2023-11309
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 102 (Friday, May 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34140-34141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11309]
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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),
this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR)
abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), of the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the
information collection and its expected costs and burden.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 26, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be submitted within 30 days of this
notice's publication to OIRA, at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Please find this particular information collection by
selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments''
or by using the website's search function. Comments can be entered
electronically by clicking on the ``comment'' button next to the
information collection on the ``OIRA Information Collections Under
Review'' page, or the ``View ICR--Agency Submission'' page. A copy of
the supporting statement for the collection of information discussed
herein may be obtained by visiting https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
In addition to the submission of comments to https://Reginfo.gov as
indicated above, a copy of all comments submitted to OIRA may also be
submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the
``Commission'' or ``CFTC'') by clicking on the ``Submit Comment'' box
next to the descriptive entry for OMB Control Number 3038-0049, at
https://comments.cftc.gov/FederalRegister/PublicInfo.aspx.
Or by either of the following methods:
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.
All comments must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied
by an English translation. Comments submitted to the Commission should
include 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 Sec. 145.9 of the
Commission's regulations.\1\ 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://www.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
[[Page 34141]]
ICR 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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\1\ 17 CFR 145.9.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Mersand, Special Counsel,
Division of Market Oversight, (202) 941-8910, email: [email protected];
Jacob Chachkin, Associate Chief Counsel, Market Participants Division,
(202) 418-5496, email: [email protected]; or Steven A. Haidar,
Assistant Chief Counsel, Division of Market Oversight, (202) 418-5611,
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email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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,\2\ and
related requests for confidential treatment pursuant to section
140.98(b) \3\ of the Commission's regulations.
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\2\ 17 CFR 140.99. An archive containing CFTC staff letters may
be found at http://www.cftc.gov/LawRegulation/CFTCStaffLetters/index.htm.
\3\ 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, 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.
This information collection 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 conditions 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. This information collection also is
necessary to provide a mechanism whereby persons requesting
interpretative, no-action, and exemptive 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.
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 control number.\4\ On February 23, 2023, the
Commission published in the Federal Register notice of the proposed
extension of this information collection and provided 60 days for
public comment on the proposed extension, 88 FR 11410 (``60-Day
Notice''). The Commission did not receive any relevant comments on the
60-Day Notice.
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\4\ 44 U.S.C. 3512, 5 CFR 1320.5(b)(2)(i) and 1320.8 (b)(3)(vi).
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Burden Statement: The Commission is revising its existing burden
estimate for this information collection. The Commission is basing its
new estimate of the annual number of respondents related to this
information collection, in part, on the average number of
interpretative, no-action, and exemptive letters issued by Commission
staff in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The Commission generally estimates that
each request was made by a unique respondent. To that number, the
Commission is adding additional respondents that have incurred burden
hours preparing requests for relief that did not generate a Commission
staff letter in response.
This estimate includes the burden hours for preparing, filing, and
updating such request letters as well as the burden of complying with
any conditions that may be contained in any interpretative, no-action,
or exemptive letters granting relief. It also includes burden hours
required to prepare and submit related requests for confidential
treatment. 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 respondent burden is estimated to be as follows:
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 45.
Estimated Average Annual Burden Hours per Respondent: 40.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,800.
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.
(Authority 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)
Dated: May 23, 2023.
Robert Sidman,
Deputy Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-11309 Filed 5-25-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P