15 CFR § 30.3 - Electronic Export Information filer requirements, parties to export transactions, and responsibilities of parties to export transactions.
All parties that participate in an export transaction subject to the FTR must comply with the FTR. There are two types of export transactions: standard and routed. International commercial terms, terms of sale, and industry or other agreements do not determine the type of or parties to the export transaction, as they have no regulatory basis.
(a) General filer requirements. The filer of EEI for export transactions is either the USPPI, or the U.S. authorized agent. All EEI submitted to the AES shall be complete, correct, and based on personal knowledge of the facts stated or on information furnished by the parties to the export transaction. The filer shall be physically located in the United States at the time of filing, have an EIN or DUNS and be certified to report in the AES. In the event that the filer does not have an EIN or DUNS, the filer must obtain an EIN from the Internal Revenue Service. The filer is responsible for the truth, accuracy, and completeness of the EEI, except insofar as that party can demonstrate that it reasonably relied on information furnished by other responsible persons participating in the transaction. All parties involved in export transactions, including U.S. authorized agents, should be aware that invoices and other commercial documents may not necessarily contain all the information needed to prepare the EEI. The parties shall ensure that all information needed for reporting to the AES, including correct export licensing information, is provided to the U.S. authorized agent for the purpose of correctly preparing the EEI.
(1) The filer of EEI for export transactions is either the USPPI or the authorized agent. If a foreign entity is the USPPI, they are prohibited from filing the EEI and must authorize an agent to file on their behalf.
(2) The filer shall maintain a physical office or residence in the United States, be physically located in the United States at the time of preparing and filing the EEI, and have an EIN or DUNS and be certified to report in the AES. If the filer does not have an EIN or DUNS, the filer must obtain an EIN from the Internal Revenue Service.
(3) All EEI submitted to the AES shall be complete, accurate, and timely. The filer is responsible for ensuring that the EEI is complete, accurate, and timely, except insofar as that party can demonstrate that it reasonably relied on information based on personal knowledge of the facts and information furnished by other responsible persons participating in the transaction. All parties involved in export transactions, including authorized agents, should be aware that invoices and other commercial documents may not necessarily contain all the information needed to prepare and file the EEI.
(b) Parties to the export transaction—(1) Principal parties in interest. Those persons in a transaction that receive the primary benefit, monetary or otherwise, are considered principal parties to the transaction. Generally, the principal parties in interest in a transaction are the seller and buyer. In most cases, the U.S. forwarding or other agent is not a principal party in interest.
(2) USPPI. For purposes of filing EEI, the USPPI is the person in the United States that receives the primary benefit, monetary or otherwise, from the transaction. Below are scenarios where the USPPI is identified:
(i) If a U.S. manufacturer sells the goods for export directly to a FPPI, the U.S. manufacturer shall be listed as the USPPI in the EEI.
(ii) If a U.S. manufacturer sells goods, as a domestic sale, to a U.S. buyer (wholesaler/distributor) and that U.S. buyer sells the goods for export to a FPPI, the U.S. buyer shall be listed as the USPPI in the EEI.
(iii) If a U.S. order party directly arranges for the sale and export of goods to the FPPI, the U.S. order party shall be listed as the USPPI in the EEI.
(iv) If a customs broker or foreign person is listed as the importer of record when entering goods into the United States, the customs broker shall be listed as the USPPI in the EEI if the goods are being exported without change or enhancement in thirty (30) calendar days or less of import. After thirty (30) calendar days, if the customs broker decides to retain the USPPI responsibilities, then they shall continue to be listed as the USPPI in the EEI; otherwise, the warehouse or storage facility in possession and with knowledge and control of the goods when the goods begin their journey to the port of export shall be listed as the USPPI in the EEI.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection regulations (19 CFR 111.24) state that the import entry records pertaining to the business of the clients serviced by the customs broker are to be considered confidential. If applicable, when the customs broker supports the preparation or filing of the EEI with information from the import entry, the customs broker must have consent from the foreign importer of record to disclose confidential information to third parties.
