FILINGS THROUGH AES TO BECOME MANDATORY ON JANUARY 1, 2006
 
The Foreign Trade Division of the U.S. Census Bureau recently announced that the mandatory filing of all export documentation through the Automated Export System (commonly referred to as AES) will begin on January 1, 2006.
           
When filing through AES becomes mandatory, many new regulations will go into effect.  As a result, many practices that are commonly performed today will become illegal.  For instance, the common practice of carriers moving cargo before an exporter has filed its AES statement will become illegal.  To assist in the enforcement of these new regulations, the Bureau of Industry and Security as well as the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been granted legal authority to enforce mandatory AES filings by U.S. exporters.
           
Although use of the AES system is currently voluntary, the Census Bureau reports that approximately 94 percent of all export documentation is processed through AES.