37828 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 117 / Friday, June 16, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

Modification of General Program Test

for Transfer of International In-Transit

Baggage

AGENCY: Customs Service, Department

of the Treasury.

ACTION: General notice.

SUMMARY: This document announces a

modification of the program test for the

transfer of international in-transit

baggage that was initially announced in

a notice published in the Federal

Register on February 23, 2000. This

document replaces the test conditions of

operation, the application procedure,

and the revocation process that were set

forth in the initial announcement of the

test. This document also sets forth a

new application period and a new test

commencement date.

DATES: The testing period will

commence no earlier than August 15,

2000, and will run for approximately

one year. To participate in the test, a

written application must be filed with

Customs on or before July 31, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Air carriers that have

entered into an agreement with the

Government by signing an Advance

Passenger Information System (APIS)

Memorandum of Understanding may

apply to participate in the program test

by submitting a letter of application to

the port director with jurisdiction over

the airport where the transfer of

international in-transit baggage will

occur. Air carriers that wish to

participate in the test can apply to

participate in the APIS program by

contacting Mike Cronin, Acting

Associate Commissioner for Programs,

U.S. Immigration & Naturalization

Service, 425 I Street, N.W., Washington,

DC 20536.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

operational or policy matters: Steve A.

Gilbert, Office of Field Operations (202)

927–1391. For regulatory matters: Larry

L. Burton, Office of Regulations and

Rulings (202) 927–1287.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On February 23, 2000, Customs

published a general notice in the

Federal Register (65 FR 9054; referred

to herein as the notice of February 23,

2000) announcing a program test that

allows participating air carriers to more

efficiently transfer accompanied air

passenger baggage from one aircraft

entering the United States to another

aircraft departing from the United States

enroute to a foreign destination. Under

the test, participating air carriers will

not be required to file an air cargo

manifest (Customs Form (CF) 7509) but

will instead electronically transmit

certain required information to Customs

while a flight is enroute to the United

States.

The notice specified that the test

covers accompanied, international, intransit, checked baggage that arrives in

the United States aboard one aircraft

and departs from the United States

aboard another aircraft. This baggage is

referred to as ‘‘international-tointernational’’ baggage by Customs and

those who deal with the ordinary

transport and processing of such

baggage.

Thus, hereafter in this document, the

baggage will be referred to as ITI

baggage.

The notice explained the air cargo

manifest requirement and the ordinary

ITI baggage processing procedure as

provided for under the Customs

Regulations; described the Advance

Passenger Information System (APIS)

program; set forth the eligibility

requirements for participation in the

test, the information transmission and

baggage processing procedures required

under the test, and the test application

process; and requested comments on all

aspects of the test. The notice should be

consulted for a fuller understanding of

the various aspects of the program test,

excluding those aspects of the notice

that are replaced or changed in this

document: the conditions of operation,

the application and revocation

processes, and the new time elements

relative to the application process and

commencement of the test.

On April 3, 2000, Customs published

a general notice in the Federal Register

(65 FR 17550) to announce an extension

of the time period for applying to

participate in the test. The application

(statement filing) deadline was extended

to May 26, 2000.

After review of the comments

received and a reevaluation of the test,

Customs has determined that the test

should be modified. Thus, this

document modifies the test by replacing

the ‘‘Conditions of Operation’’ section,

‘‘The Application Process’’ section, and

the ‘‘Revocation and Reinstatement’’

section that were set forth in the notice

of February 23, 2000. It also extends the

deadline for applying to participate in

the test and sets a new date for

commencement of the test.

Modification of the Program Test

The following sections of this

document replace the corresponding

sections of the notice of February 23,

2000. The ‘‘Revocation and

Reinstatement’’ section of that notice is

renamed herein below the

‘‘Misconduct’’ section.

Conditions of Operation

The test conditions of operation

describe the procedures that govern air

carriers participating in the test. Any

carrier that has already submitted a

statement of acceptance of the test

conditions previously published must

reapply in accordance with the

application process set forth in this

document. The conditions of operation

set forth in the February 23, 2000, test

announcement are hereby replaced by

the conditions of operation set forth

below.

