82_FR_4346 82 FR 4337 - General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; Information Collection; Industrial Funding Fee and Sales Reporting

82 FR 4337 - General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; Information Collection; Industrial Funding Fee and Sales Reporting

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 9 (January 13, 2017)

Page Range4337-4339
FR Document2017-00687

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division is submitting a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection associated with General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation clause 552.238-74, Industrial Funding Fee and Sales Reporting. GSA uses this information to collect the Industrial Funding Fee and administer the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program.

Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 9 (Friday, January 13, 2017)
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4337-4339]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00687]


=======================================================================
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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 3090-0121: Docket No. 2017-0001; Sequence 1]


General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; 
Information Collection; Industrial Funding Fee and Sales Reporting

AGENCY: Office of Acquisition Policy, General Services Administration 
(GSA).

ACTION: Notice of request for comments regarding an extension to an 
existing OMB clearance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the 
Regulatory Secretariat Division is submitting a request to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) to review and approve an extension of a 
previously approved information collection associated with General 
Services Administration Acquisition Regulation clause 552.238-74, 
Industrial Funding Fee and Sales Reporting. GSA uses this information 
to collect the Industrial Funding Fee and administer the Federal Supply 
Schedule (FSS) program.

DATES: Submit comments on or before: March 14, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 3090-
0121, Industrial Funding Fee and Sales Reporting, by any of the 
following methods:
     Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov. Submit 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by searching the OMB 
control number. Select the link ``Submit a Comment'' that corresponds 
with ``Information Collection 3090-0121, Industrial Funding Fee and 
Sales Reporting.'' Follow the instructions provided at the ``Submit a 
Comment'' screen. Please include your name, company name (if any), and 
``Information Collection 3090-0121, Industrial Funding Fee and Sales 
Reporting'' on your attached document.
     Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20405. 
ATTN: Ms. Flowers/IC 3090-0121, Industrial Funding Fee and Sales 
Reporting.
    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information 
Collection 3090-0121, Industrial Funding Fee and Sales Reporting, in 
all correspondence related to this collection. All comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal and/or business confidential information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew McFarland, Senior Policy 
Advisor, GSA Acquisition Policy Division, at 202-690-9232 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Purpose

    GSA's Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program, commonly known as the 
GSA Schedules program or Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program provides 
federal agencies with a simplified process for acquiring commercial 
supplies and services. The FSS program is the Government's preeminent 
contracting vehicle, accounting for approximately 10 percent of all 
federal contract dollars with $33 billion of purchases made through the 
program in fiscal year 2016.
    Activities placing orders against a GSA Schedule contract must pay 
an Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) that reimburses GSA's Federal 
Acquisition Service (FAS) for the costs of operating the FSS program. 
FAS recoups its operating costs from ordering activities (i.e., 
customers) as set forth in 40 U.S.C. 321: Acquisition Services Fund. 
Net operating revenues generated by the IFF are also applied to fund 
initiatives benefitting other authorized FAS programs, in accordance 
with 40 U.S.C. 321. The IFF, currently set at 0.75 percent, is included 
in the order price, so when a vendor is paid for an FSS order, it is 
also collecting the IFF. Collection is similar to a state sales tax, 
where a customer pays the tax due to a merchant, and then the merchant 
remits the taxes collected to the state government.
    GSA requires vendors to report their FSS sales each quarter so it 
can determine the amount of IFF the vendors have collected from 
customers, and therefore must remit to GSA. However, GSA also uses this 
information for other purposes, including budgeting, determining 
whether vendors have met the minimum sales requirement,\1\ evaluating 
the program's performance, and monitoring small business participation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The FSS Contract Sales Criteria clause requires vendors to 
have at least $25,000 in sales over the first two years of a 
contract and then $25,000/year in sales for each year thereafter. 
Vendors that have not satisfied the minimum sales requirement are 
subject to cancellation in accordance with GSAR clause 552.238-73 
Cancellation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Vendor reporting and remittance requirements are set forth in 
General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) clause 
552.238-74, Industrial Funding Fee and Sales Reporting, or Alternate I 
of that clause. While both clause versions govern how the IFF is 
calculated and remitted, the reporting requirements differ between the 
basic version and Alternate I:
    Clause 552.238-75: Basic Version: This version requires vendors to 
report their FSS contract sales to GSA once a quarter. GSA then 
calculates the IFF due based on the total amount of sales reported, and 
the vendor must remit that amount within 30 days after the end of the 
quarter. The basic version of the clause applies to approximately 72 
percent of GSA Schedule contracts.
    Clause 552.238-75: Alternate I: While the basic version requires 
vendors to report their total FSS sales each quarter, Alternate I 
requires vendors to report the transactional data generated from orders 
each month. GSA then calculates the IFF due based on the transactional 
data reported, and the vendor must remit that amount within 30 days 
after the end of the quarter. Alternate I of the clause applies to FSS 
contracts participating in the Transactional Data Reporting pilot. The 
pilot commenced on June 23, 2016 and will run for at least a year 
before substantial changes are considered. Approximately 28 percent of 
GSA Schedule contracts are eligible to participate in the pilot.
    Since the reporting requirements vary by the two versions of clause 
552.238-74, separate Paperwork Reduction Act information collections 
have been established for each version. The information collection 
associated with OMB control number 3090-0306, which expires on 8/31/
2019, applies to Alternate I. This information collection (OMB control 
number 3090-0121) applies to the basic version of the clause.

Information Collection Changes and Updates

     The population of vendors subject to this information 
collection is smaller than the previous version, as FSS contracts 
eligible to participate in the Transactional Data Reporting pilot

[[Page 4338]]

(approximately 28 percent of all GSA Schedule contracts) are now 
included under OMB control number 3090-0306.
     Previous justifications for this information collection 
limited the burden to the amount of time needed for vendors to input 
sales data in the 72A Reporting System and remit IFF payments. However, 
GSA now recognizes recordkeeping, quality assurance, reporting, and 
remittance should be included in the burden estimates. Since 
recordkeeping and quality assurance are the largest burden drivers for 
both vendors and the Government, the burden estimates for both the 
public and Government have increased.

B. Annual Reporting Burden

    Population Overview: The basic version of clause 552.238-74 is 
included in 14,306 contracts held by 12,254 vendors. This includes 
1,128 new contracts awarded to 819 vendors.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ These are approximations based on FY2015 data. The number of 
vendors equals the number of unique Data Universal Numbering System 
(DUNS) numbers, which are assigned to business entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Cost Estimates: The estimated cost burden for respondents was 
calculated by multiplying the burden hours by an estimated cost of $68/
hour ($50/hour with a 36% overhead rate).\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ The 36% overhead rate was used in reference Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-76. Circular A-76 
requires agencies to use standard cost factors to estimate certain 
costs of government performance. These cost factors ensure that 
specific government costs are calculated in a standard and 
consistent manner to reasonably reflect the cost of performing 
commercial activities with government personnel. The standard cost 
factor for fringe benefits is 36.25%; GSA opted to round to the 
nearest whole number for the basis of its burden estimates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Categorization of Vendors by Quarterly Sales Revenue: Sales 
reporting imposes a progressive burden -- one that increases with a 
vendor's sales volume. Quarterly reporting times will increase with a 
vendor's applicable sales volume, as vendors with lower to no 
reportable sales will spend little time on quarterly reporting, while 
those with more reportable sales with face a higher reporting burden.
    GSA separated vendors into categories based on average quarterly 
sales volume \4\ in order to account for the differences in reporting 
burden. These categories are:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Average quarterly sales volume was computed by taking a 
vendor's total annual sales volume and dividing it by 4. All sales 
data is from FY2015.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Category 1: No sales activity (average quarterly sales of 
$0)
 Category 2: Average quarterly sales between $0 and $60,000
 Category 3: Average quarterly sales between $60,000 and 
$600,000
 Category 4: Average quarterly sales between $600,000 and $3 
million
 Category 5: Average quarterly sales over $3 million

    The distribution of vendors by sales category is as follows:

                                        FSS and Vendors by Sales Category
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                               FSS vendors
                                                                  FSS vendors (count)          (percentage)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category 1....................................................                    4,217                       34
Category 2....................................................                    4,020                       33
Category 3....................................................                    2,768                       23
Category 4....................................................                      970                        8
Category 5....................................................                      279                        2
                                                               -------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................................................                   12,254                   100.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Automated vs. Manual Reporting Systems: Vendors subject to these 
clauses must create systems or processes to produce and report accurate 
data. Generally, vendors will use automated or manual systems to 
identify the quarter's reportable sales. An automated system is one 
that relies on information technology, such as an accounting system or 
data management software, to identify and compile reportable data. 
These systems can tremendously streamline the reporting process but 
require upfront configuration to perform the tasks, such as coding the 
sales types to be retrieved. Conversely, a manual system is one that 
incorporates little to no automation and instead relies on personnel to 
manually identify and compile the reportable data. An example of a 
manual system would be an accountant reviewing invoices to identify the 
reportable data and then transferring the findings to a spreadsheet. In 
contrast to automation, a manual system requires relatively little 
setup time but the reporting effort will generally increase with the 
vendor's sales volume.
    The likelihood of a vendor adopting an automated system increases 
with their applicable sales volume. Vendors with little to no 
reportable data are unlikely to expend the effort needed to establish 
an automated reporting system since it will be relatively easy to 
identify and report a limited amount of data. In fiscal year 2015, 34 
percent of FSS vendors subject to this collection reported $0 sales, 
while another 33 percent reported average quarterly sales between $1 
and $60,000 per quarter. However, as a vendor's applicable average 
quarterly sales increase, they will be increasingly likely to establish 
an automated system to reduce the quarterly reporting burden. 
Consequently, vendors with higher reportable sales will likely bear a 
higher setup burden to create an automated system, or absorb a high 
quarterly reporting burden if they choose to rely on manual reporting 
methods.
    The following chart depicts the likelihood of the population of 
vendors adopting manual and automated reporting systems:

                                                            Vendors by Reporting System Type
                                                                 (Manual vs. Automated)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Manual system  (vendor      Automated system      Manual system  (vendor      Automated system
                                                            percentage)          (vendor percentage)             count)               (vendor count)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category 1..........................................                      100                        0                    4,217                        0
Category 2..........................................                      100                        0                    4,020                        0

[[Page 4339]]

 
Category 3..........................................                       90                       10                    2,491                      277
Category 4..........................................                       50                       50                      485                      485
Category 5..........................................                       10                       90                       28                      251
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Total Vendor Count by System Type                                                     11,241                    1,013
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Vendor Percentage by System Type                                                          92                        8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Initial Setup: Vendors with active FSS contracts already have 
procedures in place to meet these longstanding reporting requirements. 
However, new FSS vendors will absorb a one-time setup burden to 
establish reporting systems. The estimated setup time varies between 
automated and manual reporting systems. Vendors implementing a manual 
system must acclimate themselves with the new reporting requirements 
and train their staff as accordingly, while those with automated 
systems must perform these tasks in addition to configuring information 
technology resources. GSA is attributing the setup burden by vendor, 
not by contracts, because a vendor holding multiple contracts subject 
to this rule will likely use a single reporting system.
    GSA estimates the average one-time setup burden is 8 hours for 
vendors with a manual system and 40 hours for those with an automated 
system. GSA also attributes the same system type probabilities (manual 
system 92%, automated system 8%) to the population of new vendors. 
These estimates apply to the 819 vendors awarded FSS contracts in 
fiscal year 2015.
    Quarterly Reporting: Vendors are required to report sales within 30 
calendar days after the end of each quarter. The average reporting 
times vary by system type (manual or automated) and by sales 
categories. GSA estimates vendors using a manual system will have 
average quarterly reporting times ranging from 15 minutes (0.25 hours) 
per quarter for vendors with $0 sales, to an average of 8 hours per 
quarter for vendors with quarterly sales over $3 million. On the other 
hand, GSA projects vendors with automated systems will have reporting 
times of 2 hours per quarter, irrespective of quarterly sales volume, 
as a result of efficiencies achieved through automated processes. The 
following table shows GSA's projected quarterly reporting times per 
sales category and system type.

          Quarterly Reporting Hours by System Type and Category
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Manual         Automated
                                              systems         systems
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category 1..............................            0.25            2.00
Category 2..............................            1.00            2.00
Category 3..............................            2.00            2.00
Category 4..............................            4.00            2.00
Category 5..............................            8.00            2.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annualized Public Burden Estimates

    The burden estimates consist of quarterly reporting times for all 
12,254 participating vendors and a one-time setup burden for the 819 
new vendors:
Quarterly Reporting
    Annual Burden (Hours): 56,983.
    Annual Burden (Cost): $3,874,817.
Initial Setup
    Annual Burden (Hours): 8,718.
    Annual Burden (Cost): $592,846.
Total Information Collection Burden
    Number of Respondents: 12,254.
    Response per Respondent: 4.
    Total Annual Responses: 49, 016.
    Hours Per Response: 1.3404.
    Total Burden (Hours): 65,701.
    Annual Burden (Cost): $4,467,663.

C. Public Comments

    Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this 
collection of information is necessary and whether it will have 
practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this 
collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions 
and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected.
    Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the 
information collection documents from the General Services 
Administration, Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street 
NW., Washington, DC 20405, telephone 202-501-4755. Please cite OMB 
Control No. 3090-0235, Price Reductions Clause, in all correspondence.

Jeffrey A. Koses,
Director, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide 
Policy.
[FR Doc. 2017-00687 Filed 1-12-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6820-61-P



                                                                                    Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 2017 / Notices                                                      4337

                                                    Barta, Fremont, Nebraska, and Walter                      • Mail: General Services                             minimum sales requirement,1
                                                    Hoff, Atlanta, Georgia, as members of                   Administration, Regulatory Secretariat                 evaluating the program’s performance,
                                                    the Barta/Hoff Group acting in concert;                 Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW.,                    and monitoring small business
                                                    to acquire voting shares of Woodstock                   Washington, DC 20405. ATTN: Ms.                        participation.
                                                    Land and Cattle Company, and thereby                    Flowers/IC 3090–0121, Industrial                          Vendor reporting and remittance
                                                    control Fullerton National Bank, both of                Funding Fee and Sales Reporting.                       requirements are set forth in General
                                                    Fullerton, Nebraska.                                      Instructions: Please submit comments                 Services Administration Acquisition
                                                      Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve             only and cite Information Collection                   Regulation (GSAR) clause 552.238–74,
                                                    System, January 10, 2017.                               3090–0121, Industrial Funding Fee and                  Industrial Funding Fee and Sales
                                                    Yao-Chin Chao,                                          Sales Reporting, in all correspondence                 Reporting, or Alternate I of that clause.
                                                                                                            related to this collection. All comments               While both clause versions govern how
                                                    Assistant Secretary of the Board.
                                                                                                            received will be posted without change                 the IFF is calculated and remitted, the
                                                    [FR Doc. 2017–00711 Filed 1–12–17; 8:45 am]
                                                                                                            to http://www.regulations.gov, including               reporting requirements differ between
                                                    BILLING CODE 6210–01–P                                                                                         the basic version and Alternate I:
                                                                                                            any personal and/or business
                                                                                                            confidential information provided.                        Clause 552.238–75: Basic Version:
                                                                                                                                                                   This version requires vendors to report
                                                                                                            FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                       their FSS contract sales to GSA once a
                                                    GENERAL SERVICES
                                                                                                            Matthew McFarland, Senior Policy                       quarter. GSA then calculates the IFF due
                                                    ADMINISTRATION
                                                                                                            Advisor, GSA Acquisition Policy                        based on the total amount of sales
                                                    [OMB Control No. 3090–0121: Docket No.                  Division, at 202–690–9232 or                           reported, and the vendor must remit
                                                    2017–0001; Sequence 1]                                  matthew.mcfarland@gsa.gov.                             that amount within 30 days after the
                                                                                                            SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                             end of the quarter. The basic version of
                                                    General Services Administration
                                                                                                                                                                   the clause applies to approximately 72
                                                    Acquisition Regulation; Information                     A. Purpose
                                                                                                                                                                   percent of GSA Schedule contracts.
                                                    Collection; Industrial Funding Fee and
                                                                                                               GSA’s Federal Supply Schedule (FSS)                    Clause 552.238–75: Alternate I: While
                                                    Sales Reporting
                                                                                                            program, commonly known as the GSA                     the basic version requires vendors to
                                                    AGENCY: Office of Acquisition Policy,                   Schedules program or Multiple Award                    report their total FSS sales each quarter,
                                                    General Services Administration (GSA).                  Schedule (MAS) program provides                        Alternate I requires vendors to report
                                                    ACTION: Notice of request for comments                  federal agencies with a simplified                     the transactional data generated from
                                                    regarding an extension to an existing                   process for acquiring commercial                       orders each month. GSA then calculates
                                                    OMB clearance.                                          supplies and services. The FSS program                 the IFF due based on the transactional
                                                                                                            is the Government’s preeminent                         data reported, and the vendor must
                                                    SUMMARY:   Under the provisions of the                  contracting vehicle, accounting for                    remit that amount within 30 days after
                                                    Paperwork Reduction Act, the                            approximately 10 percent of all federal                the end of the quarter. Alternate I of the
                                                    Regulatory Secretariat Division is                      contract dollars with $33 billion of                   clause applies to FSS contracts
                                                    submitting a request to the Office of                   purchases made through the program in                  participating in the Transactional Data
                                                    Management and Budget (OMB) to                          fiscal year 2016.                                      Reporting pilot. The pilot commenced
                                                    review and approve an extension of a                       Activities placing orders against a                 on June 23, 2016 and will run for at
                                                    previously approved information                         GSA Schedule contract must pay an                      least a year before substantial changes
                                                    collection associated with General                      Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) that                      are considered. Approximately 28
                                                    Services Administration Acquisition                     reimburses GSA’s Federal Acquisition                   percent of GSA Schedule contracts are
                                                    Regulation clause 552.238–74,                           Service (FAS) for the costs of operating               eligible to participate in the pilot.
                                                    Industrial Funding Fee and Sales                        the FSS program. FAS recoups its                          Since the reporting requirements vary
                                                    Reporting. GSA uses this information to                 operating costs from ordering activities               by the two versions of clause 552.238–
                                                    collect the Industrial Funding Fee and                  (i.e., customers) as set forth in 40 U.S.C.            74, separate Paperwork Reduction Act
                                                    administer the Federal Supply Schedule                  321: Acquisition Services Fund. Net                    information collections have been
                                                    (FSS) program.                                          operating revenues generated by the IFF                established for each version. The
                                                    DATES: Submit comments on or before:                    are also applied to fund initiatives                   information collection associated with
                                                    March 14, 2017.                                         benefitting other authorized FAS                       OMB control number 3090–0306, which
                                                                                                            programs, in accordance with 40 U.S.C.                 expires on 8/31/2019, applies to
                                                    ADDRESSES: Submit comments
                                                                                                            321. The IFF, currently set at 0.75                    Alternate I. This information collection
                                                    identified by Information Collection                                                                           (OMB control number 3090–0121)
                                                    3090–0121, Industrial Funding Fee and                   percent, is included in the order price,
                                                                                                            so when a vendor is paid for an FSS                    applies to the basic version of the
                                                    Sales Reporting, by any of the following                                                                       clause.
                                                    methods:                                                order, it is also collecting the IFF.
                                                       • Regulations.gov: http://                           Collection is similar to a state sales tax,            Information Collection Changes and
                                                    www.regulations.gov. Submit comments                    where a customer pays the tax due to a                 Updates
                                                    via the Federal eRulemaking portal by                   merchant, and then the merchant remits
                                                                                                            the taxes collected to the state                         • The population of vendors subject
                                                    searching the OMB control number.                                                                              to this information collection is smaller
                                                    Select the link ‘‘Submit a Comment’’                    government.
                                                                                                                                                                   than the previous version, as FSS
                                                    that corresponds with ‘‘Information                        GSA requires vendors to report their
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                                                                                   contracts eligible to participate in the
                                                    Collection 3090–0121, Industrial                        FSS sales each quarter so it can                       Transactional Data Reporting pilot
                                                    Funding Fee and Sales Reporting.’’                      determine the amount of IFF the
                                                    Follow the instructions provided at the                 vendors have collected from customers,                    1 The FSS Contract Sales Criteria clause requires

                                                    ‘‘Submit a Comment’’ screen. Please                     and therefore must remit to GSA.                       vendors to have at least $25,000 in sales over the
                                                    include your name, company name (if                     However, GSA also uses this                            first two years of a contract and then $25,000/year
                                                                                                            information for other purposes,                        in sales for each year thereafter. Vendors that have
                                                    any), and ‘‘Information Collection 3090–                                                                       not satisfied the minimum sales requirement are
                                                    0121, Industrial Funding Fee and Sales                  including budgeting, determining                       subject to cancellation in accordance with GSAR
                                                    Reporting’’ on your attached document.                  whether vendors have met the                           clause 552.238–73 Cancellation.



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                                                    4338                                        Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 2017 / Notices

                                                    (approximately 28 percent of all GSA                                         B. Annual Reporting Burden                                               more reportable sales with face a higher
                                                    Schedule contracts) are now included                                           Population Overview: The basic                                         reporting burden.
                                                    under OMB control number 3090–0306.                                          version of clause 552.238–74 is                                            GSA separated vendors into categories
                                                      • Previous justifications for this                                         included in 14,306 contracts held by                                     based on average quarterly sales
                                                    information collection limited the                                           12,254 vendors. This includes 1,128                                      volume 4 in order to account for the
                                                    burden to the amount of time needed for                                      new contracts awarded to 819 vendors.2                                   differences in reporting burden. These
                                                    vendors to input sales data in the 72A                                         Cost Estimates: The estimated cost                                     categories are:
                                                    Reporting System and remit IFF                                               burden for respondents was calculated                                      • Category 1: No sales activity
                                                    payments. However, GSA now                                                   by multiplying the burden hours by an                                    (average quarterly sales of $0)
                                                    recognizes recordkeeping, quality
                                                                                                                                 estimated cost of $68/hour ($50/hour                                     • Category 2: Average quarterly sales
                                                                                                                                 with a 36% overhead rate).3                                                between $0 and $60,000
                                                    assurance, reporting, and remittance                                           Categorization of Vendors by
                                                    should be included in the burden                                                                                                                      • Category 3: Average quarterly sales
                                                                                                                                 Quarterly Sales Revenue: Sales                                             between $60,000 and $600,000
                                                    estimates. Since recordkeeping and                                           reporting imposes a progressive burden
                                                    quality assurance are the largest burden                                                                                                              • Category 4: Average quarterly sales
                                                                                                                                 — one that increases with a vendor’s
                                                    drivers for both vendors and the                                             sales volume. Quarterly reporting times                                    between $600,000 and $3 million
                                                    Government, the burden estimates for                                         will increase with a vendor’s applicable                                 • Category 5: Average quarterly sales
                                                    both the public and Government have                                          sales volume, as vendors with lower to                                     over $3 million
                                                    increased.                                                                   no reportable sales will spend little time                                 The distribution of vendors by sales
                                                                                                                                 on quarterly reporting, while those with                                 category is as follows:

                                                                                                                               FSS AND VENDORS BY SALES CATEGORY
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        FSS vendors
                                                                                                                                                                                                        FSS vendors (count)             (percentage)

                                                    Category      1   ...............................................................................................................................                     4,217                           34
                                                    Category      2   ...............................................................................................................................                     4,020                           33
                                                    Category      3   ...............................................................................................................................                     2,768                           23
                                                    Category      4   ...............................................................................................................................                       970                            8
                                                    Category      5   ...............................................................................................................................                       279                            2

                                                          Total ..................................................................................................................................                      12,254                        100.00



                                                       Automated vs. Manual Reporting                                            compile the reportable data. An                                          FSS vendors subject to this collection
                                                    Systems: Vendors subject to these                                            example of a manual system would be                                      reported $0 sales, while another 33
                                                    clauses must create systems or processes                                     an accountant reviewing invoices to                                      percent reported average quarterly sales
                                                    to produce and report accurate data.                                         identify the reportable data and then                                    between $1 and $60,000 per quarter.
                                                    Generally, vendors will use automated                                        transferring the findings to a                                           However, as a vendor’s applicable
                                                    or manual systems to identify the                                            spreadsheet. In contrast to automation,                                  average quarterly sales increase, they
                                                    quarter’s reportable sales. An automated                                     a manual system requires relatively                                      will be increasingly likely to establish
                                                    system is one that relies on information                                     little setup time but the reporting effort                               an automated system to reduce the
                                                    technology, such as an accounting                                            will generally increase with the                                         quarterly reporting burden.
                                                    system or data management software, to                                       vendor’s sales volume.                                                   Consequently, vendors with higher
                                                    identify and compile reportable data.                                           The likelihood of a vendor adopting                                   reportable sales will likely bear a higher
                                                    These systems can tremendously                                               an automated system increases with                                       setup burden to create an automated
                                                    streamline the reporting process but                                         their applicable sales volume. Vendors                                   system, or absorb a high quarterly
                                                    require upfront configuration to perform                                     with little to no reportable data are                                    reporting burden if they choose to rely
                                                    the tasks, such as coding the sales types                                    unlikely to expend the effort needed to                                  on manual reporting methods.
                                                    to be retrieved. Conversely, a manual                                        establish an automated reporting system                                     The following chart depicts the
                                                    system is one that incorporates little to                                    since it will be relatively easy to                                      likelihood of the population of vendors
                                                    no automation and instead relies on                                          identify and report a limited amount of                                  adopting manual and automated
                                                    personnel to manually identify and                                           data. In fiscal year 2015, 34 percent of                                 reporting systems:

                                                                                                                                 VENDORS BY REPORTING SYSTEM TYPE
                                                                                                                                                    (Manual vs. Automated)

                                                                                                                       Manual system                             Automated system                         Manual system              Automated system
                                                                                                                    (vendor percentage)                         (vendor percentage)                       (vendor count)              (vendor count)
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                    Category 1 .......................................                                             100                                             0                      4,217                                0
                                                    Category 2 .......................................                                             100                                             0                      4,020                                0

                                                      2 These are approximations based on FY2015                                 No. A–76. Circular A–76 requires agencies to use                         factor for fringe benefits is 36.25%; GSA opted to
                                                    data. The number of vendors equals the number of                             standard cost factors to estimate certain costs of                       round to the nearest whole number for the basis of
                                                    unique Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)                                government performance. These cost factors ensure                        its burden estimates.
                                                    numbers, which are assigned to business entities.                            that specific government costs are calculated in a                          4 Average quarterly sales volume was computed
                                                      3 The 36% overhead rate was used in reference
                                                                                                                                 standard and consistent manner to reasonably
                                                                                                                                 reflect the cost of performing commercial activities                     by taking a vendor’s total annual sales volume and
                                                    Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular                               with government personnel. The standard cost                             dividing it by 4. All sales data is from FY2015.




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                                                                                               Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 2017 / Notices                                                                                        4339

                                                                                                                   VENDORS BY REPORTING SYSTEM TYPE—Continued
                                                                                                                                                   (Manual vs. Automated)

                                                                                                                      Manual system                             Automated system                               Manual system                     Automated system
                                                                                                                   (vendor percentage)                         (vendor percentage)                             (vendor count)                     (vendor count)

                                                    Category 3 .......................................                                              90                                         10                                       2,491                   277
                                                    Category 4 .......................................                                              50                                         50                                         485                   485
                                                    Category 5 .......................................                                              10                                         90                                          28                   251
                                                                                             Total Vendor Count by System Type                                                                                                         11,241                 1,013
                                                                                             Vendor Percentage by System Type                                                                                                             92                        8



                                                       Initial Setup: Vendors with active FSS                                   vendor holding multiple contracts                                               automated) and by sales categories. GSA
                                                    contracts already have procedures in                                        subject to this rule will likely use a                                          estimates vendors using a manual
                                                    place to meet these longstanding                                            single reporting system.                                                        system will have average quarterly
                                                    reporting requirements. However, new                                          GSA estimates the average one-time                                            reporting times ranging from 15 minutes
                                                    FSS vendors will absorb a one-time                                          setup burden is 8 hours for vendors                                             (0.25 hours) per quarter for vendors
                                                    setup burden to establish reporting                                         with a manual system and 40 hours for                                           with $0 sales, to an average of 8 hours
                                                    systems. The estimated setup time                                           those with an automated system. GSA                                             per quarter for vendors with quarterly
                                                    varies between automated and manual                                         also attributes the same system type                                            sales over $3 million. On the other
                                                    reporting systems. Vendors                                                  probabilities (manual system 92%,                                               hand, GSA projects vendors with
                                                    implementing a manual system must                                           automated system 8%) to the population
                                                                                                                                                                                                                automated systems will have reporting
                                                    acclimate themselves with the new                                           of new vendors. These estimates apply
                                                                                                                                                                                                                times of 2 hours per quarter, irrespective
                                                    reporting requirements and train their                                      to the 819 vendors awarded FSS
                                                    staff as accordingly, while those with                                                                                                                      of quarterly sales volume, as a result of
                                                                                                                                contracts in fiscal year 2015.
                                                    automated systems must perform these                                          Quarterly Reporting: Vendors are                                              efficiencies achieved through automated
                                                    tasks in addition to configuring                                            required to report sales within 30                                              processes. The following table shows
                                                    information technology resources. GSA                                       calendar days after the end of each                                             GSA’s projected quarterly reporting
                                                    is attributing the setup burden by                                          quarter. The average reporting times                                            times per sales category and system
                                                    vendor, not by contracts, because a                                         vary by system type (manual or                                                  type.

