Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 7321 

III. Comments 

Interested persons may submit either 

electronic comments regarding this 

document to http://www.regulations.gov 

or written comments to the Division of 

Dockets Management (see ADDRESSES). It 

is only necessary to send one set of 

comments. Identify comments with the 

docket number found in brackets in the 

heading of this document. Received 

comments may be seen in the Division 

of Dockets Management between 9 a.m. 

and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 

will be posted to the docket at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

IV. Electronic Access 

Persons with access to the Internet 

may obtain the document at http://

www.fda.gov/Drugs/Guidance

ComplianceRegulatoryInformation/

Guidances/default.htm; or http://

www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/

GuidanceComplianceRegulatory

Information/Guidances/default.htm; or 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Dated: February 3, 2015. 

Leslie Kux, 

Associate Commissioner for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02561 Filed 2–9–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4164–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

22 CFR Part 96 

[Public Notice: 9023] 

RIN 1400–AD45 

Adoptions: Regulatory Change To 

Clarify the Application of the 

Accreditation Requirement and 

Standards in Cases Covered by the 

Intercountry Adoption Universal 

Accreditation Act 

AGENCY: Department of State. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule amends the 

Department of State (Department) 

interim rule on the accreditation and 

approval of adoption service providers 

in intercountry adoptions, and adopts 

the interim rule as final. The revisions 

reflect the requirement of the 

Intercountry Adoption Universal 

Accreditation Act of 2012 (UAA) that 

the accreditation standards developed 

in accordance with the 1993 Hague 

Convention on Protection of Children 

and Co-operation in Respect of 

Intercountry Adoption (Convention) and 

the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 

(IAA), which previously only applied in 

Convention adoption cases, apply also 

in non-Convention adoption cases. Nonconvention adoption cases are known as 

‘‘orphan’’ cases, defined in the 

Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). 

This rule also revises the accreditation 

rule by referring to the Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS) Convention 

home study regulation and deleting 

obsolete references, such as any 

reference to temporary accreditation. 

DATES: This document finalizes the 

interim final rule published on July 14, 

2014 (79 FR 40629), and is effective 

February 10, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Office of Legal Affairs, Overseas Citizen 

Services, U.S. Department of State, CA/ 

OCS/L, SA–17, Floor 10, Washington, 

DC 20522–1710; (202) 485–6079. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Why is the Department promulgating 

this rule? 

This rule clarifies that under the 

Intercountry Adoption Universal 

Accreditation Act of 2012 (UAA), signed 

into law January 14, 2013, and effective 

July 14, 2014, the accreditation 

requirement and standards found in 22 

CFR part 96 apply to any person 

(including non-profit agencies, for-profit 

agencies and individuals but excluding 

government agencies and tribal 

authorities), providing adoption services 

on behalf of prospective adoptive 

parents in an ‘‘orphan’’ intercountry 

adoption case described under section 

101(b)(1)(F) of the Immigration and 

Nationality Act. Specifically, under 

Section 2 of the UAA ‘‘[t]he provisions 

of title II and section 404 of the 

Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 

U.S.C. 14901 et seq.), and related 

implementing regulations, shall apply to 

any person offering or providing 

adoption services in connection with a 

child described in section 101(b)(1)(F) 

of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

(8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)(F)), to the same 

extent as they apply to the offering or 

provision of adoption services in 

connection with a Convention 

adoption.’’ 

Title II of the Intercountry Adoption 

Act of 2000 (IAA) (Pub. L. 106–279) 

requires that any person providing 

adoption services in a Convention case 

be an accredited, approved, or an 

exempted adoption service provider, 

and section 404 imposes civil and 

criminal penalties for violations of the 

Act. On February 15, 2006 the 

Department of State published 

implementing regulations at 71 FR 8064, 

on the accreditation and approval of 

agencies and persons in accordance 

with the Convention and the IAA. 

The UAA extends that rule from 

Convention cases to ‘‘orphan’’ cases. 

This regulatory change includes a 

number of technical edits to facilitate 

interpretation of the regulatory 

requirements and clarify designated 

accrediting entities’ authority under the 

UAA and the IAA. 

