66018 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 246 / Friday, December 21, 2001 / Notices

benefits earned after June 30, 1997,

through its replacement plans. Treasury

is also responsible for paying all

benefits earned under the Judges’

Retirement Plan.

The Office of D. C. Pensions seeks to

collect information from pension

benefits recipients in order to establish

a customer service baseline and for use

in developing a customer service plan.

The survey also will be used to gauge

improvements in customer service. This

is a new program for Treasury. The

Office of D. C. Pensions plans to

develop a comprehensive customer

service strategy and this survey is part

of that effort.

Current Actions: This is a new

collection. The information being

collected will be used to determine the

level of satisfaction with current service

delivery, identify areas for improvement

and provide overall information for

developing a comprehensive customer

service plan for the Office of D. C.

Pensions programs.

Type of Review: New.

Affected Public: Individuals or

households.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

2,157.

Estimated Time per Respondent: 15

minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 539 hours.

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

information to be collected; (d) ways to

minimize the burden of the collection of

information of respondents, including

through the use of automated collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology; and (e) estimates of capital

or start up costs and cost of operation,

maintenance, and purchase of services

to provide information.

Dated: December 17, 2001.

Mary Beth Shaw,

Director, Office of D. C. Pensions, Department

of the Treasury.

[FR Doc. 01–31419 Filed 12–20–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810–25–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

Expansion of General Program Test:

Quota Preprocessing

AGENCY: Customs Service, Department

of the Treasury.

ACTION: General notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces that

the quota preprocessing program test,

which provides for the electronic

processing of certain quota-class apparel

merchandise prior to arrival of the

carrier, will be expanded to the

following additional ports: Atlanta;

Boston seaport; Logan Airport, Boston;

Buffalo-Niagara Falls; ChamplainRouses Point; Chicago; Columbus;

Memphis; Miami; Miami International

Airport; Newport/Portland, Oregon (area

port of Portland); Puget Sound (the ports

of Seattle; and Seattle/Tacoma

International Airport); San Francisco

seaport; and San Francisco International

Airport.

The program test is currently being

conducted at ports located in New York/

Newark and Los Angeles. The test is

being expanded to the additional ports

so that Customs can evaluate the

program’s effectiveness on a much

larger scale and determine whether the

program should be established

nationwide on a permanent basis

through appropriate amendments to the

Customs Regulations. Public comments

concerning any aspect of the program

test as well as applications to participate

in the test are requested.

DATES: The expansion of the test to

include the additional ports is effective

on January 1, 2002. The program test is

currently scheduled to run until

December 31, 2002. Applications to

participate in the test and comments

concerning the test will continue to be

accepted throughout the testing period.

ADDRESSES: Written comments

regarding this notice or any aspect of the

program test should be addressed to

Stephen Silvestri, Quota Branch, U.S.

Customs Service, 1300 Pennsylvania

Avenue, NW., Room 5.3–D, Washington,

DC 20229, or may be sent via e-mail to

Stephen.Silvestri@customs.treas.gov. An

application to participate in the program

test must be sent to the program

coordinator for each port where the

applicant intends to submit quota

entries for preprocessing. The list of

ports and corresponding program

coordinators are as follows:

(1) Port of Atlanta: Spaulding Wyche,

4641 International Parkway, Suite 600,

Atlanta, GA 30354;

(2) Boston seaport and/or Logan

Airport: Harry Spirytus, 10 Causeway

St., Boston, MA 02222;

(3) Port of Buffalo-Niagara Falls: Jim

Neubert, 111 West Huron St., Buffalo,

NY 14202;

(4) Port of Champlain-Rouses Point:

Brenda Harrigan, 198 West Service Rd.,

Champlain, NY 12919;

(5) Port of Chicago: Bonita Hooks,

2571 Busse Rd., Elk Grove, IL 60007;

(6) Port of Columbus: Thomas

Barnhart, 7400 Alum Creek Drive,

Columbus, OH 43217;

(7) Port of Los Angeles: Nancy

Petagna, 300 S. Ferry St., Terminal

Island, CA 90731;

(8) Los Angeles International Airport:

Tony Piscitelli, 11099 S. La Cienaga

Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045;

(9) Port of Memphis: Terry Wright,

3150 Tchulahoma, Suite 1, Memphis,

TN 38118;

(10) Port of Miami; and/or Miami

International Airport: Constance Price,

P.O. Box 025280, Miami, FL 33102;

(11) Ports of New York/Newark: John

Lava, 1210 Corbin Street, Elizabeth, NJ

07201;

(12) JFK Airport: Barry Goldberg, JFK

Building 77, Jamaica, NY 11430;

(13) Port of Newport/Portland, Oregon

(area port of Portland): Megan Fishel,

P.O. Box 55580, Portland, OR 97238;

(14) Port of Puget Sound (ports of

Seattle; and Seattle-Tacoma

International Airport): Sharon Delawyer,

1000 Second Ave., Suite 2000, Seattle,

WA 98104;

(15) San Francisco seaport; and/or

San Francisco International Airport:

Diana Santiago, 555 Battery St., San

Francisco, CA 94111; and/or

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen Silvestri, Quota Branch, (202–

927–5397).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On July 24, 1998, Customs published

a general notice in the Federal Register

(63 FR 39929) announcing the limited

testing, pursuant to the provisions of

§ 101.9(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR

101.9(a)), of a new operational

procedure regarding the electronic

processing of quota-class apparel

merchandise. The test was to be

conducted at the ports located in New

York/Newark and Los Angeles.

