Issue 466, March 1, 2005

There has been some confusion created by the future closing of Data Entry Centers (DEC's) by the Foreign Trade Division of U.S. Census on March 31, 2005. We want customers to be aware that this does not signal the beginning of mandatory Automated Export System (AES).

The DEC's are facilities that transmit electronic Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) information to AES. However, they are NOT regular AES filers. DECs are just a "pipe" of the information provided by the U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI) on a paper SED. They transmit the data and have no requirements for the edits that AES performs, and they have no liability or responsibility for the correctness of the data, like a regular AES filer does. This is one of the main reasons that the government is closing these facilities down.

The DEC's were started in 2000 when AES became the only electronic means of filing SED's. The intent of the government was to close the DEC's when mandatory AES came into being. The mandatory AES rules have taken longer than anticipated to be published, therefore, the Foreign Trade Division of U.S. Census will close the DEC's as a separate item instead of waiting until the end of the year when mandatory AES is in place.

DECs currently have the ability to take a paper SED from the USPPI and transmit what was on it to AES (no edits, no responsibility for correctness of data). DEC's will now no longer be able to perform this function after March 31st.

As of April 1, 2005, if any DEC transmits an AES record, they will have to do so as a regular AES filer. They will need Power of Attorney, Written Authorization, or a signed SED/SLI from the USPPI. They will be held accountable for the data transmitted, exactly as a regular AES filing agent is held accountable, and can be fined and penalized, for violations of the AES rules and regulations.

If your company has been using the DECs, as of April 1st you will need to:

	File the AES directly via AES Direct
	Use a regular AES filing agent such as DHL Danzas Air & Ocean, and authorize that AES filer to do the AES filing

NOTE: USPPI's can still use the paper SED until mandatory AES goes into effect UNLESS your shipments are ITAR controlled, or if they are Commerce controlled (meaning that they have an ECCN and are not EAR99 material). AES is mandatory right now for these items.

If your shipments do not fall into these two types of shipments you can still use the paper SED until the mandatory AES rules become the regulations to follow.

Please contact your local DHL Danzas Air & Ocean office at (800) 234-2778 with any questions or assistance regarding the filing of SEDs.

Our contributing writer is Ken Hughes, Export Compliance Manager, DHL Danzas Air & Ocean.

Please note that due to the complex nature of the subject matter, DHL Danzas Air & Ocean cannot be responsible for actions taken by the reader in reliance on the information contained herein without prior consultation with DHL Danzas Air & Ocean.