The Department is amending the 

regulation to make 22 CFR part 96, as 

affected by the UAA, easier to read. This 

rule will aid the accrediting entity 

applying the standards and adoption 

service providers required to comply 

with the standards. In particular, this 

rule adds references to the UAA where 

the IAA is referenced; adds a sentence 

concerning the UAA effective date; 

redefines ‘‘Central Authority’’ to include 

competent authorities, thereby 

clarifying how the term applies in 

countries that are not party to the 

Convention; redefines adoption records 

to include non-Convention case records 

and changes Section 96.25(b) 

concerning accrediting entity access to 

non-Convention records in cases subject 

to the UAA; defines the terms INA, IAA, 

and intercountry adoption; refers to 

‘‘accreditation and approval’’ instead of 

to ‘‘Convention accreditation and 

approval;’’ revises § 96.46(a)(4) to clarify 

that foreign supervised providers in 

non-Convention countries may not have 

a pattern of licensing suspensions 

relating to key Convention principles; 

and revises references to ‘‘Convention 

adoption,’’ ‘‘cases subject to the 

Convention,’’ ‘‘Convention case,’’ 

‘‘Convention country,’’ and 

‘‘Convention-related activity’’ to ensure 

that such references include nonConvention adoptions, activities, 

countries, and cases under the UAA. 

Additionally, this rule corrects the 

references in 22 CFR 96.37(f)(2), and 

96.47(a)(4) and (b), to refer to the correct 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS) definition of home study preparer 

and home study requirements. When 

the original rule was issued in 2006, 

DHS had not yet published its final rule 

concerning home studies in Convention 

cases. Thus, the 2006 State Department 

rule referred to the ‘‘orphan’’ home 

study requirements under 8 CFR 

204.3(b) and (e), instead of the 

Convention home study requirements 

found in 8 CFR 204.301 and 311. This 

rule references the correct DHS 

regulation. The change clarifies that the 

home study must be prepared by an 

accredited agency, approved person, 

exempted provider, or a supervised 

provider. In addition, when the home 

study is not performed in the first 

instance by an accredited agency, then 

an accredited agency must review and 

approve it. The orphan and Convention 

home study requirements also differ 

concerning the required elements, 


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7322 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

applicable definitions, and the duty to 

disclose. The Department notes that, 

since the publication of the interim final 

rule, DHS published interim specific 

guidance in the USCIS Adjudicator’s 

Field Manual, Chapter 21.5(e)(2)(C), on 

how the Convention home study 

requirements apply in orphan cases. 

Finally, the rule amends 22 CFR part 96 

to delete obsolete provisions, including 

any references to temporary 

accreditation, deleting subpart N in its 

entirety. Under the IAA, temporary 

accreditation was only possible for a 

one- or two-year period following the 

entry into force of the Convention. 

Because the Convention entered into 

force for the United States on April 1, 

2008, more than two years ago, 

temporary accreditation is no longer 

possible. The rule also deletes the 

section on ‘‘special provisions for 

agencies and persons seeking to be 

accredited or approved as of the time 

the Convention enters into force for the 

United States’’ and a reference to that 

section. Further, the rule revises 

requirements concerning ‘‘notification 

of accreditation and approval decisions’’ 

and ‘‘length of accreditation or approval 

period,’’ deleting provisions that 

applied only during the transitional 

period to the Convention entering into 

force and clarifying that for purposes of 

the notification requirement the phrase 

‘‘accreditation or approval decisions’’ 

refers to whether an application is 

granted or denied. 

Cases that are grandfathered under 

Section 2(c) of the UAA are not affected 

by this rule. See the Department’s 

adoption Web site and the DHS/USCIS 

Web site for information on this 

grandfathering provision. 

The interim final rule received no 

public comment about the changes in 

the accreditation regulations. The 

Department is making corrections to the 

interim final rule in the final rule. In 

§ 96.14(a) the terms ‘‘Convention 

adoption case’’ and ‘‘Convention case’’ 

were both meant to be replaced by the 

term ‘‘intercountry adoption case,’’ but 

the replacement only occurred for 

‘‘Convention case’’ and a space 

disappeared between ‘‘adoption’’ and 

‘‘case’’ resulting in an anomalous term 

‘‘intercountry adoption case’’. The final 

rule corrects these errors. 

Administrative Procedure Act 

The Department published this rule as 

an interim final rule based on its 

determination for good cause that 

delaying the effect of this rule during 

the period of public comment would be 

impractical, unnecessary and contrary 

to public interest under Section 553 of 

the Administrative Procedure Act 

(APA), 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B). The rule 

was published and went into effect on 

the date that the UAA went into effect, 

July 14, 2014, which aided the 

accrediting entity in its accreditation 

and oversight function and avoided 

confusion among adoption service 

providers and other members of the 

public about how the accreditation 

standards apply in ‘‘orphan’’ 

intercountry adoption cases. As noted 

above, the only change to the text of the 

interim final rule is a correction in 

§ 96.14(a). 

Regulatory Flexibility Act/Executive 

Order 13272: Small Business 

Consistent with section 605(b) of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 

605(b)), the Department certifies that 

this rule does not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The rule 

clarifies the requirements imposed by 

the UAA and IAA on adoption service 

providers providing services in 

‘‘orphan’’ intercountry adoption cases 

described under section 101(b)(1)(F). 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

Section 202 of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 

104–4, 109 Stat. 48, codified at 2 U.S.C. 

