commensurate with the actual 

calculated inflation. 

To better reflect the original impact of 

civil penalties, the 2015 Act ‘‘resets’’ the 

inflation calculations by excluding prior 

inflationary adjustments under the 

Inflation Adjustment Act. To do this, 

the 2015 Act requires agencies to 

identify, for each penalty, the year that 

Congress originally enacted the 

maximum penalty level/range of 

minimum and maximum penalty levels 

or the year that the agency last adjusted 

the penalty amount other than pursuant 

to the Inflation Adjustment Act, and the 

corresponding penalty amount(s). The 

2015 Act then requires agencies to 

perform an initial ‘‘catch-up’’ 

adjustment, using the original amounts 

of civil penalties as a baseline, so that 

the 2016 penalty levels are equal, in real 

terms, to the penalty amounts as they 

were originally established. The 2015 

Act also requires agencies to make 

subsequent annual adjustments to 

increase the penalty amounts by a costof-living adjustment. 

B. Catch-Up Adjustment 

This section sets forth the initial 

‘‘catch-up’’ adjustment for the two civil 

monetary penalties assessed by CBP that 

were inadvertently omitted from the 

DHS rulemakings and CBP correction 

rulemaking. The catch-up adjustments 

for these two penalties are listed in 

Table 1 below. This table shows how 

DHS would have initially increased the 

penalties pursuant to the 2015 Act. The 

table contains the following 

information: 

• In the first column (penalty name), 

we provide a description of the penalty. 

• In the second column (citation), we 

provide the statutory cite from the 

United States Code (U.S.C.) and the 

regulatory cite from the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR). 

• In the third column (current 

penalty), we list the existing penalty in 

effect on November 2, 2015. 

• In the fourth column (baseline 

penalty (year)), we provide the amount 

and year of the penalty as enacted by 

Congress or as last changed through a 

mechanism other than pursuant to the 

Inflation Adjustment Act, whichever is 

later. 

• In the fifth column (2016 

multiplier), we list the multiplier used 

to adjust the penalty pursuant to the 

initial OMB catch-up guidance. The 

multiplier is determined by the year of 

enactment or last adjustment of the 

penalty. The multiplier is based upon 

the Consumer Price Index (CPI–U) for 

the month of October 2015, not 

seasonally adjusted. 

• In the sixth column (preliminary 

new penalty), we list the amount 

obtained by multiplying the Baseline 

Penalty from column 4 with the 

Multiplier from column 5. This amount 

will be the catch-up adjustment amount, 

if, in accordance with the 2015 Act, this 

level does not increase penalty levels by 

more than 150 percent of the 

corresponding levels in effect on 

November 2, 2015. 

• In the seventh column (adjusted 

2016 penalty), we provide the number 

for the penalty as it would have been 

adjusted for 2016. To derive this 

number, we compare the preliminary 

new penalty with the current penalty 

from column 3. The adjusted new 

penalty is the lesser of either the 

preliminary new penalty or an amount 


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9See footnote 4. 10See footnote 5. 

equal to 150 percent more than the 

current penalty. 

TABLE 1—U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION CIVIL PENALTIES INITIAL CATCH-UP ADJUSTMENTS

Penalty name Citation Current 

penalty 

Baseline 

penalty * 

(year) 

2016 

Multiplier ** 

Preliminary 

new penalty 

[2016 

multiplier × 

baseline 

penalty] 

Adjusted 2016 

penalty [increase 

capped at 

150% 

more than 

current penalty] 

Penalty for transporting passengers 

coastwise for hire by certain vessels (known as Bowaters vessels) that do not meet specified 

conditions.

46 U.S.C. 12118(f)(3) $200 $200 (1958) 8.22969 $1,646 $500 

Penalty for employing a vessel in a 

trade without a required Certificate of Documentation.

19 U.S.C. 1706a, 19 

CFR 4.80(i).

500 $500 (1980) 2.80469 1,402 1,250 

* The amount of the penalty and the year when the penalty was established or last adjusted in statute or regulation other than pursuant to the 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990. 

** OMB, Implementation of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, Table A: 2016 Civil Monetary Penalty Catch-Up Adjustment Multiplier by Calendar Year, February 24, 2016. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2016/m-16-06.pdf. 

C. 2017 Adjustments 

This table shows how DHS would 

have made the 2017 annual inflation 

adjustment for the two civil monetary 

penalties assessed by CBP that were 

inadvertently omitted from the DHS 

rulemakings and CBP correction 

rulemaking, pursuant to the 2015 Act 

and the guidance OMB issued to 

agencies on December 16, 2016.9 In 

Table 2 below, we show: (1) The civil 

penalty (or penalties) name, (2) the 

penalty statutory and/or regulatory 

citation, (3) the penalty amount as it 

would have been adjusted in 2016 (See 

Table 1), (4) the cost-of-living 

adjustment multiplier for 2017 that 

OMB provided in its December 16, 2016 

guidance, and (5) the 2017 adjusted 

penalty. 

