New International Shipping Document Requirements Mandatory for October 1, 2008

Back in June, we wrote about an upcoming change effective July 2, 2008, that the Census Bureau would require mandatory filing of export information through the Automated Export System (AES) or AESDirect. This is for all shipments where a Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED) is required. Beginning October 1, 2008, the "adjustment period" is over and there are fines and potentially prison time if these filings are not filed accurately and on time. The fines and prison time are significant - up to $10,000 and 5 years per shipment.

Some history-

The changes are in the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) that affect the Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED) (now known as Electronic Export Information - EEI) procedures. The new Regulations became effective July 2, 2008. By October 1, 2008, if EEI is required for a U.S. export, the EEI must be electronically filed to the Automated Export System (AES) by the U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI) (normally this is the exporter) or their designated agent.

There are more rules about when EEI is required than can be covered well here. UPS, FedEx and the USPS want different information about EEI, some of the exemption numbers have changed, and there are many other requirements. Be sure to contact your carrier(s) so they can advise you about how to comply with this new requirement. The USPPI can file for themselves directly with AESDirect. You may also find that the carriers offer other filing method options.

You will find additional information about this at the U.S. Census Bureau web site.