The ITI baggage program test provides

an alternative to the ordinary ITI

baggage processing procedure of

§ 122.101(a) of the Customs Regulations

(19 CFR 122.101(a)) and replaces the

regulatory requirement of § 122.48(e) (19

CFR 122.48(e)) to manually or

electronically file with Customs (at the

port of arrival) an air cargo manifest (CF

7509) for ITI baggage. Test participants

are required to follow the following test

conditions of operation:

(1) The APIS component: Prior to

arrival of the aircraft in the United

States, the test participant must transmit

to Customs, via APIS, the information

required under the terms of the APIS

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

(2) The test participant also must

submit to Customs (at the port of

arrival), at least two hours prior to

arrival of the aircraft, an ‘‘onward

connector listing,’’ a document that

identifies the arriving flight number, intransit passenger names, their checked

ITI baggage tag numbers, and their

ultimate foreign destination. For any

flight of less than two hours duration,

the ‘‘onward connector listing’’ must be

submitted to Customs (at the port of

arrival) at the time of the aircraft’s

departure (from the port of departure

enroute the United States). The

participant may provide this

information in the form of a computer

generated report, screen print, or other

hard copy document manually

submitted to Customs in a timely

manner, or by allowing Customs to

electronically access its reservations

database in order that Customs may

extract an ‘‘onward connector listing’’

containing the required information in a

timely manner.

(3) The test participant must perform

the staging and transferring of ITI

baggage in the Customs approved

security area. For purposes of this test,

the Customs approved security area is as

defined in 19 CFR 122.181 and includes

the Federal Inspection Services (FIS)

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 117 / Friday, June 16, 2000 / Notices 37829

area, the aircraft deplaning and ramp

area, and other restricted areas

designated by the port director. The

Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field

Operations, may authorize stricter limits

to the security area, for purposes of the

test, where a security or enforcement

threat exists. Access to the Customs

security area must be limited to

personnel engaging in Customs related

business and possessing Customs

approved identification cards

(holograms). (Participants should

contact the port director with

jurisdiction over the airport involved for

specific information regarding the

Customs airport security area (19 CFR

Subpart S (§ 122.181 et seq.).)

(4) For plane-to-plane transfers, test

participants will be allowed a one hour

maximum connection time at each

airport for directly transferring ITI

baggage from one plane to another

without having to be placed or stored in

the Customs approved security area.

(5) The test participant must ensure

that all carrier employees or contract

ramp service employees with access to

the ITI baggage will have and display (or

produce upon demand) approved

identification issued under the Customs

Regulations (19 CFR Part 122 Subpart

S).

(6) The test participant must timely

deliver ITI baggage to the Customs

approved security area or to the FIS area

for inspection, if and when requested.

(7) The test participant must maintain

direct control of the ITI baggage until

the departing carrier responsible for

exporting the baggage has signed a

receipt that will transfer bond liability

for the baggage from the participant to

the departing carrier. No transfer of

bond liability, and thus no receipt, is

required when the participant is

importing and exporting the baggage.

The participant may waive the receipt

requirement, relieving the departing

carrier from signing a receipt and

accepting liability, only when the

participant assumes liability for the

baggage movement through the United

States. The participant’s application

must reflect this assumption of liability

and the identity of any departing

carriers it has waived from the receipt

signing process. The application may be

amended at any time to add or delete

the identity of such carriers, as changed

circumstances warrant.

Air carrier applicants that are

accepted into the program test will be

required to follow the above conditions

of operation. If for any reason, however,

a participant’s APIS or electronic

reservations database system becomes

temporarily inoperative, Customs is

unable to receive APIS information

transmitted by a participant, or access to

the participant’s reservations database is

otherwise not available, the participant

will be required to submit a paper

document listing the required APIS

passenger information and the ITI

baggage information prior to the arrival

of the flight.