TABLE 2— U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION CIVIL PENALTIES 2017 ADJUSTMENTS

Penalty name Citation 

Adjusted 2016 

penalty 

(see Table 1) 

2017 

Multiplier * 

Adjusted 2017 

penalty 

Penalty for transporting passengers coastwise for hire by certain 

vessels (known as Bowaters vessels) that do not meet specified 

conditions.

46 U.S.C. 12118(f)(3) .. $500 1.01636 $508 

Penalty for employing a vessel in a trade without a required Certificate of Documentation.19 U.S.C. 1706a, 19 

CFR 4.80(i).

1,250 1.01636 1,270 

* OMB, Implementation of the 2017 annual adjustment pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015, December 16, 2016. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2017/m-17-11_0.pdf. 

D. 2018 Adjustments 

This final rule also makes the 2018 

annual inflation adjustment pursuant to 

the 2015 Act and the guidance OMB 

issued to agencies on December 15, 

2017.10 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2461 note 

sec. 6, as amended by the 2015 Act, the 

penalty amounts adjusted by this final 

rule will be applicable for penalties 

assessed after December 28, 2018 where 

the associated violation occurred after 

November 2, 2015 (i.e., the date the 

2015 Act was signed into law). 

Consistent with OMB guidance, the 

2015 Act does not change previously 

assessed penalties that the agency is 

actively collecting or has collected. 

In Table 3 below, we show: (1) The 

civil penalty (or penalties) name, (2) the 

penalty statutory and/or regulatory 

citation, (3) the penalty amount as it 

would have been adjusted in 2017 (See 

Table 2), (4) the cost-of-living 

adjustment multiplier for 2018 that 

OMB provided in its December 15, 2017 

guidance, and (5) the new 2018 adjusted 

penalty. 

Additionally, we have made 

conforming edits to the regulatory text 

for the new adjusted penalty amounts in 

19 CFR 4.80(i). Because the 46 U.S.C. 

12118 penalty is not included in 19 CFR 

4.80(d), there are no conforming edits to 

be made to the regulatory text. However, 

this penalty is listed in Table 3 for 

informational purposes. 


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11See footnotes 2 and 4. 

TABLE 3—U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION CIVIL PENALTIES 2018 ADJUSTMENTS

Penalty name Citation 

Adjusted 2017 

penalty 

(see Table 2) 

2018 

Multiplier * 

New penalty 

as adjusted by 

this final rule 

Penalty for transporting passengers coastwise for hire by certain vessels (known as Bowaters vessels) that do not meet 

specified conditions.

46 U.S.C. ............................

12118(f)(3) ..........................

$508 1.02041 ** $518 

Penalty for employing a vessel in a trade without a required 

Certificate of Documentation.

19 U.S.C. 1706a, 19 CFR 

4.80(i).

1,270 1.02041 1,296 

* OMB, Implementation of Penalty Inflation Adjustments for 2018, Pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, December 15, 2017. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/M-18-03.pdf. 

** No applicable conforming edit to regulatory text. 

IV. Administrative Procedure Act 

The Administrative Procedure Act 

(APA) generally requires agencies to 

publish a notice of proposed rulemaking 

in the Federal Register (5 U.S.C. 553(b)) 

and to provide interested persons with 

the opportunity to submit comments (5 

U.S.C. 553(c)). The APA also requires 

agencies to provide a delayed effective 

date (of not less than 30 days) for 

substantive rules. 5 U.S.C. 553(d). The 

2015 Act, however, specifically 

instructed that agencies are to make the 

required annual adjustments 

notwithstanding section 553 of title 5 of 

the U.S.C. 

DHS is promulgating this final rule to 

ensure that the amounts for civil 

penalties that CBP assesses or enforces 

that were inadvertently omitted from 

the DHS rulemakings reflect the 

statutorily mandated ranges as adjusted 

for inflation. The 2015 Act provides a 

clear nondiscretionary formula for 

adjustment of the civil penalties; DHS 

and CBP have been charged only with 

performing ministerial computations to 

determine the amounts of adjustments 

for inflation to civil monetary penalties. 