1532) generally requires agencies to 

prepare a statement before proposing 

any rule that may result in an annual 

expenditure of $100 million or more by 

State, local, or tribal governments, or by 

the private sector. This rule does not 

result in any such expenditure, nor will 

it significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments or the private sector. 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 

This rule is not a major rule as 

defined by 5 U.S.C. 804, for purposes of 

congressional review of agency 

rulemaking under the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 (Pub. L. 104–121). This rule will 

not result in an annual effect on the 

economy of $100 million or more; a 

major increase in costs or prices; or 

adverse effects on competition, 

employment, investment, productivity, 

innovation, or the ability of United 

States-based companies to compete with 

foreign-based companies in domestic 

and import markets. 

Executive Order 12866 

The Department of State has reviewed 

this rule to ensure its consistency with 

the regulatory philosophy and 

principles set forth in Executive Order 

12866 and has determined that the 

benefits of this final regulation justify its 

costs. The Department does not consider 

this rulemaking to be an economically 

significant action within the scope of 

section 3(f)(1) of the Executive Order. 

The rule does not add any new legal 

requirements to Part 96 but reflects the 

changes affected by the UAA to apply 

these accreditation standards in orphan 

cases. The UAA and this rule benefit 

prospective adoptive parents, children, 

and birth families involved in the 

intercountry adoption process by 

ensuring that adoption service providers 

providing services in orphan cases are 

subject to the same accreditation 

standards and ongoing oversight and 

monitoring that apply in Convention 

cases. 

Concerning the cost of the UAA, the 

Report from the Congressional Budget 

Office (CBO) on October 17, 2012, notes 

that the UAA imposes ‘‘a private sector 

mandate by requiring all providers of 

placement services for intercountry 

adoptions to be compliant with the 

accreditation standards of the Hague 

Convention.’’ The report notes, further, 

that ‘‘[t]he initial fees for obtaining 

accreditation can range between $10,000 

and $16,000 depending on the size and 

annual revenue of the entity seeking 

accreditation. Annual fees to maintain 

accreditation are less than $1,000 on 

average, but are also subject to change 

based on the revenue of the entity. The 

cost of liability insurance for adoption 

agencies varies from state to state and 

can range between $10,000 and $50,000 

per year.’’ Overall, CBO concluded: 

‘‘Based on information gathered from 

industry professionals, the Department 

of Health and Human Services, and an 

accreditation agency, the number of 

entities that would be affected is 

relatively small. Therefore, CBO 

estimates that the aggregate cost of the 

mandate to the private sector would fall 

below the annual threshold established 

in UMRA [Unfunded Mandates Reform 

Act] ($146 million in 2012, adjusted 

annually for inflation).’’ 

The Council on Accreditation (COA), 

the accrediting entity designated by the 

Department, reports that approximately 

forty new agencies applied for 

accreditation since the UAA became law 

in January of 2013. This number is 

much fewer than COA had anticipated. 

Executive Orders 12372 and 13132: 

Federalism 

This regulation will not have 

substantial direct effects on the States, 

on the relationship between the national 

government and the States, or the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. Nor will the rule 

have federalism implications warranting 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 7323 

the application of Executive Orders 

12372 and No. 13132. 

Executive Order 12988: Civil Justice 

Reform 

The Department has reviewed the 

regulations in light of Executive Order 

No. 12988 to eliminate ambiguity, 

minimize litigation, establish clear legal 

standards, and reduce burden. 

Executive Order 13563: Improving 

Regulation and Regulatory Review 

The Department has considered this 

rule in light of Executive Order 13563, 

dated January 18, 2011, and affirms that 

this regulation is consistent with the 

guidance therein. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This rule does not impose information 

collection requirements subject to the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35. 

List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 96 

Adoption, Child welfare, Children 

immigration, Foreign persons. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the interim final rule 

amending 22 CFR part 96, which was 

published at 79 FR 40629 on July 14, 

2014, is adopted as a final rule with the 

following changes: 

PART 96—INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION 

ACCREDITATION OF AGENCIES AND 

APPROVAL OF PERSONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 96 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: The Convention on Protection 

of Children and Co-operation in Respect of 

Intercountry Adoption (done at the Hague, 

May 29, 1993), S. Treaty Doc. 105–51 (1998), 

1870 U.N.T.S. 167 (Reg. No. 31922 (1993)); 

The Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, 42 

U.S.C. 14901–14954; The Intercountry 

Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 

2012, Pub. L. 112–276, 42 U.S.C. 14925. 

