The Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division has issued an important notice to all US exporters, freight forwarders and all other authorized agents filing Electronic Export Information (EEI). The notice was released June 30, 2009 and explains that beginning October 1,2009 BIS will be adding new electronic edits on ECCNs, Special Comprehensive Licenses and certain license exceptions to make sure that EEI information reported is correct and accurate. (more…)
Archive for the ‘AES’ Category
Upcoming EEI “Edits” Changes Will Require More Accurate EEI
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 by Danielle McClellanColor Coding Update for AES Filing
Friday, May 1st, 2009 by Danielle McClellanThe Census Department has issued guidance identifying situations which seem to causing new AES user’s issues. The notice basically explains what fields must be filled in and those which do not when filing an Electronic Export Information (EEI). Each data field is one of three colors: (more…)
Are You Using the Correct NLR Code in AES?
Friday, May 1st, 2009 by Danielle McClellanAES (Automated Export System) offers exporters two license codes to designate exports as NLR (No License Required). These codes C32 and C33 often incorrectly are used interchangeably by exporters causing Census to send an announcement out in the AES Newsletter reminding everyone which NLR code they should be using.
The easiest code to understand is C33, which should be used for exports, designated EAR99 or those that have an ECCN with a reason for control of Anti-Terrorism (AT) ONLY. C33 should also be used for items destined for Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands
License Code C32 should be used for exports that have an ECCN which has a reason for control IN ADDITON to Anti-Terrorism (AT) or other than AT.
More information:
Customs Publishes New Penalty Guidelines for Export Filing Errors
Friday, January 2nd, 2009 by Guest AuthorOn January 2, 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published penalty guidelines for violations of the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) issued by the U.S. Census Bureau (Census), which were amended on June 2, 2008, and became effective as of September 30, 2008. The amended FTR adopted new measures, such as a voluntary disclosure program, to mitigate violations of the FTR, which are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 per violation. Violations can include the failure to file or the delayed filing of export information in the Automated Export System (AES) and the filing of false or misleading information in AES.
Authority to issue civil penalties to enforce the FTR has been delegated to CBP, which has published guidelines on how it will assess penalties for certain violations based on four mitigation schemes outlined as follows:
- Penalties for the Failure to File Electronic Export Information (EEI) in AES
- Penalties for the Late Filing of Electronic Export Information (EEI) in AES
- Penalties for Various Other FTR Violations
- Penalties for Carrier Filing Failures
Each penalty scheme follows a sequence of recorded offenses, typified by the following one for failure to file EEI:
- First Recorded Offense – $750 to $2,500
- Second Recorded Offense – $1000 to $3500
- Third Recorded Offense – $1500 to $5000
- Fourth and Subsequent Recorded Offense – $2000 to $10,000
More EEI and AES Clarification for Shipments to Puerto Rico
Sunday, November 16th, 2008 by Danielle McClellanLast month we reported that the Census Bureau announced that Puerto Rico is within the US Customs territory and shipments between Puerto Rico and the US are exempt from the new advance filing deadlines set forth in the new Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR). Beginning September 30, 2008 it will be mandatory that Electronic Export Information (EEI) be filed through AES in advance, 24 hours before shipment via vessel or 2 hours via air.
The Census Bureau has now released a clarification to the exemption, when shipping any items between the US and Puerto Rico proof of the EEI filing citation, post departure filing citation or exemption must be presented to the carrier prior to the departure of goods. The filing does not have to be in advance, but it must be filed.
Remember however, most carriers want this information earlier than the time frames that have been set. Most carriers have a “no docs, no load” policy, meaning they must have the ITN number or an exemption listed on the transport document or your shipment will not be loaded. All ITN formats and exemption formats must meet the new criteria set forth in the Jun 9, 2008 Federal Register.
More information:
- Filing Time Frames Exemption for Puerto Rico (PDF) (Census Bureau Memorandum)
Congress Ponders AES Modernization Bill
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 by Danielle McClellanOn April 17, 2008 Don Manzullo (R-Illinois) and Adam Smith (D-Washington), introduced new legislation to modernize the Automated Export System. The Securing Exports Through Coordination and Technology Act is described as being able to, “clarify the confusing US export system that punishes mistakes with costly fines” as well as “strengthen the government’s ability to crack down on deliberate violators” as described by Smith and Manzullo. The bill will also include provisions designed to improve the use and operation of e AES.