Additionally, although the 2015 Act 

requires publication of an IFR to take 

effect not later than August 1, 2016, that 

date has passed and publishing a 

separate IFR to account for these 

inadvertently omitted penalty 

adjustments would cause unnecessary 

delay. Further, this final rule merely 

applies the adjustment methodology 

that DHS provided for public comment 

in the 2016 IFR and finalized in the 

2017 final rule. DHS finds that it is 

unnecessary to seek further public 

comment regarding the application of 

the finalized methodology to these two 

penalties. For these reasons, and as 

specified in the 2015 Act, DHS finds 

good cause to promulgate these CBP 

civil monetary penalty adjustments as a 

final rule and finds that the prior public 

notice-and-comment procedures and 

delayed effective date requirements of 

the APA are unnecessary and do not 

apply to this rule. 

As described in Section I above, the 

2015 Act requires agencies to make 

annual adjustments to civil monetary 

penalties no later than January 15 of 

each year and to publish the 

adjustments in the Federal Register. 

DHS will make future annual inflation 

adjustments required pursuant to the 

2015 Act by final rule notwithstanding 

the notice-and-comment and delayed 

effective date requirements of the APA, 

as required by the 2015 Act. For future 

annual adjustments, DHS will update 

the penalty amounts by applying a costof-living adjustment multiplier pursuant 

to OMB guidance. DHS will publish a 

final rule that provides a table with the 

adjusted penalty amounts and that 

updates the numbers in the regulatory 

text accordingly. DHS will incorporate 

the two CBP penalties adjusted in this 

final rule into such future annual 

adjustment final rules. 

V. Regulatory Analyses 

A. Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 

13771 

Executive Orders 12866 (‘‘Regulatory 

Planning and Review’’) and 13563 

(‘‘Improving Regulation and Regulatory 

Review’’) direct agencies to assess the 

costs and benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, of 

reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, 

and of promoting flexibility. Executive 

Order 13771 (‘‘Reducing Regulation and 

Controlling Regulatory Costs’’) directs 

agencies to reduce regulation and 

control regulatory costs and provides 

that ‘‘for every one new regulation 

issued, at least two prior regulations be 

identified for elimination, and that the 

cost of planned regulations be prudently 

managed and controlled through a 

budgeting process.’’ 

OMB has not designated this rule a 

significant regulatory action under 

section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866. 

Accordingly, OMB has not reviewed it. 

As this rule is not a significant 

regulatory action it is not subject to the 

requirements of Executive Order 13771. 

See OMB’s Memorandum, ‘‘Guidance 

Implementing Executive Order 13771, 

Titled ‘Reducing Regulation and 

Controlling Regulatory Costs’ ’’ (April 5, 

2017) at Q2. 

This final rule makes 

nondiscretionary adjustments to 

existing civil monetary penalties in 

accordance with the 2015 Act and OMB 

guidance.11 DHS therefore did not 

consider alternatives and does not have 

the flexibility to alter the adjustments of 

the civil monetary penalty amounts as 

provided in this rule. To the extent this 

final rule increases civil monetary 

penalties, it would result in an increase 

in transfers from persons or entities 

assessed a civil monetary penalty to the 

government. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act applies 

only to rules for which an agency 

publishes a notice of proposed 

rulemaking pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 

See 5 U.S.C. 601–612. The Regulatory 

Flexibility Act does not apply to this 

final rule because a notice of proposed 

rulemaking was not required for the 

reasons stated above. 

C. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1531–1538, requires 

Federal agencies to assess the effects of 

their discretionary regulatory actions. In 

particular, the Act addresses actions 

that may result in the expenditure by a 

State, local, or Tribal government, in the 

aggregate, or by the private sector of 

$100,000,000 (adjusted for inflation) or 

more in any one year. This final rule 

will not result in such an expenditure. 


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1Under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, a penalty is a civil 

monetary penalty if (among other things) it is for 

a specific monetary amount or has a maximum 

amount specified by Federal law. Title IV also 

provides (in section 4007) for penalties for late 

payment of premiums, but those penalties are 

neither in a specified amount nor subject to a 

specified maximum amount. 

2Sec. 701, Public Law 114–74, 129 Stat. 599–601 

(Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015). 

D. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35, and its implementing 

regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, do not 

apply to this final rule, because this 

final rule does not trigger any new or 

revised recordkeeping or reporting. 

VI. Signing Authority 

The signing authority for this 

document falls under 19 CFR 0.2(a). 

Accordingly, this document is signed by 

the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

List of Subjects in 19 CFR Part 4 

Exports, Freight, Harbors, Maritime 

carriers, Oil pollution, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Vessels. 

Amendments to the Regulations 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, CBP amends 19 CFR part 4 as 

follows: 

PART 4—VESSELS IN FOREIGN AND 

DOMESTIC TRADES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 4 

continues to read in part as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 66, 

1431, 1433, 1434, 1624, 2071 note; 46 U.S.C. 

