ATA Carnet EEI Exemption Final Rule Published!
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After great anticipation the Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division (FTD) has announced the publication of an Interim Final Rule that amends its regulations to eliminate the reporting requirement for temporary exports. The revision to the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR), Title 15, Part 30 reinstates the previous filing exemptions in Sections 30.37(q) and (r) of the FTR for temporary exports, which includes ATA Carnets and goods that were imported under a Temporary Import Bond (TIB). U.S. ATA Carnet shipments can now revert back to the former exemption code "CARNET NO EEI per 30.37(q)" as an exemption statement on required manifest documents, while foreign ATA Carnets can use "CARNET NO EEI per 30.37(r)". Please be aware that these exemptions only apply to ATA Carnets that cover commodities that do not require export licenses. All exports from the U.S. that require a participating government agency export license have never been exempt from the EEI filing requirement. This Interim Final Rule can be found by clicking here.

March 2013, several changes were made to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) pertaining to the filing of export documentation under the Automated Export System. One significant change was the removal of the exemption that ATA Carnet and TIB shipments benefited from. These changes would have been effective and subject to a vigorous enforcement regime by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on October 2. Roanoke was instrumental in obtaining this re-exemption by representing our customers on the EEI/AES working group alongside the U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB), U.S. CBP and U.S. Census. 

Once again we would like to thank U.S. Census and U.S. CBP for working together with us to provide the best outcome for our customers and the trade. In addition we are very grateful to the Air Forwarders Association, the Pacific Coast Council and USCIB for their dedication and hard work to achieve this exemption.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at 1.800.CARNET (1.800.227.6387) or Carnets@RoanokeTrade.com or visit us at www.RoanokeTrade.com/ATA-Carnet.

August 13, 2014: ATA Carnets Exempt from EEI/AES Filing!

Roanoke Insurance Group is very pleased to inform you that our hard work has paid off in securing exemption from the Electronic Export Filing (EEI) filing requirement for ATA Carnets! We received verbal confirmation from both U.S. Customs and Border protection (CBP) and U.S. Census Bureau yesterday. U.S. Census is currently working on revising the rules, which should be published very soon. October 2 is no longer a looming deadline for ATA Carnets! 

March 2013, several changes were made to the U.S Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) pertaining to the filing of export documentation under the Automated Export System. One significant change was the removal of the exemption that ATA Carnet shipments benefited from. These changes would have been effective and subject to a vigorous enforcement regime by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on October 2. Roanoke was instrumental in obtaining this re-exemption by representing our customers on the EEI/AES working group alongside the U.S. Council for International Business, US CBP and US Census. 

Until further notice ATA Carnet shipments will continue to include "CARNET" as an exemption statement on required manifest documents. In the event that the cargo carrier refuses the shipment due to missing exemption code, we recommend, only during this period of informed compliance, reverting back to the former exemption code “CARNET NO EEI per 30.37(q)” for U.S. ATA Carnets and “30.37(r)” for foreign ATA Carnet shipments. Once the revised rules are officially published we will provide guidance on how to handle ATA Carnet shipments. Please be aware that these exemptions only apply to ATA Carnets that cover commodities that do not require export licenses. All exports from the U.S. that require a participating government agency export license have never been exempt from the EEI filing requirement.

July 8, 2014: Delayed Enforcement of the New Foreign Trade Regulations Continues for ATA Carnet Shipments 

Roanoke Insurance Group regularly checks on the status of the requested re-exemption for ATA Carnets from the Electronic Export Information (EEI) filing requirement under the new Foreign Trade Regulations. As of today we still have no response on the status and thus no further update to share. We can tell you that US Census has released their official FAQ on how ATA Carnet shipments are to be handled during this period of Informed Compliance. Please click here to view the Foreign Trade Regulations' FAQ; page 19 contains the following language specific to ATA Carnet:

Do carnet shipments require filing during the period of informed compliance? 

The period of informed compliance will take place from the revised FTR effective date of April 5, 2014 through October 2, 2014. During this period, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will not penalize the parties to the export transaction (for example: the carnet holders, USPPIs, or authorized agents) who fail to file Electronic Export Information (EEI) for these shipments. Carriers may load carnet shipments without an ITN. As a temporary solution to ensure that carriers will load cargo, the USPPI or the authorized agent may include “CARNET” as an exemption statement on required manifest documents as required per Section 30.45.

We are still working with US Customs and Border Protection, US Census and the US Council for International Business to understand the requirements, find equivalences where possible, and continue to request exemption status for all if not most ATA Carnet shipments that do not require export licenses. To stay current with the EEI changes and other ATA Carnet updates, we invite you to sign up for our mailing list, follow us on Twitter  and connect with us on LinkedIn . 

