(a) Designation of confidential business information. In the event a FOIA request is made for confidential business information previously submitted to the Government by a commercial entity or on behalf of it (hereinafter “submitter”), the regulations in this section apply. When submitting confidential business information, you must use a good-faith effort to designate, by use of appropriate markings, at the time of submission or at a reasonable time thereafter, any portions of your submission that you consider to be exempt from disclosure under FOIA Exemption 4, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4). Your designation will expire ten years after the date of submission unless you request, and provide justification for, a longer designation period.
(b) Notice to submitters.
(1) Whenever you designate confidential business information as provided in paragraph (a) of this section, or the Council has reason to believe that your submission may contain confidential business information, we will provide you with prompt written notice of a FOIA request that seeks your business information. The notice shall:
(i) Give you an opportunity to object to disclosure of your information, in whole or in part;
(ii) Describe the business information requested or include copies of the requested records or record portions containing the information; and
(iii) Inform you of the time frame in which you must respond to the notice.
(2) In cases involving a voluminous number of submitters, notice may be made by posting or publishing the notice in a place or manner reasonably likely to accomplish it.
(c) Opportunity to object to disclosure. The Council shall allow you a reasonable time to respond to the notice described in paragraph (b) of this section. If you object to the disclosure of your information, in whole or in part, you must provide us with a detailed written statement of your objection. The statement must specify all grounds for withholding any portion of the information under any FOIA exemption and, when relying on FOIA Exemption 4, it must explain why the information is a trade secret or commercial or financial information that is privileged and confidential. If you fail to respond within the time frame specified in the notice, the Council will conclude that you have no objection to disclosure of your information. The Council will only consider information that we receive within the time frame specified in the notice.
(d) Notice of intent to disclose. The Council will consider your objection and specific grounds for non-disclosure in deciding whether to disclose business information. Whenever the Council decides to disclose business information over your objection, we will provide you with written notice that includes:
(1) A statement of the reasons why each of your bases for withholding were not sustained;
(2) A description of the business information to be disclosed; and
(3) A specified disclosure date, which shall be a reasonable time after the notice.
(e) Exceptions to the notice requirement. The notice requirements of paragraphs (c) and
(d) of this section shall not apply if:
(1) The Council determines that the information is exempt under the FOIA;
(2) The information lawfully has been published or has been officially made available to the public;
(3) Disclosure of the information is required by statute (other than the FOIA) or by a regulation issued in accordance with the requirements of Executive Order 12600;
(4) The designation made by the submitter under paragraph (a) of this section appears obviously frivolous, except that, in such a case, the Council shall, within a reasonable time prior to the date the disclosure will be made, give the submitter written notice of the final decision to disclose the information.
(f) Requester notification. The Council shall notify a requester whenever it provides the submitter with notice and an opportunity to object to disclosure; whenever it notifies the submitter of its intent to disclose the requested information; and whenever a submitter files a lawsuit to prevent the disclosure of the information.