[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 183 (Monday, September 22, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49436-49437]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25021]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

15 CFR Part 30

[Docket No. 970624153-7228-02]
RIN 0607-AA23


Conditional Exemptions for Filing Shipper's Export Declarations 
(SED) for Tools of Trade

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of the Census is amending the Foreign Trade 
Statistics Regulations (FTSR) to include an exemption for exporters who 
currently must file a Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) for temporary 
exports of tools of trade. This exemption will apply whenever the tools 
of trade are company-owned commodities and software, accompany the 
employees or representatives of the exporting company, and are intended 
to remain outside of the country for less than one year. The current 
regulation only allowed an exemption for filing an SED when the tools 
of trade were owned by individuals. This exemption will still apply. 
The Department of Treasury concurs with the provisions contained in 
this rule.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule will become effective September 22, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to C. Harvey Monk, Jr., Chief, Foreign Trade 
Division, Bureau of the Census, Room 2104, Federal Building 3, 
Washington, D.C. 20233-6700, by telephone on (301) 457-2255 or by fax 
on (301) 457-2645.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FTSR currently exempts tools of trade 
that are owned by individuals from the requirement to file an SED. 
However, for tools of trade owned by a company rather than an 
individual, the FTSR provided no such exemption. Companies doing 
business abroad requested that the Census Bureau review the current 
regulation to allow an exemption to eliminate the SED filing 
requirement for company-owned tools of trade that accompany employees 
or representatives of the company for temporary use abroad.
    Based upon our evaluation of these customer requests, the Census 
Bureau determined to broaden the current exemption criteria for filing 
SEDs to include an exemption for company-owned tools of trade.
    Based upon reviews by the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) and 
the U.S. Customs Service, the Census Bureau determined that, for 
statistical purposes, it is not necessary to collect information on 
temporary exports of company-owned tools of trade that do not normally 
require an export license or that are exported without a license as 
specified in 15 CFR 740.9 of the BXA Export Administration Regulations 
(EAR). For SED filing exemption purposes, the Census Bureau will 
include certain provisions of 15 CFR 740.9 of the EAR in its criteria 
for exemptions to the SED filing requirements.
    Therefore, the Bureau of the Census is amending 15 CFR 30.56 (b) to 
include an exemption to SED filing requirements for exports of company-
owned tools of trade, which are reasonable kinds and quantities of 
commodities and software for use by employees or representatives of the 
company in its enterprises or undertakings abroad. Commodities and 
software are eligible for export under this exemption provided that the 
commodities and software:
    (1) Are owned by the individual or the exporting company;
    (2) Accompany the individual exporter, employee or representative 
of the exporting company;
    (3) Are necessary and appropriate and intended for the personal 
and/or business use of the individual exporter, employee or 
representative of the company or business;
    (4) Are not for sale; and
    (5) Are returned to the United States no later than one year from 
the date of export.
    This revision to 15 CFR 30.56 (b) will increase the conditional 
exemptions for tools of trade owned by individuals, companies and/or 
businesses and minimize the reporting burden for filing an SED.

Response to Comments

    The Census Bureau issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and 
Request for Comments in the Federal Register (62 FR 36242) on Monday, 
July 7, 1997. The Bureau of the Census received four letters commenting 
on the proposed rule. All of the letters expressed support for the 
proposal and recommended prompt enactment of the final rule. No changes 
were made to the final rule as a result of comments received.

Rulemaking Requirements

    This rule is exempt from all requirements of Section 553 of the 
Administrative Procedure Act because it deals with a foreign affairs 
function (5 U.S.C. (A) (1)).
    Because a notice of proposed rulemaking was not required by 5 
U.S.C. 553 or any other law, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis was not 
required and was not prepared (5 U.S.C. 603(a)).
    This rule is exempt from the requirements of Executive Order 12866.
    This rule does not contain policies with Federalism implications 
sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism assessment under 
Executive Order 12612.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure 
to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) unless that collection of 
information displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) control number.
    This rule covers collections of information subject to the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, which are cleared by the 
Office of Management and Budget under OMB control numbers 0607-0001, 
0607-0018, and 0607-0152.

[[Page 49437]]

    This rule will result in a reduction of reporting-hour burden 
requirements under provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
Public Law 104-13.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 30

    Economic statistics, Foreign trade, Exports, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, Part 30 is amended as 
follows:

PART 30--FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS REGULATIONS

    1. The authority citation for 15 CFR Part 30 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 13 U.S.C. 301-307; Reorganization Plan 
No. 5 of 1950 (3 CFR 1949-1953 Comp., p. 1004); Department of 
Commerce Organization Order No. 35-2A. August 4, 1975, 40 CFR 42765.

Subpart D--Exemptions from the Requirements for the Filing of 
Shipper's Export Declarations

    2. Section 30.56 (b) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 30.56  Conditional exemptions.

* * * * *
    (b) Tools of trade are usual and reasonable kinds and quantities of 
commodities and software, and their containers, that are intended for 
use by individual exporters or by employees or representatives of the 
exporting company in furthering the enterprises and undertakings of the 
exporter abroad. Commodities and software eligible for this exemption 
are those that do not normally require an export license or that are 
exported without a license as specified in 15 CFR 740.9 of the EAR (15 
CFR chapter VII, subchapter C) and are subject to the following 
provisions:
    (1) Are owned by the individual exporter or exporting company;
    (2) Accompany the individual exporter, employee or representative 
of the exporting company;
    (3) Are necessary and appropriate and intended for the personal 
and/or business use of the individual exporter, employee or 
representative of the company or business;
    (4) Are not for sale; and
    (5) Are returned to the United States no later than one year from 
the date of export.
* * * * *
    Dated: September 5, 1997.
Martha Farnsworth Riche,
Director, Bureau of the Census.
[FR Doc. 97-25021 Filed 9-19-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P