(v) If a U.S. person admits goods into a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), then the U.S. person shall be listed as the USPPI in the EEI if the goods are subsequently exported without change or enhancement. If a foreign person admits goods into an FTZ, then the FTZ operator as defined in 19 CFR 146.1 shall be listed as the USPPI in the EEI if the goods are subsequently exported without change or enhancement.
(vi) If the foreign entity is in the United States at the time the goods are purchased or obtained for export, the foreign entity shall be listed as the USPPI in the EEI. The foreign entity is prohibited from filing the EEI; therefore, they must authorize an agent to comply with the provisions of the FTR.
(3) Authorized agent. The agent shall be authorized by the USPPI or, in the case of a routed export transaction, the agent shall be authorized by the FPPI to prepare and file the EEI. In a routed export transaction, the authorized agent can be the “exporter” for export control purposes as defined in 15 CFR 772.1 of the U.S. Department of Commerce EAR. However, the authorized agent shall not be shown as the USPPI in the EEI unless the agent acts as a USPPI in the export transaction as defined in paragraphs (b)(2)(iii), (iv), and (v) of this section.
(4) Carrier. A carrier is an individual or legal entity in the business of transporting passengers or goods. Airlines, trucking companies, railroad companies, shipping lines, and pipeline companies are all examples of carriers.
(c) General responsibilities of parties in export transactions—(1) USPPI responsibilities.
(i) The USPPI can prepare and file the EEI itself, or it can authorize an agent to prepare and file the EEI on its behalf. If the USPPI prepares the EEI itself, the USPPI is responsible for the accurate and timely transmission of all the export information reported to the AES based on information it has or has received from other parties to the transaction to support the preparing or filing of the EEI, such as export control requirements.
(ii) When the USPPI authorizes an agent to file the EEI on its behalf, the USPPI is responsible for:
(A) Providing the authorized agent with accurate and timely export information necessary to file the EEI.
(B) Providing the authorized agent with a power of attorney or written authorization to file the EEI (see paragraph (f) of this section for written authorization requirements for agents).
(C) Retaining documentation to support the information provided to the authorized agent for filing the EEI, as specified in § 30.10.
(2) Authorized agent responsibilities. The agent, when authorized by a USPPI to prepare and file the EEI for an export transaction, is responsible for performing the following activities:
(i) Accurate preparation and timely filing of the EEI based on information received from the USPPI and other parties involved in the transaction.
(ii) Obtaining a power of attorney or written authorization from the USPPI to file the EEI.
(iii) Retaining documentation to support the information reported to the AES, as specified in § 30.10.
(iv) Upon request, providing the USPPI with a copy of the export information filed in a mutually agreed upon format.
(3) Carrier responsibilities.
(i) The carrier must not load or move cargo unless the required documentation, from the USPPI or authorized agent, contains the required AES proof of filing, postdeparture, downtime, exclusion or exemption citations. This information must be cited on the first page of the bill of lading, air waybill, or other commercial loading documents.
(ii) The carrier must annotate the AES proof of filing, postdeparture, downtime, exclusion or exemption citations on the carrier's outbound manifest when required.
(iii) The carrier is responsible for presenting the required AES proof of filing, postdeparture, downtime, exclusion or exemption citations to the CBP Port Director at the port of export as stated in Subpart E of this part. Such presentation shall be without material change or amendment of the proof of filing, postdeparture, downtime, exclusion or exemption citation.
(iv) The carrier shall notify the USPPI or the authorized agent of changes to the transportation data, and the USPPI or the authorized agent shall electronically transmit the corrections, cancellations, or amendments as soon as the corrections are known in accordance with § 30.9. Manifest amendments must be made in accordance with CBP regulations.
(v) Retain documents pertaining to the export shipment as specified in § 30.10.