                                                                                                      QUARTERLY REPORTING HOURS BY SYSTEM TYPE AND CATEGORY
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Manual       Automated
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           systems       systems

                                                    Category     1   ...............................................................................................................................................................             0.25          2.00
                                                    Category     2   ...............................................................................................................................................................             1.00          2.00
                                                    Category     3   ...............................................................................................................................................................             2.00          2.00
                                                    Category     4   ...............................................................................................................................................................             4.00          2.00
                                                    Category     5   ...............................................................................................................................................................             8.00          2.00



                                                    Annualized Public Burden Estimates                                          will have practical utility; whether our                                        DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
                                                      The burden estimates consist of                                           estimate of the public burden of this                                           HUMAN SERVICES
                                                    quarterly reporting times for all 12,254                                    collection of information is accurate,
                                                    participating vendors and a one-time                                        and based on valid assumptions and                                              Centers for Disease Control and
                                                    setup burden for the 819 new vendors:                                       methodology; ways to enhance the                                                Prevention
                                                                                                                                quality, utility, and clarity of the
                                                    Quarterly Reporting                                                         information to be collected.                                                    [30Day–17–16BGH]
                                                     Annual Burden (Hours): 56,983.                                                Obtaining Copies of Proposals:
                                                     Annual Burden (Cost): $3,874,817.                                                                                                                          Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork
                                                                                                                                Requesters may obtain a copy of the                                             Reduction Act Review
                                                    Initial Setup                                                               information collection documents from
                                                                                                                                the General Services Administration,                                               The Centers for Disease Control and
                                                      Annual Burden (Hours): 8,718.                                                                                                                             Prevention (CDC) has submitted the
                                                      Annual Burden (Cost): $592,846.                                           Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB),
                                                                                                                                                                                                                following information collection request
                                                                                                                                1800 F Street NW., Washington, DC
                                                    Total Information Collection Burden                                                                                                                         to the Office of Management and Budget
                                                                                                                                20405, telephone 202–501–4755. Please                                           (OMB) for review and approval in
                                                      Number of Respondents: 12,254.                                            cite OMB Control No. 3090–0235, Price
                                                      Response per Respondent: 4.                                                                                                                               accordance with the Paperwork
                                                                                                                                Reductions Clause, in all                                                       Reduction Act of 1995. The notice for
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                      Total Annual Responses: 49, 016.                                          correspondence.
                                                      Hours Per Response: 1.3404.                                                                                                                               the proposed information collection is
                                                      Total Burden (Hours): 65,701.                                             Jeffrey A. Koses,                                                               published to obtain comments from the
                                                      Annual Burden (Cost): $4,467,663.                                         Director, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office
                                                                                                                                                                                                                public and affected agencies.
                                                                                                                                of Government-wide Policy.                                                         Written comments and suggestions
                                                    C. Public Comments                                                                                                                                          from the public and affected agencies
                                                                                                                                [FR Doc. 2017–00687 Filed 1–12–17; 8:45 am]
                                                      Public comments are particularly                                                                                                                          concerning the proposed collection of
                                                                                                                                BILLING CODE 6820–61–P
                                                    invited on: Whether this collection of                                                                                                                      information are encouraged. Your
                                                    information is necessary and whether it                                                                                                                     comments should address any of the


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Document Created: 2017-01-13 02:45:22
Document Modified: 2017-01-13 02:45:22
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionNotice of request for comments regarding an extension to an existing OMB clearance.
DatesSubmit comments on or before: March 14, 2017.
ContactMatthew McFarland, Senior Policy Advisor, GSA Acquisition Policy Division, at 202-690-9232 or [email protected]
FR Citation82 FR 4337 

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