58420 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 183 / Wednesday, September 21, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

TABLE 1—COMPLIANCE TIMES FOR INSPECTIONS—Continued 

L–1011–385–1–15 having accumulated 5,600 or more flight cycles 

after the accomplishment of Lockheed Martin Service Bulletin 093– 

57–184, 093–57–196, or 093–57– 

215; as of the effective date of 

this AD; Zones 1A through 1E 

(NDI).

Within 1,000 flight cycles or 12 

months after the effective date of 

this AD, whichever occurs first.

N/A ................................................... 500 flight cycles. 

L–1011–385–1–15 having accumulated 5,600 or more flight cycles 

after the accomplishment of Lockheed Martin Service Bulletin 093– 

57–184, 093–57–196, or 093–57– 

215; as of the effective date of 

this AD; Zone 1F (Detailed Inspection).

Within 60 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD.Within 30 days after the effective 

date of this AD.

60 flight cycles. 

L–1011–385–3 having accumulated 

fewer than 8,400 flight cycles 

after the accomplishment of Lockheed Martin Service Bulletin 093– 

57–184, 093–57–196, or 093–57– 

215; as of the effective date of 

this AD; Zones 1A through 1E 

(NDI).

Within 8,400 flight cycles or 10 

years after the accomplishment of 

Lockheed Martin Service Bulletin 

093–57–184, 093–57–196, or 

093–57–215, whichever occurs 

first.

Within 1,000 flight cycles after the 

effective date of this AD.

1,200 flight cycles. 

L–1011–385–3 having accumulated 

fewer than 8,400 flight cycles 

after the accomplishment of Lockheed Martin Service Bulletin 093– 

57–184, 093–57–196, or 093–57– 

215; as of the effective date of 

this AD; Zone 1F (Detailed Inspection).

Within 90 flight cycles or 30 days 

after the effective date of this AD, 

whichever occurs later.

Within 85 flight cycles or 30 days 

after the effective date of this AD, 

whichever occurs later.

85 flight cycles. 

L–1011–385–3 having accumulated 

8,400 or more flight cycles after 

the accomplishment of Lockheed 

Martin Service Bulletin 093–57– 

184, 093–57–196, or 093–57– 

215; as of the effective date of 

this AD; Zones 1A through 1E 

(NDI).

Within 1,000 flight cycles or 12 

months after the effective date of 

this AD, whichever occurs first.

N/A ................................................... 1,200 flight cycles. 

L–1011–385–3 having accumulated 

8,400 or more flight cycles after 

the accomplishment of Lockheed 

Martin Service Bulletin 093–57– 

184, 093–57–196, or 093–57– 

215; as of the effective date of 

this AD; Zone 1F (Detailed Inspection).

Within 85 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD.Within 30 days after the effective 

date of this AD.

85 flight cycles. 

Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(l)(1) The Manager, Atlanta ACO, FAA, has 

the authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, 

if requested using the procedures found in 14 

CFR 39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, 

send your request to your principal inspector 

or local Flight Standards District Office, as 

appropriate. If sending information directly 

to the manager of the ACO, send it to the 

attention of the person identified in the 

Related Information section of this AD. 

(2) Before using any approved AMOC, 

notify your appropriate principal inspector, 

or lacking a principal inspector, the manager 

of the local flight standards district office/ 

certificate holding district office. 

Related Information 

(m) For more information about this AD, 

contact Carl Gray, Aerospace Engineer, 

Airframe Branch, ACE–117A, FAA, Atlanta 

ACO, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College Park, 

Georgia 30337; phone: 404–474–5554; fax: 

404–474–5606; e-mail: Carl.W.Gray@faa.gov. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

September 14, 2011. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–24270 Filed 9–20–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of Economic Analysis 

15 CFR Part 806 

[Docket No. 110822526–1525–01] 

RIN 0691–AA80 

Direct Investment Surveys: BE–12, 

Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct 

Investment in the United States 

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

amend regulations of the Department of 

Commerce’s Bureau of Economic 

Analysis (BEA) to set forth the reporting 

requirements for the 2012 BE–12, 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 183 / Wednesday, September 21, 2011 / Proposed Rules 58421 

Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct 

Investment in the United States. 