(d) Filer responsibilities. Responsibilities of USPPIs and authorized agents filing EEI are as follows:
(1) Filing complete and accurate information (see § 30.4 for a delineation of filing responsibilities of USPPIs and authorized agents).
(2) Filing information in a timely manner in accordance with the provisions and requirements contained in this part.
(3) Responding to fatal errors, warning, verify and reminder messages, and compliance alerts generated by the AES in accordance with provisions and requirements contained in this part.
(4) Providing the exporting carrier with the proof of filing, postdeparture, downtime, exclusion, or exemption citations in accordance with provisions and requirements contained in this part.
(5) Promptly filing corrections or cancellations to EEI in accordance with provisions contained in § 30.9.
(6) Retaining all necessary and proper documentation related to EEI transactions in accordance with provisions contained in this part (see § 30.10 for specific requirements for retaining and producing documentation for export shipments).
(e) Responsibilities of parties in a routed export transaction. The Census Bureau recognizes “routed export transactions” as a subset of export transactions. A routed export transaction is a transaction in which the FPPI authorizes a U.S. agent to facilitate the export of items from the United States and to prepare and file EEI.
(1) USPPI responsibilities. In a routed export transaction, the FPPI may authorize or agree to allow the USPPI to prepare and file the EEI. If the FPPI agrees to allow the USPPI to file the EEI, the FPPI must provide a written authorization to the USPPI assuming the responsibility for filing. If the FPPI agrees to allow the USPPI to file EEI, the filing of the export transaction shall be treated as a routed export transaction. The USPPI shall retain documentation to support the EEI filed. The USPPI may authorize an agent to file the EEI on its behalf, and both the USPPI and its authorized agent shall retain documentation to support the EEI filed. If the FPPI authorizes an agent to prepare and file the EEI, the USPPI shall retain documentation to support the information provided to the agent for preparing the EEI as specified in § 30.10 and provide the agent with complete, accurate, and timely export information it has or has received from other parties to the transaction necessary to prepare and file the EEI as set forth in appendix C.
For items in appendix C, where the FPPI has assumed responsibility for determining and obtaining license authority, see requirements set forth in 15 CFR 758.3 of the EAR.
(2) Authorized agent responsibilities. In a routed export transaction, if an authorized agent is preparing and filing the EEI on behalf of the FPPI, the authorized agent must obtain a power of attorney or written authorization from the FPPI and shall be responsible for preparing and filing complete, accurate, and timely EEI based on information obtained from the USPPI or other parties involved in the transaction. The authorized agent must file the EEI based on export information exactly as provided by the USPPI as set forth in appendix C. The authorized agent shall retain documentation to support the export information reported to the AES as specified in § 30.10 and, upon request, provide the USPPI with a copy of the power of attorney or written authorization from the FPPI and the data elements filed that the USPPI provided as listed in appendix C, along with the authorized agent name, authorized agent contact information, date of export, and ITN.
The authorized agent should not report the information above without obtaining it from the USPPI directly. The authorized agent and parties to the transaction should have continuous communication to ensure accurate, complete, and timely information is reported.
(f) Authorizing an agent. In a power of attorney or other written authorization, authority is conferred upon an agent to perform certain specified acts or kinds of acts on behalf of a principal (see 15 CFR 758.1(h) of the EAR). In cases where an authorized agent is filing EEI to the AES, the agent shall obtain a power of attorney or written authorization from a principal party in interest to file the information on its behalf. A power of attorney or written authorization should specify the responsibilities of the parties with particularity and should state that the agent has authority to act on behalf of a principal party in interest as its true and lawful agent for purposes of creating and filing EEI in accordance with the laws and regulations of the United States. In routed export transactions the USPPI is not required to provide an agent of the FPPI with a power of attorney or written authorization.
The EAR defines the “exporter” as the person in the United States who has the authority of a principal party in interest to determine and control the sending of items out of the United States (see 15 CFR 772 of the EAR). For statistical purposes “exporter” is not defined in the FTR. Instead, however, the USPPI is defined in the FTR.