2017-06182

Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 59 (Wednesday, March 29, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 59 (Wednesday, March 29, 2017)]

[Notices]

[Pages 15514-15516]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[FR Doc No: 2017-06182]

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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION

Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Intent To

Extend Collection 3038-0049: Procedural Requirements for Requests for

Interpretative, No-Action, and Exemptive Letters

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is announcing

an opportunity for public comment on the proposed extension of a

collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork

Reduction Act (PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in

the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of

information, including each proposed extension of an existing

collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment.

This notice solicits comments on requirements related to requests for,

and the issuance of, exemptive, no-action, and interpretative letters.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 30, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``OMB Control Number

3038-0049,'' by any of the following methods:

The Agency's Web site, at http://comments.cftc.gov/.

Follow the instructions for submitting comments through the Web site.

Mail: Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the

Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette

Centre, 1155 21st Street NW., Washington, DC 20581.

Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as Mail above.

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov/.

Follow the instructions for submitting comments through the Portal.

Please submit your comments using only one method. All comments

must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied by an English

translation. Comments will be posted as received to http://www.cftc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jocelyn Partridge, Special Counsel,

Division of Clearing and Risk, (202) 418-5926, email:

[email protected]; Meghan Tente, Special Counsel, Division of

Clearing and Risk, (202) 418-5785, email: [email protected]; Jacob

Chachkin, Special Counsel, Division of Swaps and Intermediary

Oversight, (202) 418-5496, email:

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[email protected]; or Dana Brown, Paralegal Specialist, Division of

Market Oversight, (202) 418-5093, email: [email protected]; or (202) 418-

5093.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, Federal agencies must obtain

approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each

collection of information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of

Information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3 and

includes agency requests or requirements that members of the public

submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to

respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB

control number. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A), requires a Federal agency to provide a 60-day notice in

the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of

information, including each proposed extension of an existing

collection of information before submitting the collection to OMB for

approval. To comply with these requirements, the CFTC is publishing

notice of the proposed collection of information listed below.

Title: Procedural Requirements for Requests for Interpretative, No-

Action and Exemptive Letters (OMB Control No. 3038-0049). This is a

request for an extension of a currently approved information

collection.

Abstract: This collection covers the information requirements for

voluntary requests for, and the issuance of, interpretative, no-action,

and exemptive letters submitted to Commission staff pursuant to the

provisions of section 140.99 of the Commission's regulations,\1\ and

related requests for confidential treatment pursuant to section

140.98(b) \2\ of the Commission's regulations. It includes reporting

and recordkeeping requirements.

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\1\ 17 CFR. 140.99. An archive containing CFTC staff letters may

be found at http://www.cftc.gov/LawRegulation/CFTCStaffLetters/index.htm.

\2\ 17 CFR 140.98(b).

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The collection requirements described herein are voluntary. They

apply to parties that choose to request a benefit from Commission staff

in the form of the regulatory action described in section 140.99. Such

benefits may include, for example, relief from some or all of the

burdens associated with other collections of information, relief from

regulatory obligations that do not constitute collections of

information collections, interpretations, or extensions of time for

compliance with certain Commission regulations. It is likely that

persons who would opt to request action under section 140.99 will have

determined that the information collection burdens that they would

assume by doing so will be outweighed substantially by the relief that

they seek to receive.

The information collection associated with section 140.99 of the

Commission's regulations is necessary, and would be used, to assist

Commission staff in understanding the type of relief that is being

requested and the basis for the request. It is also necessary, and

would be used, to provide staff with a sufficient basis for determining

whether: (1) Granting the relief would be necessary or appropriate

under the facts and circumstances presented by the requestor; (2) the

relief provided should be conditional and/or time-limited; and (3)

granting the relief would be consistent with staff responses to

requests that have been presented under similar facts and

circumstances. In some cases, the requested relief might be granted

upon the condition that those who seek the benefits of that relief

fulfill certain notice and other reporting obligations that serve as

substituted compliance for regulatory requirements that would otherwise

be imposed. In other cases, the conditions might include reporting or

recordkeeping requirements that are necessary to ensure that the relief

granted by Commission staff is appropriate. Once again, it is likely

that those who would comply with these conditions will have determined

that the burden of complying with the conditions is outweighed by the

relief that they seek to receive. The information collection associated

with section 140.98(b) of the Commission's regulations is necessary to

provide a mechanism whereby persons requesting no-action,

interpretative and exemption letters may seek temporary confidential

treatment of their request and the Commission staff response thereto

and the grounds upon which such confidential treatment is sought.

With respect to the collection of information, the CFTC invites

comments on:

Whether the proposed collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the

Commission, including whether the information will have a practical

use;

The accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of

the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used; and

Ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of

the information to be collected; and

Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of

information on those who are to respond, including through the use of

appropriate automated electronic, mechanical or other technological

collection techniques or other forms of information technology; e.g.,

permitting electronic submission of responses.