The Application Process

Participation in the test program is

open only to APIS participating air

carriers in good standing (performing

under the APIS MOU at acceptable

levels). To apply to participate in the

test, APIS participating air carriers must

submit a written application to the

appropriate port director (with

jurisdiction over the airport where the

transfer of ITI baggage will occur)

within 45 days following publication of

this notice in the Federal Register. The

application must be signed by an

authorized official of the carrier and

must indicate that the carrier wishes to

voluntarily participate in the test. The

application must reflect any assumption

of liability for the baggage in accordance

with test condition of operation 7. The

application must also designate a local

point of contact and telephone number

for use by Customs personnel at the

port. Customs will issue a written

notification informing applicants

whether their applications have been

accepted or rejected, in the latter

instance, with reasons therefore. A

carrier may appeal a rejected

application to the Assistant

Commissioner, Office of Field

Operations, within 15 days of the date

of the rejection notice.

To apply to participate in the APIS

program, a prerequisite to participating

in the test program, air carriers should

contact the Customs port director with

jurisdiction over the airport where they

intend to operate under the test or

contact Mike Cronin, Acting Associate

Commissioner for Programs, U.S.

Immigration & Naturalization Service,

425 I Street, N.W., Washington, DC

20536.

Misconduct

If a test participant fails to follow the

procedures or meet the requirements set

forth in the ‘‘Conditions of Operation,’’

or otherwise fails to follow applicable

laws or regulations, the participant may

be suspended from the test and or,

where warranted, subjected to penalties,

and or liquidated damages, and or other

administrative sanctions. Customs has

the discretion to fully or partially

suspend a participant based on the

determination that an unacceptable

compliance risk exists. This suspension

may be invoked at any time after a

carrier’s acceptance in the test.

A notice of proposed suspension from

the test will be issued by the port

director to the participant, apprising the

participant of the facts and or conduct

warranting suspension and whether the

suspension is full or partial. The notice

will state that the participant’s written

response must be received by Customs

within 15 calendar days from the date

of its issuance (the 15 day response

period). The notice also will inform the

participant that a failure to timely

respond will result in the suspension

taking effect on the day after the 15 day

response period expires and that the

notice of proposed suspension becomes

a notice of suspension, and is effective,

on that date.

Where the participant elects to

respond, the participant should address

the facts and or conduct charges

contained in the notice of proposed

suspension, provide an explanation of

the problems that resulted in the

proposed suspension, and state how it

has corrected these problems and will

maintain compliance. The port director

will decide whether to suspend the

participant from the test or allow

continued participation. The port

director will so notify the participant in

writing. Where suspension is warranted,

the port director will issue a notice of

suspension providing reasons for the

suspension and setting forth an effective

date. In the case of willfulness or where

public health and safety are concerned,

the suspension need not be proposed

but may be effective immediately, in

which case the port director will issue

a notice of suspension providing

reasons therefore and setting forth an

effective date.

At the time a notice of suspension

becomes effective, the participant will

no longer be permitted to participate in

the test. This is not changed by the

filing of an appeal.

A notice of suspension may be

appealed in writing to the Assistant

Commissioner, Office of Field

Operations, within 15 days of the date

the notice of suspension became

effective. In the appeal, the participant

should address the reasons provided by

the port director in the notice of

suspension and may include additional

arguments. Where the suspension

resulted from a participant’s failure to

timely respond to a notice of proposed

suspension, the appeal should address

the facts or conduct charges contained

in the notice of proposed suspension,

provide an explanation of the problems

that resulted in the proposed

suspension, and state how it has

corrected these problems and will

37830 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 117 / Friday, June 16, 2000 / Notices

maintain compliance. The Assistant

Commissioner will respond to the

appeal in writing within 15 days of its

receipt. Where the appeal is granted, the

participant will be permitted to resume

participation in the test. Where the

appeal is denied, the carrier may

reapply to participate in the test only

upon showing that all deficiencies

resulting in suspension have been

corrected.

A full suspension from the test may

be proposed where a test participant has

been suspended from operating under

the APIS program. A partial suspension

may be proposed where the loss of Blue

Lane eligibility for a given flight (or

flights) does not result in a participant’s

suspension from the APIS program, in

which case a partial suspension

decision will affect only that flight (or

those flights). Where a full suspension

decision was based on the participant’s

suspension from APIS, the granting of

an appeal is conditioned on the

participant’s reinstatement in APIS.