April 23, 2014: Continued Exemption Available for ATA Carnet Shipments

Roanoke Insurance Group confirmed that the U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB) has received a written statement from U.S. Census clarifying that during this period of Informed Compliance ATA Carnet shipments will still be exempt from the new EEI filing requirement. U.S. Census stated the following: "During this period (of Informed Compliance), the CBP will not penalize Carnet holders, authorized agents, or carriers of these goods for failure to file the EEI or ship Carnet exports. The period of informed compliance will take place from the revised FTR effective date of April 5, 2014, through October 2, 2014. As a temporary solution to ensure that carriers will load cargo, the U.S. Principal Parties in Interest or the authorized agent may include "CARNET" as an exemption statement on required manifest documents per FTR 30.45."  

April 3, 2014: Delayed Enforcement of the New Electronic Export Information filing for ATA Carnet 

Roanoke Insurance Group and USCIB have successfully confirmed the delay in implementation of the new Foreign Trade Regulations as pertains to ATA Carnet. Therefore ATA Carnets departing the United States WILL NOT be required to change their current practice on/or after April 5 as we originally reported on March 11 of this year. This 6 months delay allows us to continue to work with the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (U.S. CBP) to seek a permanent exemption for ATA Carnets from the need to complete an Electronic Export Information filing (EEI) through the Automated Export System (AES).

Roanoke Insurance Group received the following FTR Letter No. 8 Notice of 180 Day Informed Compliance Period for Regulatory Changes stating that this memorandum serves to notify the trade community that the Census Bureau and U.S. CBP agree to provide an additional 180 days to come into compliance with the new requirements. During this time, no penalties will be issued for failure to comply with any new requirements found in the March 14, 2013 rule. However this does not change the EEI filing obligation for ATA Carnet shipments that require an export license.

March 11, 2014: How the new Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) Export Requirements Impact ATA Carnet

Starting April 5, 2014, several changes will be implemented to the U.S Census Bureau Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR). Some of these changes involve goods leaving the U.S. under an ATA Carnet.  All exports leaving the United States, except temporary exports, have historically required Electronic Export Information (EEI) filing. However, the types of exemptions that exist today will be greatly curtailed effective April 5, 2014. These changes greatly affect ATA Carnet shipments, as they cover both U.S. issued ATA Carnets and foreign ATA Carnets used for temporary importation into the U.S.

Narrowing the temporary export exemption
Goods moving under the ATA Carnet are no longer automatically exempt from the EEI filling. To avoid any possible delays in your goods reaching their destination on time we are working with U.S. Census and U.S. CBP to fine-tune the acceptable equivalencies for the required data elements. 

ATA Carnet exemptions
There are still some exemptions that ATA Carnet shipments can qualify for:

• Low Value Exemption: goods valued at or below $2,500 per individual Schedule B/HTSUS commodity classification code do not need to be reported (see 15 CFR 30.37(a)). If the General List on the ATA Carnet contains multiple Schedule B/HTSUS numbers, and no single item or the sum of total items per Schedule B/HTSUS is valued at more than $2,500, then the ATA Carnet shipment will be exempted from the EEI filing requirement.  Note that Schedule B/HTSUS numbers are not required to be listed on the ATA Carnet's general list. However, all goods subject to licensing or other export controls must be reported, regardless of value.

 This exemption needs to be recorded on the yellow exportation counterfoil in box 3 for “Other remarks” as:  NO EEI per Exemption 30.37(a)

• Hand Carried Tools of the Trade: Goods that meet every one of the 6-prong test for “tools of the trade” (see 15 CFR 30.37(b)) will still be exempt from the EEI filing.  Goods covered by a U.S. ATA Carnet that are not being shipped, but instead are being hand carried by the Holder or its sales representative or other authorized representative are not required to complete the EEI filing regardless of the intended use printed on the Green Cover. When hand carried or checked as excess baggage on a commercial airline, commercial samples, professional equipment and goods for exhibitions and fairs are all exempt from EEI filing.

The ATA Carnet and its goods must meet all of the following conditions to qualify for this exemption:

• Are owned by the individual U.S. Principle Party in Interest (USPPI) or exporting company, AND
• Accompany the individual USPPI, employee or representative of the exporting company, AND
• Are necessary and appropriate and intended for the personal and/or business use of the individual USPPI, employee or representative of the company or business, AND
• Are not for sale, AND
• Are returned to the U.S. within one year from the date of export, AND
• Are not shipped under a bill of lading or an air waybill (i.e., are hand carried or checked as baggage on a commercial airline)

This exemption only applies to U.S.-issued ATA Carnets. Foreign ATA Carnets that are being hand carried must still fulfill the EEI filing requirement if any Schedule B number’s total value exceeds $2,500. For items traveling with an export licenses certain restrictions still apply. (see 15 CFR 740.9).