Quota preprocessing permits certain

quota entries (merchandise classifiable

in chapter 61 or 62 of the Harmonized

Tariff Schedule of the United States

(HTSUS)) to be filed, reviewed for

admissibility, and to have their quota

priority and status determined by

Customs prior to arrival of the carrier,

similar to the method of preliminary

review by which non-quota entries are

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 246 / Friday, December 21, 2001 / Notices 66019

currently processed. The purpose of

quota preprocessing is to reduce

Customs processing time for qualified

quota entries and to expedite the release

of the subject merchandise to the

importer. To this end, participants in

quota preprocessing have been allowed

to submit quota entries to Customs up

to 5 days prior to vessel arrival or after

the wheels are up on air shipments.

The July 24, 1998, Federal Register

notice principally described the new

procedure, specified the eligibility and

application requirements for

participation in the program test, and

noted the acts of misconduct for which

a participant in the test could be

suspended and disqualified from

continued participation in the program.

The initial test of the quota

preprocessing procedure began on

September 15, 1998, and was intended

to continue for a six-month period that

expired on March 14, 1999. However,

on March 25, 1999, and on January 6,

2000, Customs published general

notices in the Federal Register (64 FR

14499 and 65 FR 806, respectively) that

extended the program test through 1999

and 2000. In addition, on November 30,

2000, Customs published another

general notice in the Federal Register

(65 FR 71356), further extending the

program test through December 31,

2002. These respective extensions of the

test procedure were undertaken so that

Customs could further evaluate the

effectiveness of the program and

determine whether the program test

should be expanded to other ports.

Customs has now concluded,

following successful evaluations of the

program to date, that the test should be

expanded to other ports in order to

enable Customs to evaluate the

program’s effectiveness on a much

larger scale and determine whether the

program should be established

nationwide on a permanent basis

through appropriate amendments to the

Customs Regulations.

Expansion of Program Test to

Additional Ports

In addition to the ports in Los Angeles

and New York/Newark where the test is

ongoing, Customs has determined that

the program test should be expanded as

of January 1, 2002 through December 31,

2002 to a number of additional ports as

follows: Atlanta; Boston seaport; Logan

Airport, Boston; Buffalo-Niagara Falls;

Champlain-Rouses Point; Chicago;

Columbus; Memphis; Miami; Miami

International Airport; Newport/

Portland, Oregon (the area port of

Portland); Puget Sound (the ports of

Seattle; and Seattle/Tacoma

International Airport); San Francisco

seaport; and San Francisco International

Airport. The expansion of the test to

these ports was determined by the

volume of quota lines of apparel

merchandise entered at these ports.

Furthermore, under the expanded

program test, because two of the ports

will receive shipments by land (BuffaloNiagara Falls; and Champlain-Rouses

Point), quota entries in these

circumstances may be submitted to

Customs after the carrier departs from

its location in Canada destined for the

U.S. border.

Eligibility and Application Criteria for

the Program Test

Given the impending significant

expansion of the program test and the

consequent influx of additional

applications to participate in the test

that is anticipated, the eligibility criteria

and application instructions for the

program, based largely on the July 24,

1998, Federal Register notice, are

essentially repeated below, albeit

revised as appropriate to reflect the

expanded test. Prospective applicants

may refer to the July 24, 1998, Federal

Register notice for a more detailed

discussion of the quota preprocessing

program.

Importer/Entry Eligibility Criteria

Only importers who currently import

qualifying apparel through one or more

of the ports listed in item ‘‘(6)’’ below

may participate in the expanded

program test. Participants are not

permitted to change their importing

patterns in order to take advantage of

quota preprocessing. In this regard,

during the test, Customs will monitor

import volumes for noticeable increases

of eligible quota entries through the

ports covered by the expanded test.