Where a partial suspension decision

was based on loss of Blue Lane

eligibility, the grant of an appeal is

conditioned on restoration of that status.

(See the notice of February 23, 2000, for

a discussion of APIS and Blue Lane

eligibility.)

A test participant also may face a

proposed full or partial suspension for

less than satisfactory performance of

any of the conditions of operation. Also,

where the port director determines that

a participant’s test performance is

unsatisfactory in any way that may

compromise the Customs enforcement

mission, the participant may face a full

or partial suspension.

A participant who has been

suspended from the test for any reason

(as of the date the notice of suspension

became effective) will be required to file

an air cargo manifest that lists ITI

baggage under ordinary procedures

(manually or electronically), in

accordance with the requirements of the

Customs Regulations (19 CFR 122.48(e)

and 122.101), or to have its in-transit

passengers take their baggage through

Customs processing as provided under

§ 122.101(a). If there has been a full

suspension from the test, all covered

flights will be affected. If the partial

suspension was limited to a certain

flight (or flights) or to a certain airport,

only those flights or that airport will be

affected.

New Time Elements

Both the time period for applying to

participate in the test program and the

targeted test commencement date have

been affected by this modification of the

program test. The deadline for applying

to participate in the test is extended to

the date that is 45 days from the date of

publication of this document, as

specified in the ‘‘Dates’’ section of this

document. The commencement date of

the test is 60 days from the date of

publication, also specified in the

‘‘Dates’’ section.

The test may be extended beyond one

year if extension is warranted. The test

will be evaluated six months after its

implementation, using the test criteria

set forth in the notice of February 23,

2000.

Dated: June 8, 2000.

Robert J. McNamara,

Acting Assistant Commissioner, Office of

Field Operations.

[FR Doc. 00–14840 Filed 6–15–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–U

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request for Form 990–W

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Department of the

Treasury, as part of its continuing effort

to reduce paperwork and respondent

burden, invites the general public and

other Federal agencies to take this

opportunity to comment on proposed

and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is

soliciting comments concerning Form

990–W, Estimated Tax on Unrelated

Business Taxable Income for TaxExempt Organizations.

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before August 15, 2000

to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Garrick R. Shear, Internal Revenue

Service, room 5244, 1111 Constitution

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the form and instructions

should be directed to Carol Savage,

(202) 622–3945, Internal Revenue

Service, room 5242, 1111 Constitution

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Estimated Tax on Unrelated

Business Taxable Income for TaxExempt Organizations.

OMB Number: 1545–0976.

Form Number: 990–W.

Abstract: Form 990–W is used by taxexempt trusts and tax-exempt

corporations to figure estimated tax

liability on unrelated business income

and on investment income for private

foundations and the amount of each

installment payment. Form 990–W is a

worksheet only. It is not required to be

filed.

Current Actions: Because of section

501 of the Tax Relief Extension Act of

1999 (Public Law 106–170), beginning

in tax year 2000 the aggregate amounts

of credits allowed under Subtitle A,

Chapter 1, Subchapter A, Part IV,

Subpart A of the Internal Revenue Code,

will offset both a corporation’s regular

tax liability and its minimum tax.

Because of this law change, Line 6

(alternative minimum tax) is being

relocated to Line 3 and a new total line

(Line 4) is being added so taxpayers can

determine their total tax before applying

their estimated tax credits. The other

lines will be renumbered to reflect these

changes.

Type of Review: Revision of a

currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Not-for-profit

institutions and business or other forprofit organizations.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

27,265.

Estimated Time per Respondent: 14

hours, 13 minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 387,749.

The following paragraph applies to all

of the collections of information covered

by this notice:

An agency may not conduct or

sponsor, and a person is not required to

respond to, a collection of information

unless the collection of information

displays a valid OMB control number.

Books or records relating to a collection

of information must be retained as long

as their contents may become material

in the administration of any internal

revenue law. Generally, tax returns and

tax return information are confidential,

as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.

Request for Comments

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for OMB

approval. All comments will become a

matter of public record. Comments are

invited on: (a) Whether the collection of

information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

agency, including whether the

information shall have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate

of the burden of the collection of

information; (c) ways to enhance the

quality, utility, and clarity of the