Benchmark surveys are conducted every 

five years; the prior survey covered 

2007. The benchmark survey covers the 

universe of foreign direct investment in 

the United States, and is BEA’s most 

comprehensive survey of such 

investment in terms of subject matter. 

For the 2012 benchmark survey, BEA 

proposes changes in reporting 

thresholds and data items collected, as 

well as changes in form design. 

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule 

will receive consideration if submitted 

in writing on or before 5 p.m. November 

21, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0691-AA80, and 

referencing the agency name (Bureau of 

Economic Analysis), by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

For Keyword or ID, enter ‘‘EAB–2011– 

0002.’’ 

• E-mail: David.Galler@bea.gov. 

• Fax: Office of the Chief, Direct 

Investment Division, (202) 606–2894. 

• Mail: Office of the Chief, Direct 

Investment Division, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, Bureau of Economic 

Analysis, BE–50, Washington, DC 

20230. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Office of the 

Chief, Direct Investment Division, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, Bureau of 

Economic Analysis, BE–50, Shipping 

and Receiving, Section M100, 1441 L 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in the proposed 

rule should be sent to both BEA through 

any of the methods above and to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), O.I.R.A., Paperwork Reduction 

Project 0608–0042, Attention PRA Desk 

Officer for BEA, via e-mail at 

pbugg@omb.eop.gov, or by FAX at 202– 

395–7245. 

Public Inspection: All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the 

commentator may be publicly 

accessible. Do not submit confidential 

business information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. BEA 

will accept anonymous comments (enter 

N/A in required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe portable document file (pdf) 

formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David H. Galler, Chief, Direct 

Investment Division (BE–50), Bureau of 

Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; 

phone (202) 606–9835. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In Section 

3 of Executive Order 11961, as amended 

by Executive Orders 12318 and 12518, 

the President delegated the 

responsibility for performing functions 

under the Act concerning direct 

investment to the Secretary of 

Commerce, who has redelegated it to 

BEA. The BE–12, Benchmark Survey of 

Foreign Direct Investment in the United 

States, is a mandatory survey and is 

conducted once every five years by 

BEA, under the International Investment 

and Trade in Services Survey Act, 22 

U.S.C. 3101–3108 (the Act). 

The benchmark survey covers the 

universe of foreign direct investment in 

the United States in terms of value, and 

is BEA’s most comprehensive survey of 

such investment in terms of subject 

matter. Foreign direct investment in the 

United States is defined as the 

ownership or control, directly or 

indirectly, by one foreign person 

(foreign parent) of ten percent or more 

of the voting securities of an 

incorporated U.S. business enterprise or 

an equivalent interest in an 

unincorporated U.S. business 

enterprise, including a branch. 

The purpose of the benchmark survey 

is to obtain universe data on the 

financial and operating characteristics 

of U.S. affiliates, and on positions and 

transactions between U.S. affiliates and 

their foreign parent groups (which are 

defined to include all foreign parents 

and foreign affiliates of foreign parents). 

These data are needed to measure the 

size and economic significance of 

foreign direct investment in the United 

States, measure changes in such 

investment, and assess its impact on the 

U.S. economy. Such data are generally 

found in enterprise-level accounting 

records of respondent companies. These 

data are used to derive current universe 

estimates of direct investment from 

sample data collected in other BEA 

surveys in nonbenchmark years. In 

particular, they serve as benchmarks for 

the quarterly direct investment 

estimates included in the U.S. 

international transactions and national 

income and product accounts, and for 

annual estimates of the foreign direct 

investment position in the United States 

and of the operations of the U.S. 

affiliates of foreign companies. 

BEA will make the survey available 

via eFile, BEA’s electronic filing system, 

in March 2012, for the convenience of 

respondents who may wish to file as 

soon as their 2012 fiscal year ends. BEA 

will send printed survey forms to 

potential respondents in March 2013; 

responses will be due by May 31. 