Under the Act the AES would be required to:
- Reject data submitted for exports that would violate US export control or sanction regulations by virtue of the destination country or entity;
- Alert the exporter of potential export license requirements under the EAR and/or the ITAR based on codes;
- Issue a fatal error notice when the data submitted includes: names, addresses or restricted entities or destination countries subject to US sanctions and embargoes;
- Issue compliance alerts or other warnings to the filer if: the data submitted includes an inconsistent classification number, a license exception which is not available for the country or ultimate consignee or if there is no license number
Exporters say that these types of errors happen often because of the many different export control laws and regulations they have to handle. (more…)
AES Requirement to Identify ECCN for EAR License Exception Exports Begins April 28, 2008
Sunday, February 24th, 2008 by Danielle McClellanBeginning on April 28, 2008, AES reporting requirements for export license exceptions will change. It will be mandatory to report the Export Control Classifications Number (ECCN) on the AES record when using license exceptions TSR, RPL, GOV, GFT, TSU, BAG, AVS, APR, KMI, TAPS, ENC to export goods, technology, or software from the United States.
The ECCN will be required for the following exception codes:
- C35-LVS
- C36-GBS
- C37-CIV
- C38-TSR
- C40-TMPC
- C41-RPL
- C42-GOV
- C43-GFT
- C44-TSU
- C45-BAG
- C46-AVS
- C47-APR
- C48-KMI
- C49-TAPS
- C50-ENCC51-AGR
- C53-APP
While some have argued that this new requirement should not pose any problems for exporters, those arguments usually come from people who are not responsible for doing AES submissions and coordinating export paperwork and documentation.
More information:
Bush Signs Law Raising Fines for Violating the EAR from $50,000 to $250,000
Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 by Danielle McClellanOn October 16, 2007, President Bush signed legislation increasing by a factor of five the civil and criminal penalties under International Emergency Economic Powers Act and penalties for violations of the Export Administration Regulations. Previously, civil penalties had been $50,000 per violation; the amended statute now calls for the greater of $250,000 or twice “the amount of the transaction that is the basis of the violation”. The news is worse than appears because a single export transactions can result in multiple violations, because of this: many times the BIS can double or triple count violations for one shipment. For example, Violation 1) would be the illegal export, Violation 2) would be acting with knowledge of an illegal export, Violation 3) would be making false statements on AES/SED records that no license is required). With this is mind, the practice of multi-counting counting, combined with the new fines could send the monetary amounts of the penalties into the stratosphere if companies are not careful.
The legislation also adds new activities that represent violations; in the past civil violations consisted of violating or attempting to violate the law. Now it is a violation to “conspire” or “cause a violation” of the law. The criminal side merely adds that it is a violations to “willfully conspire to commit” or “aid or abet” a violation.
Failure to File SEDs/AES Nets $450,000 Penalty
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007 by John BlackOK, so you forgot to do your AES filing for that shipment to Aruba, no big deal, right?
According to the Commerce Department, over a period of almost 8 months, Aviacsa Airlines of Houston, Texas exported No License Required aircraft parts without filing the required SEDs/AES on 75 different occasions. The shipments ranged in value from $2550 to approximately $22,000. Consequently, Aviacsa agreed to pay a fine of $450,000—half of the fine is suspended for one year and will be waived if Aviacsa doesn’t get caught with any violations during the one year period.
No doubt, Aviacsa’s lawyers claimed that they got a good deal for their client, who could have faced fines of $875,000, or even more if Commerce had decided to double count violations as it often does.
Bottom Line Compliance Lesson: Failure to file SEDs/AES can lead to problems. I am not saying one mistake will get you in big trouble, but we now know what can happen if you fail to file 75 times. Use this story to scare your company into doing a better job with its SED/AES filing.
Bottom Line Compliance Lesson:
Failure to file SEDs/AES can lead to problems. I am not saying one mistake will get you in big trouble, but we now know what can happen if you fail to file 75 times. Use this story to scare your company into doing a better job with its SED/AES filing.
Changes to Harmonized Tariff System Implemented February 3, 2007
Saturday, February 3rd, 2007 by John BlackGentlemen (and Ladies): Start Your HTS and Schedule B Classification Engines…
The International Trade Commission has announced that the final version of the 2007 Harmonized Tariff System (HTS)l became effective on February 3, 2007. This will include the World Customs Organization (WCO) changes. Changes will affect about 10% of the eight-digit codes. Importers have until February 20, 2007 to begin using the new HTS codes.
The ITC has posted a draft version on its website, but has committed to posting a the final version by January 22, 2007. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will allow a 17-day grace period for importers to transition to the new system. This grace period will end on February 20, 2007. These implementation plans are posted on their website.
Bottom Line for Exporters:
The export version of the HTS (the Schedule B) was published by the Census Bureau on their website at the beginning of the year. The AES system will accept the old Schedule B Numbers through March 4, 2007.
