Implementation of Mandatory AES

(American Shipper – Eric Kulisch)

The U.S. Census Bureau today will begin implementing rules for mandatory electronic filing of export information by U.S. exporters and freight forwarders.

The export documentation must be filed prior to loading or departure, depending on the mode of transport.

The Commerce Department agency in early June issued the final regulation requiring all shippers’ export declarations for shipments valued at $2,500 or above to be filed via its Automated Export System. The rules went into effect on July 2 and now companies will be monitored for their compliance.

The Census Bureau uses the information to compile the nation’s trade statistics and U.S. Customs and Border Protection uses it to enforce export control laws.

The regulation increases civil and criminal penalties for those who fail to file or do so inaccurately, but questions remain about how those penalties will be meted out. Maximum civil penalties are $10,000 per violation for failure to file and up to $1,000 for making false statements. Criminal penalties can reach $10,000 and up to five years in prison. How the penalty range will be applied for first, second and third violations and other situations is still unclear. Read the complete article. More on the final rule here.

Note: Under the new rule, paper Shippers Export Declarations will be eliminated and all SEDs must now be transmitted electronically. The SED will now be referred to as an Electronic Export Information or EEI. U.S. Census Bureau offers the AES Direct system, for exporters to file electronically.