You should submit only information that you wish to make available

publicly. If you wish the Commission to consider information that you

believe is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act,

a petition for confidential treatment of the exempt information may be

submitted according to the procedures established in section 145.9 of

the Commission's regulations.\3\ The Commission reserves the right, but

shall have no obligation to, review, pre-screen, filter, redact, refuse

or remove any or all of your submission from http://www.cftc.gov that

it may deem inappropriate for publication, such as obscene language.

All submissions that have been redacted or removed that contain

comments on the merits of the Information Collection Requirement will

be retained in the public comment file and will be considered as

required under the Administrative Procedure Act and other applicable

laws, and may be accessible under the Freedom of Information Act.

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\3\ 17 CFR 145.9.

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Burden Statement: In order to establish estimates of the annual

information collection burdens associated with the exemptive, no-action

and interpretative letters that may be issued by Commission staff

during the three year renewal period, Commission staff reviewed the

letters of this type that were issued by Commission staff during 2016.

This timeframe was chosen because it is believed that such recent

experience is indicative of both the quantity of requests that

Commission staff expects to receive and the quantity of letters that

Commission staff expects to issue on an annual basis during the renewal

period and the information collection burdens that may be associated

with them. In some cases, the relief granted in 2016 is unlikely to be

requested again as it has been superseded by a Commission rulemaking.

The projected burden estimates for the renewal period were not reduced

accordingly in order to account for the possibility that new issues may

arise. It is also possible that certain relief granted in 2016 may be

superseded by a future Commission rulemaking. As future rulemakings and

their effective dates are speculative, the estimates for the renewal

period have

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not been reduced to account for potential rulemakings.

The annual respondent burden for this collection during the renewal

period is estimated to be as follows:

Estimated Number of Respondents: 284.

Estimated Average Annual Burden Hours per Respondent: 9.5.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,704.

Frequency of Collection: Occasional.

Type of Respondents: Respondents include persons registered with

the Commission (such as commodity pool operators, commodity trading

advisors, derivatives clearing organizations, designated contract

markets, futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, swap

dealers, and swap execution facilities), persons seeking an exemption

from registration, persons whose registration with the Commission is

pending, trade associations and their members, eligible contract

participants, and other persons seeking relief from discrete regulatory

requirements.

There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs

associated with this collection.

These estimates, as set forth in greater detail below, include the

burden hours for complying with the information requirements for

exemptive, no-action and interpretative letters contained in section

140.99(c) of the Commission's regulations; effecting the filing of such

letters pursuant to section 140.99(d); providing notice to Commission

staff of materially changed facts and circumstances pursuant to section

140.99(c)(3)(ii); complying with any conditions that may be contained

in a grant of no-action or exemptive relief; complying with

requirements to make disclosures to third parties; and preparing and

submitting withdrawals of requests for exemptive, no-action and

interpretative letters, as provided in section 140.99(f). The estimates

also include burden hours related to a request for confidential

treatment made pursuant to section 140.98(b) of the Commission's

regulations.\4\

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\4\ The Commission now includes the collection of information

related to Commission regulation 41.3(b), which involves exemption

requests from certain intermediaries, under OMB number 3038-0059

and, as such, is no longer including it in this OMB number.

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The burden hours associated with requests for exemptive, no-action

and interpretative letters include both the drafting and filing of the

request itself as well as performing the underlying factual or legal

analysis generally to comply with the information collection. The

burden hours associated with individual requests will vary widely,

depending upon the type and complexity of relief requested, whether the

request presents novel or complex issues, the relevant facts and

circumstances, and the number of requestors or other affected entities.

The Commission provides estimates of the amount of time that any

requestor spends on any particular request as each request is unique,

based upon the preceding factors.

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Estimated

Estimated Estimated average Estimated

annual annual reports Total annual number of annual burden

respondents or records per responses hours per hours

respondent response

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Reporting

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Sec. 140.99 (c)--information 78 1 78 24.7 1,930

requirements for letters.......

Sec. 140.99(d)--filing 78 1 78 1 78

requirements...................

Sec. 140.99 (c)(3)(ii)-- 5 1 5 3 15

materially changed facts and

circumstances..................

Sec. 140.99(e)--staff response 16 1 16 5 80

(conditions imposed)...........

Sec. 140.99(f)--withdrawal of 5 1 5 1 5

requests.......................

Sec. 140.98(b)--requests for 42 1 42 1 42

confidential treatment.........

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Total Reporting............. 224 1 224 9.6 2,150

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Recordkeeping

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Sec. 140.99(e)--staff response 54 4 216 1 216

(conditions imposed)...........

Disclosures to Third Parties.... 6 56.4 338 1 338

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Total....................... 284 2.7 778 3.5 2,704

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(Authority 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)

Dated: March 24, 2017.

Robert N. Sidman,

Deputy Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 2017-06182 Filed 3-28-17; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6351-01-P

 

Last Updated: March 29, 2017