§ 96.14 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend § 96.14(a) by removing the 

terms ‘‘Convention adoption case’’ and 

‘‘intercountry adoptioncase’’ and adding 

in place of each the term ‘‘intercountry 

adoption case’’. 

Dated: January 27, 2015. 

David T. Donahue, 

Senior Advisor for Consular Affairs, U.S. 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02248 Filed 2–9–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Internal Revenue Service 

26 CFR Part 1 

[TD 9710] 

RIN 1545–BK50 

Foreign Tax Credit Splitting Events 

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Final regulations and removal of 

temporary regulations. 

SUMMARY: This document contains final 

Income Tax Regulations with respect to 

a provision of the Internal Revenue 

Code (Code) that addresses situations in 

which foreign income taxes have been 

separated from the related income. 

These regulations are necessary to 

provide guidance on applying the 

statutory provision, which was enacted 

as part of legislation commonly referred 

to as the Education Jobs and Medicaid 

Assistance Act (EJMAA) on August 10, 

2010. These regulations affect taxpayers 

claiming foreign tax credits or deducting 

foreign income taxes. 

DATES: Effective date: These regulations 

are effective on February 10, 2015. 

Applicability dates: For dates of 

applicability, see §§ 1.704– 

1(b)(1)(ii)(b)(3), 1.909–1(e), 1.909–2(c), 

1.909–3(c), 1.909–4(b), 1.909–5(c), and 

1.909–6(h). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Suzanne M. Walsh, (202) 317–6936 (not 

a toll-free call). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On February 14, 2012, a notice of 

proposed rulemaking by cross-reference 

to temporary regulations (REG–132736– 

11) under sections 909 and 704 of the 

Code and temporary regulations (TD 

9577) (2012 temporary regulations) were 

published in the Federal Register at [77 

FR 8184] and [77 FR 8127], respectively. 

Section 1.909–6T of the 2012 

temporary regulations set forth an 

exclusive list of splitter arrangements 

that applied to foreign income taxes 

paid or accrued by a section 902 

corporation in a taxable year beginning 

on or before December 31, 2010, 

comprised of reverse hybrid structure 

splitter arrangements, foreign 

consolidated group splitter 

arrangements, group relief or other loss 

sharing regime splitter arrangements, 

and hybrid instrument splitter 

arrangements (pre-2011 splitter 

arrangements). 

For foreign income taxes paid or 

accrued by any person in a taxable year 

beginning on or after January 1, 2011, 

§ 1.909–5T of the 2012 temporary 

regulations adopted the same list of 

splitter arrangements as § 1.909–6T, but 

added partnership inter-branch payment 

splitter arrangements to the list. 

For foreign income taxes paid or 

accrued by any person in a taxable year 

beginning on or after January 1, 2012, 

§ 1.909–2T adopted the list of splitter 

arrangements applicable to prior taxable 

years with certain changes. Because 

regulations under section 901 were 

modified for taxable years beginning 

after February 14, 2012, to address the 

application of the legal liability rule to 

combined income regimes, consolidated 

group splitter arrangements were 

removed from the list (although § 1.909– 

5T applied the consolidated group 

splitter arrangement rules to foreign 

income taxes paid or accrued by any 

person in a taxable year beginning on or 

after January 1, 2012, and on or before 

February 14, 2012). In addition, the 

definitions of hybrid instrument splitter 

arrangements and loss-sharing splitter 

arrangements were expanded. 

Sections 1.909–3T and 1.909–6T 

provided interim mechanical rules for 

tracking taxes paid or accrued with 

respect to a splitter arrangement (split 

taxes) as well as the related income with 

respect to such taxes. 

The 2012 temporary regulations also 

removed the special rule for interbranch payments previously set forth in 

§ 1.704–1(b)(4)(viii)(d)(3). 

A public hearing was not requested 

and none was held. However, the IRS 

and the Treasury Department received 

written comments in response to the 

notice of proposed rulemaking. After 

consideration of all the comments, the 

proposed regulations under section 909 

are adopted as amended by this 

Treasury decision. The revisions are 

discussed in this preamble. This 

Treasury decision also adopts the 

proposed regulations under section 704 

without amendment. 

Explanation of Revisions and Summary 

of Comments 

I. Splitter Arrangements—In General 

This Treasury decision makes 

clarifying changes to certain of the 

definitions of splitter arrangements in 

§ 1.909–2T. It also makes a clarifying 

change to the interim mechanical rules 

for tracking split taxes and related 

income. Apart from this clarifying 

change, this Treasury decision does not 

address mechanical issues, which are 

still under consideration and will be 

addressed in future guidance. 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES