2020-17046

Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 151 (Wednesday, August 5, 2020) 
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 151 (Wednesday, August 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47359-47361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17046]


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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Intent To
Revise Collection 3038-0005, Adoption of Revised Notice of Exemption
Under Regulation 4.13(b)(1)

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission)
is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the recent revision
to the collection of certain information by the Commission. Under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish
notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of
information and to allow 60 days for public comment. The Commission
revised its regulation requiring the filing of a notice of exemption by
persons seeking to claim relief from registration as a commodity pool
operator (CPO). This Federal Register notice solicits comments on the
PRA implications of the revision to that required notice of exemption,
including comments addressing adjustments in burden to the relevant
information collection requirement of the revised exemption notice.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 5, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``OMB control number
3038-0005; Adoption of Revised Notice of Exemption under 17 CFR
4.13(b)(1),'' by any of the following methods:
     CFTC Comments Portal: https://comments.cftc.gov. Select
the ``Submit Comments'' link for this notice and follow the
instructions on the Public Comment Form.
     Mail: Send to Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the
Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Follow the same instructions as for
Mail, above. Please submit your comments using only one of these
methods. Submissions through the CFTC Comments Portal are encouraged.
    All comments must be submitted in English or, if not, be
accompanied by an English translation. Comments will be posted as
received to https://comments.cftc.gov. 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 (FOIA), a petition for
confidential treatment of the exempt information may be submitted
according to the procedures established in Commission regulation
145.9.\1\
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    \1\ 17 CFR 145.9.
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    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 https://comments.cftc.gov that it may deem to be
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 request will be retained in
the public comment file and will be considered as

[[Page 47360]]

required under the Administrative Procedure Act and other applicable
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laws, and may be accessible under the FOIA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Sterling, Director, (202) 418-
6700, [email protected]; Amanda Olear, Deputy Director, (202) 418-
5283, [email protected]; or Elizabeth Groover, Special Counsel, (202)
418-5985, [email protected], Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary
Oversight, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 1155 21st Street NW,
Washington, DC 20581.

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.
Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), requires
Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of information before submitting
the collection to OMB for approval. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB number. The
Commission believes that its revision of the notice of exemption
required by Regulation 4.13(b)(1), as discussed further below, results
in a collection of information within the meaning of the PRA. As such,
the Commission is publishing for notice and comment the following
revisions to the information collection associated with that notice.
    Title: Rules Relating to the Operations and Activities of Commodity
Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors and to Monthly Reporting
by Futures Commission Merchants (OMB control number 3038-0005). This is
a request for extension and revision of this currently approved
information collection.
    Abstract: The Commission recently revised the notice of exemption
required by Regulation 4.13(b)(1) of any person who desires to claim
the relief from CPO registration.\2\ The various collections of
information required by part 4 of the Commission's regulations,
including the notice required by Regulation 4.13(b)(1), were previously
approved by OMB in accordance with the PRA and assigned OMB control
number 3038-0005. The Commission offers the following summary of the
revision to the notice and the resulting estimated impact on existing
burden hour estimates associated with this information collection.
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    \2\ 17 CFR 4.13(b)(1).
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Revision to the Notice of Exemption

    On June 4, 2020, the Commission adopted an amendment to Regulation
4.13(b)(1) that added a representation to the notice already required
to be electronically filed with the Commission by persons claiming an
exemption from CPO registration thereunder.\3\ With that amendment, the
Commission is requiring persons filing a notice of exemption thereunder
to also represent that neither the person nor any of its principals has
in its background a statutory disqualification listed in section 8a(2)
of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA or Act) that would require
disclosure, if the person sought registration. Subject to one limited
exception, the amended regulation provides that a person who has, or
whose principals have, in their backgrounds a statutory
disqualification under CEA section 8a(2) will generally be prohibited
from claiming an exemption from CPO registration under Regulation 4.13.
The Commission intended this amendment to eliminate the inconsistent
treatment of exempt CPOs as compared to registered CPOs (and the
principals thereof), whereby certain persons could avoid the CEA's
basic conduct requirements established for all persons registering as
intermediaries with the Commission by claiming an exemption from CPO
registration instead. Ultimately, the Commission's stated purpose in
adopting this amendment was to improve the customer protection and
general investor confidence experienced by exempt pool participants.
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    \3\ Amendments to Registration and Compliance Requirements for
Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors: Prohibiting
Exemptions under Regulation 4.13 on Behalf of Persons Subject to
Certain Statutory Disqualifications, 85 FR 40877 (July 8, 2020)
(Statutory Disqualifications Final Rule).
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    The Commission noted in the Statutory Disqualifications Final Rule
that the amendment in its proposed form had not implicated an
additional or existing collection of information, and thus, the
proposed regulation was not considered in the PRA context.\4\ Because
the Statutory Disqualifications Final Rule resulted in a representation
being added to the existing notice filing in Regulation 4.13(b), the
Commission determined that this amendment constitutes the modification
of an existing information collection; as such, its PRA implications
are being considered in this separately published notice.
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    \4\ Statutory Disqualifications Final Rule, 85 FR 40887.
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    By adding this representation to the notice of exemption, the
Commission recognizes that the existing information collection burden
for that notice, currently 0.1 hours, is expected to increase. The
Commission estimates that the representation would add a total of 0.2
burden hours to the information collection burdens currently estimated
for the notice of exemption under Regulation 4.13(b)(1), for an
aggregate total of 0.3 burden hours. Additionally, the Commission
estimates that currently, approximately 8,600 respondents would claim
an exemption via the Regulation 4.13(b)(1) notice filing.

Invitation to Comment

    Regarding the information collection discussed above, the CFTC
invites comments on:
     Whether the proposed revision to the 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 revision to the collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of
the information to be collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden of collection of information
on those who are to respond, including through the further use of
appropriate automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology; e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses.
    Burden Statement: As explained above, the Commission believes that
the addition of a representation to the notice of exemption required by
Regulation 4.13(b)(1) increases the information collection burden
associated with that notice under OMB control numbers 3038-0005.
    OMB Control Number 3038-0005:
    The Commission estimates that as a result of revising the notice of
exemption under Regulation 4.13(b)(1), the burden of the collection of
information under OMB control number 3038-0005 \5\ would be as follows:
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    \5\ OMB control number 3038-0005 currently covers two separate
Information Collections (``IC''): (1) Part 4 Commodity Pool
Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors IC, and (2) Commodity Pool
Operator Annual Report IC. The estimates in this notice reflect
changes specifically made by the Statutory Disqualifications Final
Rule to the Part 4 Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading
Advisors IC, for which the current active information collection
estimates of 43,397 respondents and 354,333 burden hours were
approved by OMB on March 6, 2020 (ICR Reference No. 201912-3038-
001). The aggregate burden for OMB control number 3038-0005 may be
further impacted by a separate rulemaking, Amendments to Compliance
Requirements for Commodity Pool Operators on Form CPO-PQR, published
in the Federal Register, 85 FR 26378 (May 4, 2020). Neither the
Statutory Disqualification Final Rule nor the Form CPO-PQR
rulemaking impact the estimates of the Commodity Pool Operator
Annual Report IC, which remain the same.

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[[Page 47361]]

    Respondents/affected entities: (1) All persons filing a notice of
exemption as required by Regulation 4.13(b)(1) for the purpose of
claiming relief from CPO registration, and (2) all principals of such
persons.
    Estimated number of respondents: 8,600.
    Estimated number of exempt pools/reports per respondent: 3.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 8,600 hours.\6\
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    \6\ The burden hour per response is 0.3 burden hour for an
aggregate total of 0.9 burden hour for all three responses per
respondent. This estimate has been rounded up to 1 burden hour for
all three responses per respondent.
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    Frequency of collection: Annually.
    There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs
associated with this collection.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

    Dated: July 31, 2020.
Christopher Kirkpatrick,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2020-17046 Filed 8-4-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P