Census to Bring Back Option 3 AES Filing as Substitute for Option 4
The Census Bureau will develop a pilot program similar to the now-defunct option 3 filing procedure following publication of its Foreign Trade Regulations rewrite, said a Census official at the Sept. 11 meeting of the Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee. The rewrite is “extremely close to getting official concurrence,” she said, and Census hopes for publication of the final rule this fall. The pilot, which will be open to all exporters, will provide an option similar to option 4 postdeparture filing, but include limited filing of information before export.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Census has already received concurrence on the draft final rule from the State Department, and is now working with CBP to iron out minor issues, the official said. Census is hopeful that the rewrite will be published in the Federal Register in early fall. The biggest issue that Census faced was postdeparture filing, said the official. Census and CBP decided to allow current approved filers to continue to file postdeparture with a shortened five day window (from ten days).
Following publication, Census will develop a pilot program, open to all, that will be “very similar” to the former option 3 filing. Option 3, which was removed from the Automated Export System in 2003, allowed the filer to provide partial predeparture information and complete information five working days from the date of exportation. In the 2003 final rule withdrawing option 3, Census said it was underutilized, provided incomplete data due to missing postdeparture filings, and imposed a heavier burden because exporters would have to transmit twice for each shipment. Option 4 was also available at the time. The move from option 4 postdeparture to a new option 3 was spurred by national security concerns, the official said. “We have to be able to get some type of information prior to the export leaving, so it is going to be limited information,” she said.
When the FTR rewrite is published, it will probably allow at least nine to ten months before the rule becomes effective, the official said. As it currently stands, the final rule will eliminate the distinction between effective date and implementation date that was previously mooted by Census.
Two proposed changes will not take effect right away, however. Data for ultimate consignee type and license value will not be collected by AES from the effective date of the rule, the official said. These two elements will require separate approval by the Office of Management and Budget as new information collections.