2013-10730. Agency Information Collection Activities: African Growth and Opportunity Act Certificate of Origin

AGENCY:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION:

60-Day Notice and request for comments; Extension of an existing collection of information: 1651-0082.

SUMMARY:

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on an information collection requirement concerning the African Growth and Opportunity Act Certificate of Origin (AGOA). This request for comments is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13).

DATES:

Written comments should be received on or before July 8, 2013.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all written comments to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Attn: Tracey Denning, Regulations and Rulings, Office of International Trade, 90 K Street, NE., 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20229-1177.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tracey Denning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Regulations and Rulings, Office of International Trade, at 202-325-0265.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

CBP invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13). The comments should address: (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 estimates 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 including the use of automated collection techniques or the use of other forms of information technology; and (e) the annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers from the collection of information (total capital/startup costs and operations and maintenance costs). The comments that are submitted will be summarized and included in the CBP request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval. All comments will become a matter of public record. In this document CBP is soliciting comments concerning the following information collection:

Title: African Growth and Opportunity Act Certificate of Origin.

OMB Number: 1651-0082.

Form Number: None.

Abstract: The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was adopted by the U.S. with the enactment of the Trade and Development Act of 2000 (Pub. L.106-200). The objectives of AGOA are (1) to provide for extension of duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) to import sensitive articles normally excluded from GSP duty treatment, and (2) to provide for the entry of specific textile and apparel articles free of duty and free of any quantitative limits from the countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

For preferential treatment under AGOA, the exporter is required to prepare a certificate of origin and provide it to the importer. The certificate of origin includes information such as contact information for the importer, exporter and producer; the basis for which preferential treatment is claimed; and a description of the imported merchandise. The importers are required to have the certificate in their possession at the time of the claim, and to provide it to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) upon request. The collection of this information is provided for in 19 CFR 10.214, 10.215, and 10.216.

Instructions for complying with this regulation are posted on CBP.gov Web site at: http://www.cbp.gov/​linkhandler/​cgov/​trade/​priority_​trade/​textiles/​tbts/​TBT2001/​TBT-01-008.ctt/​TBT-01-008.doc.

Current Actions: This submission is being made to extend the expiration date and to revise the burden hours as a result of updated estimates by CBP of the number of AGOA Certificates of Origins prepared on an annual basis. There are no changes to the information collected.

Type of Review: Extension with a change to the burden hours.

Affected Public: Businesses.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 210.

Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 107.

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 22,494.

Estimated Time per Response: 20 minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 7,648.

Dated: May 1, 2013.

Tracey Denning,

Agency Clearance Officer, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.