In 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service implemented a new user fee system intended to recover the
costs of the compliance portion of the wildlife inspection program.
Since that time, we have been made aware that we may have placed an
undue economic burden on businesses that exclusively trade in small
volumes of low-value, non-Federally protected wildlife parts and
products. To address this issue, we are implementing a program that
exempts certain businesses from the designated port base inspection
fees as an interim measure while we reassess the current user fee
system. To participate in our user fee exemption program for
low-risk importations and exportations, importers or exporters must
certify in writing that they meet the criteria for inclusion in the
program.
On December 9, 2008, we
published a final rule (73 FR 74615) implementing a new user fee
system intended to recover the costs of the compliance portion of
the wildlife inspection program. Since implementation of the user
fee system, we have been made aware that we may have placed an
undue economic burden on businesses that exclusively trade in small
volumes of low-value, non-Federally protected wildlife parts and
products. The continued expansion of the internet as a tool for
commerce has made it not only possible, but imperative, in recent
years for more and more businessesespecially small businessesto
sell directly to individual consumers. The Services inspection fee
schedule may have resulted in inordinate and unsustainable
inspection costs for imports and exports that have
disproportionately undercut the ability of certain businesses to
respond to growing pressure to deal directly with consumers via
internet-based purchases and other small shipping practices and do
so profitably. We are taking immediate action to address this
possible fee inequity in advance of a planned reassessment of our
wildlife inspection user fee schedule. We are using the good
cause exemptions under 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and (d)(3) to issue an
interim rule establishing the fee exemption program, without first
invoking the usual notice and public comment procedure. The interim
rule will be effective upon publication, but we will accept
comments on the program for 60 days. As we begin the process to
reexamine our fee structure, we need to collect data regarding both
the impact of changing the user fee structure on the business
community and its ability to fully fund the wildlife inspection
program. This interim rule will allow us to collect data with
relatively low risk to our conservation goals and assist at least
some businesses that may be currently experiencing an undue
economic hardship. We are committed to finalizing this rule after
careful consideration of both public comments and collection of
additional data. It is important to note that this proposed
collection of data will only involve the analysis of FWS Form
3-177s submitted electronically after businesses have been included
in the user fee exemption program, and that those businesses will
not be required to produce any documentation to justify their
inclusion in the user fee exemption program.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Certification for User Fee Exemption