Title 15 - COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE

PART 4--DISCLOSURE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

Subpart A--Freedom of Information Act

Sec.  4.5  Responsibility for responding to requests.

    (a) In general. Except as stated in paragraph (b) of this section, 
the proper component of the Department to respond to a request for 
records is the component that first receives the request and has 
responsive records, or the component to which the Departmental Freedom 
of Information Officer assigns lead responsibility for responding to 
the request. Records responsive to a request shall include only those 
records within the Department's possession and control as of the date 
the proper component receives the request.
    (b) Consultations and referrals. If a component receives a request 
for a record in its possession in which another Federal agency subject 
to the FOIA has the primary interest, the component shall refer the 
record to that agency for direct response to the requester. Ordinarily, 
the agency that originated a record will be presumed to have the 
primary interest in it. A component shall consult with another Federal 
agency before responding to a requester if the component receives a 
request for a record in which another Federal agency subject to the 
FOIA has a significant interest, but not the primary interest; or 
another Federal agency not subject to the FOIA has the primary interest 
or a significant interest (see Sec. 4.8 for additional information 
about referrals of classified information).
    (c) Notice of referral. Whenever a component refers a document to 
another Federal agency for direct response to the requester, it 
ordinarily shall notify the requester in writing of the referral and 
inform the requester of the name of the agency to which the document 
was referred.
    (d) Timing of responses to consultations and referrals. All 
consultations and referrals shall be handled in chronological order, 
based on when the FOIA request was received by the first Federal 
agency.
    (e) Agreements regarding consultations and referrals. Components 
may make agreements with other Federal agencies to eliminate the need 
for consultations or referrals for particular types of records.