2023-19941. Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection eComments Requested; Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Exportation Report (AFMER)

AGENCY:

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Department of Justice.

ACTION:

30-Day notice.

SUMMARY:

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Department of Justice (DOJ), will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register , on July 6, 2023, allowing a 60-day comment period.

DATES:

Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 30 days until October 16, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

If you have comments especially on the estimated public burden or associated response time, suggestions, or need a copy of the proposed information collection instrument with instructions or additional information, please contact: Leslie Anderson, by email at [e-mail], or by telephone at 301–616–4634.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of information are encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of the following four points:

—Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

—Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

—Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and/or

—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.

Written comments and recommendations for this information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website 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 and entering either the title of the information collection or the OMB Control Number 1140–0017. This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Justice, information collections currently under review by OMB.

DOJ seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal. The DOJ notes that information collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.

Overview of This Information Collection

1. Type of Information Collection: Revision of a previously approved collection.

2. Title of the Form/Collection: Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Exportation Report (AFMER).

3. Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the Department of Justice sponsoring the collection: ATF Form 5300.11.

Component: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Department of Justice.

4. Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as well as a brief abstract: Private Sector—Businesses or other for-profit.

Abstract: The information collected is used to compile statistics on the manufacture and exportation of firearms. The furnishing of this information is mandatory under 18 U.S.C. 923(g)(5)(A). This form must be submitted annually for every Type 07 and Type 10 Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs), even if no firearms were exported or distributed into commerce. The information collection (IC) OMB #1140–0017 is being revised due to material and non-material changes to the form, such as added instructions, definitions, formatting changes (to adjust form length), bolded lines (to fillable boxes), grammatical changes (sentence rephrasing/statement modification), and instruction clarification.

5. Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. The statutory requirements are implemented under 18 U.S.C. chapter 44.

6. Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 19,200 respondents.

7. Estimated Time per Respondent: 20 minutes.

8. Frequency: Once annually.

9. Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 6,400 hours.

10. Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: No new cost is associated with this collection. All respondents can electronically submit the AFMER to ATF free of charge, however, it is estimated that half the respondents submit the form to the Federal Firearms Licensing Center by mail. The annual cost has increased due to a change in the postal rate from $0.55 during the last renewal in 2020, to $0.63 in 2023. Consequently, the new public cost burden will be reported as $6,048.00, which is equal to $0.63 (mailing cost per respondent) * 19,200 (# of respondents) * 50% (percentage of responses submitted by mail).

If additional information is required, contact: Darwin Arceo, Department Clearance Officer, Policy and Planning Staff, Justice Management Division, United States Department of Justice, Two Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE, 4W–218 Washington, DC 20530.

Dated: September 11, 2023.

Darwin Arceo,

Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.