Customs will only accept

consumption entries of apparel

merchandise subject to quota (types 02

and 07) for preprocessing which meet

the following criteria:

(1) The entry must be filed using the

Automated Broker Interface (ABI);

(2) Payment must be made

electronically through the Automated

Clearinghouse (ACH);

(3) Arriving carriers must use the

Automated Manifest System (AMS);

(4) The quota category must be less

than 85% full;

(5) The entry must contain at least one

line classifiable in chapter 61 or 62 of

the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the

United States (HTSUS); and

(6) The entry must be submitted at

one of the following ports: the port of

Atlanta (Port code: 1704); Boston

seaport (Port code: 0401); Logan Airport,

Boston (port code: 0417)); the port of

Buffalo-Niagara Falls (Port code: 0901);

the port of Champlain-Rouses Point

(Port code: 0712); the port of Chicago

(Port code: 3901); the port of Columbus

(Port code: 4103); the port of Los

Angeles (Port code: 2704); Los Angeles

International Airport (Port code: 2740);

the port of Memphis (Port code: 2006);

the port of Miami (Port code: 5201);

Miami International Airport (Port code:

5206); the ports of New York/Newark,

including JFK Airport (Port codes: 1001/

4601/4701); the port of Newport/

Portland, Oregon (area port of Portland

(Port code: 2904)); the port of Puget

Sound (the ports of Seattle (Port codes:

3001, 3002, 3081); and Seattle/Tacoma

International Airport (Port code: 3029));

San Francisco seaport (Port code: 2809);

or San Francisco International Airport

(Port code: 2801).

If an importer submits a quota entry

for preprocessing and the entry does not

meet all of the criteria in items ‘‘(1)’’

through ‘‘(6)’’ above, the entry summary

will be rejected and the filer may not

resubmit the entry summary to Customs

until after the carrier has arrived. Upon

arrival of the carrier, merchandise

covered by a preprocessed entry will be

released unless Customs decides to

perform an examination. In this respect,

the fact that merchandise has been

processed under the quota

preprocessing program will not interfere

with or impede Customs ability to

examine the merchandise upon its

arrival, should such an examination be

found to be warranted. If an

examination of the merchandise is

necessary, the examination will occur

during the port’s regular inspectional

hours.

Application To Participate in Quota

Preprocessing

An importer wishing to participate in

quota preprocessing must submit a

written application that includes the

following information to the program

coordinator for each port where the

applicant intends to submit quota

entries for preprocessing:

1. The specific port(s) included under

the program where entries of the quota

merchandise are intended to be made;

2. The importer of record number(s),

including suffix(es), and a statement of

the importer’s/filer’s electronic filing

capabilities;

3. Names and addresses of any entry

filers, including Customs brokers, that

will be electronically filing entries at

each port under the program on behalf

of the importer/participant; and

4. The total number of consumption

quota entries (types 02 and 07) filed at

each of the ports subject to the program

during the preceding 12-month period

66020 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 246 / Friday, December 21, 2001 / Notices

and the estimated number of eligible

entries expected to be filed at each

designated port during the course of the

test. If it is expected that a significantly

higher number of eligible entries will be

filed over the test period than were filed

over the preceding 12-month period, an

explanation for this increase will be

necessary.

Applicants will be notified in writing

of their selection or nonselection to

participate in quota preprocessing. An

applicant denied participation may

appeal in writing to the port director at

the port where the application was

denied.

Current participants in quota

preprocessing that also wish to file

entries under the program at any of the

additional ports must notify in writing,

the additional part at least 5 working

days before submitting entries at that

port. Also, for those that are selected to

participate in the test, the July 24, 1998,

Federal Register notice should be

consulted regarding the acts of

misconduct that may result in a

participant being suspended from the

program and the extent to which a

participant may appeal a proposed

suspension from the program.

Dated: December 18, 2001.

John H. Heinrich,

Acting Assistant Commissioner, Office of

Field Operations.

[FR Doc. 01–31475 Filed 12–20–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request for Form 1099–Q

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

1099–Q, Qualified Tuition Program

Payments (Under Section 529).

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before February 19, 2002

to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to George Freeland, Internal Revenue

Service, room 5577, 1111 Constitution

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the form(s) 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: Qualified Tuition Program

Payments (Under Section 529).

OMB Number: 1545–1760.

Form Number: 1099–Q.

Abstract: Form 1099–Q is used to

report distributions from private and

state qualified tuition programs as

required under Internal Revenue Code

section 529.

Current Actions: There are no changes

being made to the form at this time.

Type of Review: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

150.

Estimated Time Per Respondent: 190

hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 28,500.

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

information to be collected; (d) ways to

minimize the burden of the collection of

information on respondents, including

through the use of automated collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology; and (e) estimates of capital

or start-up costs and costs of operation,

maintenance, and purchase of services

to provide information.

Approved: December 12, 2001.

George Freeland,

IRS Reports Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 01–31530 Filed 12–20–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request for Form 8878

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

8878, IRS e-file Signature

Authorization—Application for

Extension of Time To File.

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before February 19, 2002

to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to George Freeland, Internal Revenue

Service, room 5575, 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 Allan Hopkins,

(202) 622–6665, Internal Revenue

Service, room 5244, 1111 Constitution

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: IRS e-file Signature

Authorization—Application for

Extension of Time To File.

OMB Number: 1545–1755.

Form Number: 8878.

Abstract: Form 8878 is used to allow

taxpayers to enter their PIN on their

electronically filed application for

extension of time to file.

Current Actions: There are no changes

being made to the form at this time.

Affected Public: Individuals or

households.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

1,000,000.