This proposed rule would amend 15 

CFR 806.17 to set forth the reporting 

requirements for the BE–12, Benchmark 

Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in 

the United States. The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

comment on proposed and/or 

continuing information collections, as 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520 (PRA). 

Description of Changes 

The proposed changes revise the 

regulations and the survey forms for the 

BE–12 benchmark survey. These 

amendments include changes in 

reporting thresholds and data items 

collected, as well as changes in form 

design. Several of these amendments are 

part of a larger program to align the data 

collection program for multinational 

companies with available resources. 

If this proposed rule is made final, 

U.S. affiliates would report their 

information, regardless of industry, on 

one of four forms—BE–12A, BE–12B, 

BE–12C, or BE–12 Claim for Not Filing. 

Data on U.S. affiliates that are banks, 

bank holding companies, or financial 

holding companies would be collected 

on the same survey forms as data on 

other U.S. affiliates, and the 2007 

benchmark survey form BE–12 Bank 

would be discontinued. 

The amount of information required 

to be reported by each U.S. affiliate is 

determined by the size of the affiliate’s 

assets, sales or gross operating revenue, 

and net income. To minimize the 

reporting burden on smaller U.S. 

companies that are foreign owned, BEA 

proposes to increase the reporting 

thresholds for each of the forms. The 

proposed reporting requirements for the 

four forms are— 

(a) Form BE–12(A)—Report for 

majority-owned U.S. affiliates with total 

assets, sales or gross operating revenues, 

or net income greater than $300 million, 

positive or negative. (For 2007, this 

threshold was $175 million.) Form BE– 

12A would replace 2007 benchmark 

survey form BE–12 (Long Form) for 

reporting the largest majority-owned 

U.S. affiliates. 

(b) Form BE–12(B)—Report for 

majority-owned U.S affiliates with total 

assets, sales or gross operating revenues, 

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58422 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 183 / Wednesday, September 21, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

or net income greater than $60 million, 

positive or negative, but not greater than 

$300 million, positive or negative, and 

minority-owned U.S. affiliates with total 

assets, sales or gross operating revenues, 

or net income greater than $60 million, 

positive or negative. (For 2007, this 

threshold was $40 million.) Form BE– 

12B would replace 2007 benchmark 

survey form BE–12 (Short Form) for 

reporting smaller majority-owned U.S. 

affiliates and minority-owned U.S. 

affiliates that meet the reporting 

threshold stated above. 

(c) Form BE–12(C)—Report for U.S. 

affiliates with total assets, sales or gross 

operating revenues, or net income less 

than or equal to $60 million, positive or 

negative. Form BE–12C would replace 

2007 benchmark survey form BE–12 

Mini for reporting the smallest U.S. 

affiliates. 

(d) Form BE–12 Claim for Not 

Filing—Report to be filed by U.S. 

persons that are not subject to the 

reporting requirements for the BE–12 

benchmark survey, but have been 

contacted by BEA concerning their 

reporting status. The name of this form 

remains unchanged from the 2007 

benchmark survey. 

In addition to the changes in the 

reporting criteria, BEA proposes to add 

and delete some items on the 

benchmark survey forms. The following 

items would be added to the benchmark 

survey: 

(1) Questions will be added regarding 

the use of fair value accounting on the 

balance sheet. Companies that indicate 

that they did use fair value accounting 

will be asked to provide the amount of 

net property, plant, and equipment, of 

total assets, and of total liabilities that 

was recorded at fair value. 

(2) Questions will be added to collect 

information on assets, liabilities, and 

interest receipts and payments that are 

related to banking activities. 

(3) Several check-box questions will 

be added asking whether U.S. affiliates 

purchased contract manufacturing 

services from others or performed 

contract manufacturing services for 

others. They will also be asked whether 

they owned the materials used in 

contract manufacturing and if the 

company that performed or purchased 

the service was located in the United 

States or abroad. 

(4) A question will be added asking if 

the U.S. affiliate has equity in its foreign 

parent(s) (reverse investment). An item 

will be added to collect voting percent, 

equity percent, and the dollar amount of 

the investment. 

(5) Several check-box questions will 

be added to ensure that certain types of 

finance companies do not report 

intercompany debt to BEA that is 

already reported on Treasury 

International Capital surveys. 

BEA proposes to eliminate several 

items from the benchmark survey. Many 

of these items were eliminated from the 

BE–15 Annual Survey of Foreign Direct 

Investment in the United States 

beginning with the 2008 survey. Others 

are proposed for elimination because 

they are no longer used, because the 

information is collected on other 

surveys conducted by BEA, or because 

the quality of the data collected has 

been poor. The items proposed to be 

eliminated are: selected balance sheet 

items; the breakdown of sales of services 

to foreign persons into sales of services 

to the foreign parent group, to foreign 

affiliates owned by the affiliate, and to 

other foreign persons; the breakdown of 

employment and employee 

compensation by occupational 

classification; the breakdown of total 

employee compensation into wages and 

salaries and employee benefit plans; 

data on the composition of external 

finances; manufacturing employment by 

state; gross property, plant, and 

equipment by state; commercial 

property by state; the location of the 

primary U.S. headquarters of the U.S. 

affiliate; number of employees covered 

by collective bargaining agreements; 

acres of U.S. land owned; basis (shipped 

or charged) for trade data (check-box 

questions); exports/imports shipped to/ 

by foreign affiliates owned by U.S. 

affiliate by country of origin/destination 

(as in the benchmark surveys for 2002 

and earlier years, these columns will be 

combined with the columns ‘‘shipped 

to/by all other foreign persons’’); and 

withholding taxes on intercompany 

interest payments and interest receipts. 

In addition, BEA plans to rename (as 

described above) and redesign the 

survey forms. The new design will 

incorporate improvements made to 

other BEA surveys. Survey instructions 

and data item descriptions will be 

changed to improve clarity, make the 

benchmark survey forms more 

consistent with those of other BEA 

surveys, and provide updated 

information on accounting standards. 

Survey Background 

The BEA conducts the BE–12 survey 

under the authority of the International 

Investment and Trade in Services 

Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3101–3108), 

hereinafter, ‘‘the Act.’’ Section 3103(b) 

of the Act provides that ‘‘with respect to 

foreign direct investment in the United 

States, the President shall conduct a 

benchmark survey covering year 1980, a 

benchmark survey covering year 1987, 

and benchmark surveys covering every 

fifth year thereafter.’’ With respect to 

foreign direct investment in the United 

States, section 3103(b) also instructs the 

BEA to: 

(1) Identify the location, nature, and 

magnitude of, and changes in total 

investment by any foreign parent in 

each of its U.S. affiliates and the 

financial transactions between any 

foreign parent and each of its U.S. 

affiliates; 

(2) Obtain (A) information on the 

balance sheet U.S. affiliates of foreign 

parents and related financial data, (B) 

income statements, including the gross 

sales by primary line of business (with 

as much product line detail as is 

necessary and feasible) of U.S. affiliates, 

and (C) related information regarding 

trade, including trade in both goods and 

services, between the foreign parent and 

each of its U.S. affiliates and between 

each U.S. affiliate and any other person; 

(3) Collect employment data showing 

both the number of United States 

employees of each U.S. affiliate and the 

levels of compensation by industry; 

(4) Obtain information on tax 

payments by U.S. affiliates; and 

(5) Determine, by industry, the total 

dollar amount of research and 

development expenditures by U.S. 

affiliate, payments or other 

compensation for the transfer of 

technology between foreign parents and 

their U.S. affiliates, and payments or 

other compensation received by U.S. 

affiliates from the transfer of technology 

to other persons. 

Executive Order 12866 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of E.O. 12866. 

Executive Order 13132 

This proposed rule does not contain 

policies with Federalism implications 

sufficient to warrant preparation of a 

Federalism assessment under E.O. 

13132. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule contains a 

collection-of-information requirement 

subject to review and approval by OMB 

under the PRA. The requirement will be 

submitted to OMB for approval as a 

reinstatement, with change, of a 

previously approved collection under 

OMB control number 0608–0042. 

Notwithstanding any other provisions 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA unless 

that collection displays a currently valid 

OMB control number. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 183 / Wednesday, September 21, 2011 / Proposed Rules 58423 

The BE–12 survey, as proposed, is 

expected to result in the filing of reports 

from approximately 19,950 U.S. 

affiliates. The respondent burden for 

this collection of information will vary 

from one company to another, but is 

estimated to average 9.7 hours per 

response, including time for reviewing 

instructions, searching existing data 

sources, gathering and maintaining the 

data needed, and completing and 

reviewing the collection of information. 

Thus the total respondent burden for 

this survey is estimated at 194,150 

hours, compared to 209,650 hours for 

the previous (2007) benchmark survey. 

The decrease in burden hours is due to 

a reduction in the number of data items 

on the form which reduces the average 

burden per form, and increased 

reporting thresholds which allow more 

respondents to file on shorter forms. 

Comments are requested concerning: 

(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 burden estimate; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information collected; 

and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on the 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection of information 

requirements contained in the proposed 

rule should be sent to both BEA and 

OMB following the instructions given in 

the ADDRESSES section above. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation, 

Department of Commerce, has certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, 

Small Business Administration, under 

the provisions of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 605(b), 

that this proposed rulemaking, if 

adopted, will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The changes 

proposed in this rule are discussed in 

the preamble and are not repeated here. 

A BE–12 report is required of any U.S. 

company in which a foreign person 

owned or controlled, directly or 

indirectly, 10 percent or more of the 

voting securities if an incorporated U.S. 

business enterprise, or an equivalent 

interest if an unincorporated U.S. 

business enterprise. Most small business 

are not foreign owned and therefore 

would not be required to submit a BE– 

12 survey. However, for those small 

businesses that are foreign owned, the 

reporting burden is estimated to be 

small. 

The amount of information required 

to be reported by each U.S. affiliate is 

determined by the size of the affiliate’s 

assets, sales, or net income or loss. To 

minimize the reporting burden on 

smaller U.S. companies that are foreign 

owned and are required to report, BEA 

proposes to increase the threshold for 

reporting on Form BE–12A (the longest 

form) from $175 million to $300 million 

and on Form BE–12B from $40 million 

to $60 million. All affiliates below $60 

million will file on Form BE–12C (the 

shortest form). The smallest affiliates 

only file a few items on Form BE–12C; 

BEA proposes to raise the threshold for 

filing an abbreviated BE–12C from $15 

million to $20 million. 

Because those small businesses that 

are impacted are subject to only 

minimal recordkeeping burdens, the 

Chief Counsel for Regulation certifies 

that this proposed rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 806 

Economic statistics, Foreign 

investment in the United States, 

International transactions, Penalties, 

Reporting and record keeping 

requirements. 

Dated: August 9, 2011. 

J. Steven Landefeld, 

Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

For 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; E.O. 11961 (3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 86), 

as amended by E.O. 12318 (3 CFR, 1981 

Comp., p. 173), and E.O. 12518 (3 CFR, 1985 

Comp., p. 348). 

2. Revise § 806.17 to read as follows: 

§ 806.17 Rules and regulations for BE–12, 

Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct 

Investment in the United States—2012. 

A BE–12, Benchmark Survey of 

Foreign Direct Investment in the United 

States, will be conducted covering 2012. 

All legal authorities, provisions, 

definitions, and requirements contained 

in § 806.1 through § 806.13 and 

§ 806.15(a) through (g) are applicable to 

this survey. Specific additional rules 

and regulations for the BE–12 survey are 

given in this section. 

(a) Response required. A response is 

required from persons subject to the 

reporting requirements of the BE–12, 

Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct 

Investment in the United States—2012, 

contained in this section, whether or not 

they are contacted by BEA. Also, a 

person, or their agent, contacted by BEA 

about reporting in this survey, either by 

sending them a report form or by 

written inquiry, must respond pursuant 

to § 806.4. This may be accomplished 

by: 

(1) Certifying in writing, by the due 

date of the survey, to the fact that the 

person is not a U.S. affiliate of a foreign 

person and not subject to the reporting 

requirements of the BE–12 survey; 

(2) Completing and returning the 

‘‘BE–12 Claim for Not Filing’’ by the due 

date of the survey; or 

(3) Filing the properly completed BE– 

12 report—Form BE–12A, Form BE– 

12B, or Form BE–12C—by May 31, 

2013. 

(b) Who must report. A BE–12 report 

is required for each U.S. affiliate, that is, 

for each U.S. business enterprise in 

which a foreign person (foreign parent) 

owned or controlled, directly or 

indirectly, 10 percent or more of the 

voting securities in an incorporated U.S. 

business enterprise, or an equivalent 

interest in an unincorporated U.S. 

business enterprise, at the end of the 

business enterprise’s fiscal year that 

ended in calendar year 2012. A BE–12 

report is required even if the foreign 

person’s ownership interest in the U.S. 

business enterprise was established or 

acquired during the 2012 reporting year. 

(c) Forms to be filed. (1) Form BE–12A 

must be completed by a U.S. affiliate 

that was majority-owned by one or more 

foreign parents (for purposes of this 

survey, a ‘‘majority-owned’’ U.S. 

affiliate is one in which the combined 

direct and indirect ownership interest of 

all foreign parents of the U.S. affiliate 

exceeds 50 percent), if on a fully 

consolidated basis, or, in the case of real 

estate investment, on an aggregated 

basis, any one of the following three 

items for the U.S. affiliate (not just the 

foreign parent’s share), was greater than 

$300 million (positive or negative) at the 

end of, or for, its fiscal year that ended 

in calendar year 2012: 

(i) Total assets (do not net out 

liabilities); 

(ii) Sales or gross operating revenues, 

excluding sales taxes; or 

(iii) Net income after provision for 

U.S. income taxes. 

(2) Form BE–12B must be completed 

by: 

(i) A majority-owned U.S. affiliate if, 

on a fully consolidated basis, or, in the 

case of real estate investment, on an 

aggregated basis, any one of the three 

items listed in paragraph (c)(1) of this 

section (not just the foreign parent’s 

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58424 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 183 / Wednesday, September 21, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

1 16 U.S.C. 824o (2006). 

2 In the context of the proposed Reliability 

Standard, ‘‘loadability’’ refers to the ability of 

protective relays to refrain from operating under 

load conditions. 

share), was greater than $60 million 

(positive or negative) but none of these 

items was greater than $300 million 

(positive or negative) at the end of, or 

for, its fiscal year that ended in calendar 

year 2012. 

(ii) A minority-owned U.S. affiliate if, 

on a fully consolidated basis, or, in the 

case of real estate investment, on an 

aggregated basis, any one of the three 

items listed in paragraph (c)(1) of this 

section (not just the foreign parent’s 

share), was greater than $60 million 

(positive or negative) at the end of, or 

for, its fiscal year that ended in calendar 

year 2012. (A ‘‘minority-owned’’ U.S. 

affiliate is one in which the combined 

direct and indirect ownership interest of 

all foreign parents of the U.S. affiliate is 

50 percent or less.) 

(3) Form BE–12C must be completed 

by a U.S. affiliate if, on a fully 

consolidated basis, or, in the case of real 

estate investment, on an aggregated 

basis, none of the three items listed in 

paragraph (c)(1) of this section for a U.S. 

affiliate (not just the foreign parent’s 

share), was greater than $60 million 

(positive or negative) at the end of, or 

for, its fiscal year that ended in calendar 

year 2012. 

(4) BE–12 Claim for Not Filing will be 

provided for response by persons that 

are not subject to the reporting 

requirements of the BE–12 survey but 

have been contacted by BEA concerning 

their reporting status. 

(d) Aggregation of real estate 

investments. All real estate investments 

of a foreign person must be aggregated 

for the purpose of applying the 

reporting criteria. A single report form 

must be filed to report the aggregate 

holdings, unless written permission has 

been received from BEA to do 

otherwise. Those holdings not 

aggregated must be reported separately 

on the same type of report that would 

have been required if the real estate 

holdings were aggregated. 

(e) Due date. A fully completed and 

certified Form BE–12A, BE–12B, BE– 

12C, or BE–12 Claim for Not Filing is 

due to be filed with BEA not later than 

May 31, 2013. 

[FR Doc. 2011–24267 Filed 9–20–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Parts 39 and 40 

[Docket No. RM11–16–000] 

Transmission Relay Loadability 

Reliability Standard 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 215 of the 

Federal Power Act, the Commission 

proposes to approve Reliability 

Standard PRC–023–2 (Transmission 

Relay Loadability) submitted to the 

Commission for approval by the North 

American Electric Reliability 

Corporation (NERC), the Electric 

Reliability Organization (ERO) certified 

by the Commission. The proposed 

Reliability Standard requires 

transmission owners, generator owners, 

and distribution providers to set relays 

according to specific criteria in order to 

ensure that the relays reliably detect and 

protect the electric network from fault 

conditions, but do not limit 

transmission loadability or interfere 

with system operators’ ability to protect 

system reliability. The Commission 

seeks comment from interested persons 

on the proposed Reliability Standard. 

The Commission also proposes to 

approve NERC Rules of Procedure 

Section 1700—Challenges to 

Determinations. This proposed rule 

provides registered entities a means to 

challenge determinations made by 

planning coordinators under Reliability 

Standard PRC–023. 

DATES: Comments are due November 21, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number RM11–16– 

000 and in accordance with the 

requirements posted on the 

Commission’s Web site, http// 

www.ferc.gov. Comments may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Agency Web site: http://ferc.gov. 

Documents created electronically using 

word processing software should be 

filed in native applications or print-toPDF format and not in a scanned format, 

at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ 

efiling.asp. 

• Mail/Hand Delivery: Commenters 

unable to file comments electronically 

must mail or hand deliver their 

comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, Secretary of the 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20426. These 

requirements can be found on the 

Commission’s Web site, see, e.g., the 

‘‘Quick Reference Guide for Paper 

Submissions,’’ available at http:// 

www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp or 

via phone from FERC Online Support at 

(202) 502–6652 or toll-free at 1-(866) 

208–3676. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Terence A. Burke (Legal Information), 

Office of the General Counsel, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20426, (202) 502–6498. 

Kenneth U. Hubona (Technical 

Information), Office of Electric 

Reliability, Division of Reliability 

Standards, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 13511 Label Lane, Suite 

203, Hagerstown, MD 21740, (301) 

665–1608. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

September 15, 2011. 

1. Pursuant to section 215 of the 

Federal Power Act (FPA),1 the 

Commission proposes to approve 

Reliability Standard PRC–023–2 

(Transmission Relay Loadability) 

submitted by the North American 

Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), 

the Electric Reliability Organization 

(ERO) certified by the Commission. The 

proposed Reliability Standard requires 

transmission owners, generation 

owners, and distribution providers to 

set load-responsive phase protective 

relays according to specific criteria in 

order to ensure that the relays reliably 

detect and protect the electric network 

from fault conditions, but do not limit 

transmission loadability 2 or interfere 

with system operators’ ability to protect 

system reliability. The Commission 

seeks comment from interested persons 

on the proposed Reliability Standard. 

The Commission also proposes to 

approve NERC Rules of Procedure 

Section 1700—Challenges to 

Determinations also included in NERC’s 

filing. This proposed rule provides 

registered entities a means to challenge 

determinations made by planning 

coordinators under Reliability Standard 

PRC–023. 

I. Background 

A. Relay Protection Systems 

2. Protective relays are devices that 

detect and initiate the removal of faults 

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