Frequently Asked Questions - Commodity Reporting
[Support Center Home]
Q: If I do not know the exact quantity or value of a commodity, what should I do?
A: AES allows you to provide your best estimate of the quantity and value of commodity data. As soon as you know the actual values you should retrieve the shipment, amend the data, and resubmit to AES.
Q: What value should I report?
A: The amount to be reported to AES is the value at the U.S. Port of Export (Selling Price of the USPPI, or cost if not sold, including inland freight, insurance , and other charges to the U.S. Port of export) (nearest whole dollar;omit cents figures).
Q: Why are the Schedule B or HTS Number, and 1st Quantity and Unit of Measure Conditional?
A: Some shipments, such as HouseHold Goods are "Limited Reporting Shipments." For these shipments you should not enter the Schedule B or HTS Number, Quantity or Unit of Measure."
Q: How do I know which shipments are "Limited Reporting Shipments"?
A: Click on the Help link just to the right-hand side of the Export Code Field, and scroll down until you see the "Limited Shipment Information Required …." Section.
Q: How do I find out which Unit(s) of Measure I should be reporting for my commodity?
A: AESDirect will automatically populate the Unit(s) of Measure after you have entered/selected your Schedule B/HTS Number on the Commodity Line section and moved to the next field. DO NOT CHANGE the Unit(s) of Measure once they have been populated by the system. AESDirect will only accept the Unit(s)of Measure that is associated with the Schedule B/HTS Number.
Q: What Quantity should I enter for a commodity?
A: Always enter the Quantity of your commodity measured in the units reported in the Unit of Measure Field.
Q: Should I enter the "." in the Schedule B or HTS Number field?
A: No, only enter the straight 10 digits.
Q: Should I enter cents in the Value field?
A: No, enter only whole $ (round to the nearest) with no "." or cents.
Q: Should I enter decimal fractions in the Gross Weight?
A: Enter only whole KG (round to the nearest) with no "." or decimals.
Q: What are the most common Export Code and License Code values?
A: You are responsible for entering the correct combination for each shipment, but for normal shipments with no licensing requirements the combination will most likely be, Export Code "OS," License Code "C33."
