International Services Surveys: BE-125, Quarterly Survey of Transactions in Selected Services and Intangible Assets With Foreign Persons

This final rule amends regulations of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce (BEA) to set forth the reporting requirements for the BE-125, Quarterly Survey of Transactions in Selected Services and Intangible Assets with Foreign Persons. This survey replaces a similar but more limited survey, the BE-25, Quarterly Survey of Transactions with Unaffiliated Foreign Persons in Selected Services and in Intangible Assets. A new agency form number and survey title are being introduced because the survey program is being reconfigured to begin collection of data on transactions with affiliated foreigners using the same survey instruments as are used to collect information on transactions with unaffiliated foreigners and because services once collected on an annual basis will now be collected quarterly. This change will allow respondents to report transactions in services and intangible assets with foreign persons on one quarterly survey, rather than on as many as three different quarterly surveys and one annual survey. The BE-125 survey will be conducted quarterly beginning with the first quarter of 2007. The BE-125 survey data will be used to update universe estimates from similar data reported on the BE-120, Benchmark Survey of Transactions in Selected Services and Intangible Assets with Foreign Persons and on the benchmark and quarterly direct investment surveys that were administered to collect data on transactions with affiliated foreign persons.