Census' Final Rule on Mandatory AES (Part III)
The U.S. Census Bureau has issued its final rule which amends 15 CFR Part 30 to make mandatory the filing of export information through the Automated Export System or AESDirect1, for all shipments where a Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) is currently required, etc.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
(Note that the new term for SED information is Electronic Export Information (EEI).)
Although the final rule takes effect July 2, 2008, Census is providing the trade an additional 90 days to implement the changes required by the final rule. After this 90-day period ends on September 30, 2008, enforcement of the final rule begins.
This is Part III, the final part of BP's multi-part series of summaries on Census' final rule and highlights Census' response to comments it received on its proposed rule.
Amended Filing Citation and Exemption Legend Requirements
Census made several changes to the filing citation and exemption legend requirements to reflect industry practice with respect to who must provide exemption legends.
XTN Will No Longer Be an Acceptable Proof of Filing Citation
Only the Internal Transaction Number (ITN), which confirms the shipment information has been accepted in AES, is acceptable as the proof of filing citation. The External Transaction Number (XTN) will no longer be accepted as a proof of filing.
Downtime Requirements
Census states that if AES is unavailable, the filer of a U.S. Munitions List (USML) shipment will not be allowed to export until AES is operational and the filer is able to acquire an ITN. For non-USML shipments, Census' final rule provides for a downtime filing citation to allow goods to be exported. (According to Census, AES has demonstrated a high level of reliability in performance and has been available to users 99% of the time.)
Computer Viruses, Employee Passwords
The requirement to notify a Census Foreign Trade Division (FTD) Security Officer when a virus infection occurs only applies to systems connected to AESDirect. Census further clarifies that the requirement to change the password when an employee leaves the company only applies to employees who had direct access to AES.
Registration Number in Place of the EIN/ SSN Addressed in Future Rulemaking
Census is currently working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to develop a system that allows the reporting of registration numbers so that the filers', U.S. Principal Party in Interest's (USPPI's), or agents' Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Social Security Number (SSN) can be kept confidential, and will address this issue in a future rulemaking.
Estimated Date of Departure Can be Used if Actual Date Not Known
In instances where filer does not know the actual date of departure, Census states that the filer may provide an estimated departure date. However, Census notes that it is the USPPI or the authorized filing agent's responsibility to transmit accurate export information as known at the time of filing in AES and transmit any changes to that information as soon as they are known.
Note Alerting Filers of Different Definitions of "Exporter" in EAR and FTR
The definition used for exporter in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) is different from the definition used for the USPPI in the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) because of each agency's distinct obligations and requirements.
1AES is the electronic method for filing SED information directly with CBP and Census. AESDirect is Census' free Internet-based system for filing SED information with AES. AESPcLink is a Windows-based desktop PC component of AESDirect that allows filers to enter their SED information off-line and connect to AESDirect using the Internet to submit their SEDs to AES.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 06/02/08 and 06/05/08 news, 08060200 and 08060515, for Parts I and II of BP's summary of Census' final rule.
See ITT's Online Archives or 06/03/08 news, 08060305, for BP summary of Census' letter to CBP and the trade on its final rule.
See ITT's Online Archives or 06/10/08 news, 08061025, for BP summary of Census' new Web page on mandatory AES.
See ITT's Online Archives or 06/11/08 news, 08061105, for BP summary of CBP's general notice implementing the advance electronic cargo information requirement for exports.
See ITT's Online Archives or 06/18/08 news, 08061815, for BP summary on the differences in AES reporting timeframes for vessel exports, etc. between Census and CBP.)
Census contact - C. Harvey Monk, Jr. (301) 763-2932
Census' Mandatory AES Website containing additional information, including seminars and workshops, at http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/mandatory/index.html
Census final rule (FR Pub 06/02/08, D/N 031009254-6014-03) available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-12133.pdf.