82 FR 10407 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1985-68 To Permit Employee Benefit Plans To Invest in Customer Notes of Employers

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 27 (February 10, 2017)

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1985-68 to Permit Employee Benefit Plans to Invest in Customer Notes of Employers,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 27 (Friday, February 10, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10407-10408]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02814]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1985-68 
To Permit Employee Benefit Plans To Invest in Customer Notes of 
Employers

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information 
collection request (ICR) titled, ``Prohibited Transaction Class 
Exemption 1985-68 to Permit Employee Benefit Plans to Invest in 
Customer Notes of Employers,'' to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public 
comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before March 13, 2017.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge 
from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201701-1210-004 (this link will only become active 
on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting 
Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are 
not toll-free numbers) or by email at [email protected].
    Submit comments about this request by mail or courier to the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-
EBSA, Office of Management and Budget,

[[Page 10408]]

Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 202-395-
5806 (this is not a toll-free number); or by email: 
[email protected]. Commenters are encouraged, but not 
required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments by mail or courier to 
the U.S. Department of Labor--OASAM, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance Management Program, 
Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; or by 
email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-
4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email 
at [email protected].

    Authority:  44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR seeks to maintain PRA authority for 
information collection activities related to Prohibited Transaction 
Class Exemption (PTE) 1985-68, which permits an employee benefit plan 
to invest in an employer's customer notes under circumstances the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 would otherwise prohibit. More specifically, this 
PTE describes the conditions under which a plan may acquire customer 
notes accepted by an employer of employees covered by the plan in the 
ordinary course of the employer's business activity and, thus, be 
exempt from the prohibited transaction restrictions; provided, the 
exemption conditions are met. The PTE covers sales as well as 
contributions of customer notes by an employer to its plan. The 
customer notes must have been accepted by the employer in its primary 
business activity as the seller of tangible personal property that is 
being financed by the notes, so that the exemption does not apply to 
notes of an employer's affiliate. The PTE requires a plan to maintain 
all necessary records pertaining to the affected transactions for a 
period of six years and to make those records available to certain 
designed persons upon request. ERISA section 408(a) authorizes this 
information collection. See 29 U.S.C. 1108(a).
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays 
a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any 
other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that 
does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 
1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection 
under Control Number 1210-0094.
    OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) 
years without renewal, and the current approval for this collection is 
scheduled to expire on February 28, 2017. The DOL seeks to extend PRA 
authorization for this information collection for three (3) more years, 
without any change to existing requirements. The DOL notes that 
existing information collection requirements submitted to the OMB 
receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. For 
additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related 
notice published in the Federal Register on October 28, 2016 (81 FR 
75157).
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in 
the ADDRESSES section within thirty (30) days of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1210-0094. 
The OMB is particularly interested in comments that:
     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
     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.
    Agency: DOL-EBSA.
    Title of Collection: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1985-68 
to Permit Employee Benefit Plans to Invest in Customer Notes of 
Employers.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0094.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits, 
not-for-profit institutions.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 69.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 325.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 1 hour.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

    Dated: February 6, 2017.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-02814 Filed 2-9-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-29-P