501, 60105. 

* * * * * 

Sections 4.80, 4.80a, and 4.80b also issued 

under 19 U.S.C. 1706a; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note; 

46 U.S.C. 12112, 12117, 12118, 50501–55106, 

55107, 55108, 55110, 55114, 55115, 55116, 

55117, 55119, 56101, 55121, 56101, 57109; 

Pub. L. 108–7, Division B, Title II, § 211; 

* * * * * 

■ 2. Revise § 4.80(i) to read as follows: 

§ 4.80 Vessels entitled to engage in 

coastwise trade. 

* * * * * 

(i) Any vessel, entitled to be 

documented and not so documented, 

employed in a trade for which a 

Certificate of Documentation is issued 

under the vessel documentation laws 

(see § 4.0(c)), other than a trade covered 

by a registry, is liable to a civil penalty 

of $500 for each port at which it arrives 

without the proper Certificate of 

Documentation on or before November 

2, 2015, and $1296 for each port at 

which it arrives without the proper 

Certificate of Documentation after 

November 2, 2015 (19 U.S.C. 1706a, as 

adjusted by the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements 

Act of 2015). If such a vessel has on 

board any foreign merchandise (sea 

stores excepted), or any domestic 

taxable alcoholic beverages, on which 

the duty and taxes have not been paid 

or secured to be paid, the vessel and its 

cargo are subject to seizure and 

forfeiture. 

Claire M. Grady, 

Under Secretary for Management and Senior 

Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–28141 Filed 12–27–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–14–P 

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

29 CFR Parts 4071 and 4302 

RIN 1212–AB45 

Adjustment of Civil Penalties for 

Inflation 

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation is required to amend its 

regulations annually to adjust for 

inflation the maximum civil penalty for 

failure to provide certain notices or 

other material information and for 

failure to provide certain multiemployer 

plan notices. 

DATES: Effective date: This rule is 

effective on December 28, 2018. 

Applicability date: The increases in 

the civil monetary penalties under 

sections 4071 and 4302 of the Employee 

Retirement Income Security Act 

provided for in this rule apply to such 

penalties assessed after December 28, 

2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stephanie Cibinic, Deputy Assistant 

General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs 

(cibinic.stephanie@pbgc.gov), Office of 

the General Counsel, Pension Benefit 

Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street 

NW, Washington, DC 20005–4026; 202– 

326–4400 extension 6352. (TTY users 

may call the Federal relay service tollfree at 800–877–8339 and ask to be 

connected to 202–326–4400 extension 

6352.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary 

Purpose of the Regulatory Action 

This rule is needed to carry out the 

requirements of the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of 

Management and Budget guidance M– 

19–04. The rule adjusts, as required for 

2019, the maximum civil penalties 

under 29 CFR part 4071 and 29 CFR part 

4302 that the Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation (PBGC) may assess for 

failure to provide certain notices or 

other material information and certain 

multiemployer plan notices. 

PBGC’s legal authority for this action 

comes from the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 as 

amended by the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements 

Act of 2015 and from sections 

4002(b)(3), 4071, and 4302 of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (ERISA). 

Major Provisions of the Regulatory 

Action 

This rule adjusts as required by law 

the maximum civil penalties that PBGC 

may assess under sections 4071 and 

4302 of ERISA. The new maximum 

amounts are $2,194 for section 4071 

penalties and $292 for section 4302 

penalties. 

Background 

PBGC administers title IV of ERISA. 

Title IV has two provisions that 

authorize PBGC to assess civil monetary 

penalties.1 Section 4302, added to 

ERISA by the Multiemployer Pension 

Plan Amendments Act of 1980, 

authorizes PBGC to assess a civil 

penalty of up to $100 a day for failure 

to provide a notice under subtitle E of 

title IV of ERISA (dealing with 

multiemployer plans). Section 4071, 

added to ERISA by the Omnibus Budget 

Reconciliation Act of 1987, authorizes 

PBGC to assess a civil penalty of up to 

$1,000 a day for failure to provide a 

notice or other material information 

under subtitles A, B, and C of title IV 

and sections 303(k)(4) and 306(g)(4) of 

title I of ERISA. 

Adjustment of Civil Penalties 

On November 2, 2015, the President 

signed into law the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015,2 which 

requires agencies to adjust civil 

monetary penalties for inflation and to 

publish the adjustments in the Federal 

Register. An initial adjustment was 

required to be made by interim final 

rule published by July 1, 2016, and 

effective by August 1, 2016. Subsequent 

adjustments must be published by 

January 15 each year after 2016. 

On December 14, 2018, the Office of 

Management and Budget issued 


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