Census issues proposed AES mandatory rules

Census issues proposed AES mandatory rules    The U.S. Census Bureau has published its long-awaited proposed rules for mandatory electronic filing of export information to the government.
   The agency said the proposed rules conform with the requirements of the 2002 Foreign Relations Authorization Act. This legislation also requires the implementation of civil and criminal penalties for failure to file export information electronically, and authorizes the designation of staff from the both the Commerce Department’s Office of Export Enforcement and the Homeland Security Department’s Customs and Border Protection to perform enforcement duties.
   Under the current regulations, export information is collected from both paper and electronic transactions filed by exporters or their freight forwarders. Census uses the data to compile the nation’s trade statistics, while CBP uses the information to target illicit outbound cargoes.
   “Electronic filing strengthens the U.S. government’s ability to prevent the export of certain items by unauthorized parties to unauthorized destinations and end users, because AES aids in targeting and identifying suspicious shipments prior to export and affords the government the ability to significantly improve the quality, timeliness, and coverage of export statistics,” Census said.
   Since 1995, the government’s Automated Export System has allowed exporters and their approved forwarders to file shipper’s export declarations electronically. Census also offers the industry free Internet-based filing capability through AESDirect.
   The export industry has until April 18 to comment on the proposed mandatory AES filing rules. For a complete review of the proposed rules, access on line: https://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-2926.htm .