AES and EEI Filing

Electronic Export Information replaced the paper Shipper's Export Declaration in 2008. Census collects the trade statistics, and CBP and BIS use the same record for enforcement.

Thresholds

Shipments to Canada stay exempt on value alone. Licensable goods to Canada still need a filing.

• Any single Schedule B commodity line valued over $2,500
• Anything requiring an export licence, at any value
• Used self-propelled vehicles, at any value, filed 72 hours prior to export
• Rough diamonds, regardless of value

Splitting an invoice into lines under $2,500 to dodge the filing counts as a violation. Census and BIS both prosecute it.

The ITN

AES returns an Internal Transaction Number on acceptance. The carrier needs that number before your cargo loads, and terminals reject bookings without it. We file as your authorised agent under a power of attorney and pass the ITN to the steamship line and to you.

Routed transactions

A foreign buyer who controls the movement creates a routed export transaction, and the filing obligation shifts to their US agent. You still owe them the commodity data and the licence determination. Exporters on FOB and FCA terms with a nominated forwarder land here, and the confusion over who files is a common cause of a late ITN.

Corrections

Filing an amendment after departure beats leaving wrong data in the record. Census expects corrections within five days for most fields. A pattern of late filings draws a compliance review, and a compliance review draws attention to everything else.