2022-14276. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The FTC requests that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend for three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance for information collection requirements contained in the agency's Mail, internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (MITOR or Rule). That clearance expires on July 31, 2022.

DATES:

Comments must be received by August 5, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function. The reginfo.gov web link is a United States Government website produced by OMB and the General Services Administration (GSA). Under PRA requirements, OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) reviews Federal information collections.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jock Chung, 202-326-2984, Attorney, Enforcement Division, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mail Drop CC-9528, Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

 

Title: Mail, internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (MITOR or Rule), 16 CFR part 435.

OMB Control Number: 3084-0106.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Abstract: Generally, the MITOR requires a seller (or merchant) to: (1) have a reasonable basis for any express or implied shipment representation made in soliciting the sale (if no express time period is promised, the implied shipment representation is 30 days); (2) notify the buyer (or consumer) and obtain the buyer's consent to any delay in shipment; and (3) make prompt and full refunds when the buyer exercises a cancellation option or the seller is unable to meet the Rule's other requirements.

On March 21, 2022, the FTC sought comment on the information collection requirements associated with the Rule. 87 FR 15995. The FTC received no germane comments during the public comment period. Pursuant to OMB regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., the FTC is providing this second opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval to renew the pre-existing clearance for the Rule. For more details about the Rule requirements and the basis for the calculations summarized below, see 87 FR 15995.

Likely Respondents: Businesses engaged in the sale of merchandise by mail, internet or telephone.

Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 3,117,410 hours.

Third Party Disclosure: [(53,300 established businesses × 50 hours) + (1,967 new entrants × 230 hours) = 3,117,410 hours.

Estimated Annual Cost Burden: $80,304,482, which is derived from 3,117,410 hours × $25.76/hour.^[1]

Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive personal information, such as anyone's Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment should not include any “trade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential” —as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)—including in particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.

Josephine Liu,

Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.

Footnotes

1.  The hourly wage rates for sales and related workers are updated from the 60-Day Federal Register notice and are based on mean hourly wages found at https://www.bls.gov/​news.release/​ocwage.htm (“Occupational Employment and Wages-May 2021,” U.S. Department of Labor, released March 2022, Table 1 (“National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2021”).