To benefit from the Hand Carried Tools of the Trade exemption, enter into box 3 for “Other remarks” the following: NO EEI per Exemption 30.37(b)

• Canada: shipments originating in the U.S. and where the country of ultimate destination is Canada, an EEI filing is NOT required is not required (see 15 CFR 30.36 (a)). This exemption does not apply to Foreign ATA Carnets.  Any U.S. ATA Carnet traveling to Canada is exempt from the EEI filing requirement, as long as they return to the U.S. directly from Canada. 

Export Licenses: new requirements for goods subject to export licenses on ATA Carnet
EEI filings will now require the value of the licensed good to be reported.  This makes it easier to track the value of goods subject to licenses and accurately decrement exports from the licenses (see CFR 15 30.69(b)).

ATA Carnet Interpretation for EEI filing in AES
All ATA Carnet shipments that do not fall under the low valuation, or hand carry tools of the trade exemption, and are not destined for Canada must file EEI using the Automated Export System (AES). A filing must be executed for each exit out of the U.S., even if the ATA Carnet number and its goods (general list) are the same.

The following list will help you complete some data requirements in AES. These are not all the required and conditional fields, but rather those which require interpretation for ATA Carnet shipments.

• E-mail Response Address: the completion of an EEI filing will generate an ITN (Internal Transaction Number). The ITN will be emailed to the address(es) provided.
• Origin State: where the goods begin their journey en route to the port of export.
• Port of Export: seaport or airport where the goods are loaded on the exporting carrier.
• Country of Destination: for a U.S. ATA Carnet this will be the first country the ATA Carnet and the goods are traveling to. In the case of a foreign ATA Carnet, the country of destination is the country where the ATA Carnet was issued, for example Germany.
• Departure Date: the date the goods will leave the U.S.
• Mode of Transport: the method by which the goods are exported from the U.S.
• USPPI: for the U.S. ATA Carnet this will be the company listed in box A (Holder) on the ATA Carnet’s green cover. For a foreign ATA Carnet this will also be the holder. Foreign holders may enter their passport number instead of an Employer Identification Number (EIN).
• Are the USPPI and Ultimate Consignee related companies?: yes, for both enter the Holder listed on the ATA Carnet.
• Cargo Origin: address of the USPPI where the merchandise actually began its journey to the port of export. For a foreign ATA Carnet, this will be the hotel, or local representative’s address or trade show venue in the U.S.
• Ultimate Consignee: for U.S. ATA Carnets use the Holder’s company name and contact, but the address will be the hotel or local representative’s address or the trade show venue in the foreign country. In the case of the foreign ATA Carnet this will be the holder company and its address.
• Schedule B or HTS number: required to be entered in AES for the EEI filing. Schedule B/HTS numbers do not need to appear on the list of goods (general list) on the ATA Carnet. Schedule B/HTS are only necessary for any commodity line whose value exceeds $2,500. U.S. Census has a tool to help you find the correct Schedule B number for your item: Schedule B Search Engine.
• Commodity Description: general description of the merchandise per Schedule B number. It is not necessary to be as detailed as the general list on the ATA Carnet. A basic description of the type of merchandise will suffice.
• Value: value of the goods at the U.S. port of export. This means the selling price or cost of goods sold if not sold plus inland or domestic freight, insurance and any other charges. 15 CFR 30.6(a)(16)
• Export Code: for all ATA Carnet shipments select CR. 

Once the EEI filing is submitted, you will receive an email confirmation containing your unique Internal Transaction Number (ITN). This must be recorded on the exportation counterfoil in the box 3 for “Other remarks” (U.S. ATA Carnet) or box 4 “Registered under reference No.” (foreign ATA Carnet).

U.S. ATA Carnet example

Foreign ATA Carnet example

Penalties
Failure to file the EEI is sufficient grounds for U.S. CBP to potentially issue penalties against the exporter for violations of the Foreign Trade Regulations.

There are a number of changes to the Foreign Trade Regulations, especially how terms are defined and how information is to be reported.  Roanoke strongly encourages all exporters to be familiar with laws and regulations governing the movement of goods.  

The U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division’s website is an excellent resource for information. Census will also accept questions by phone (1.800.549.0595) or email regarding how the laws and regulations apply to your situation.