Filing Citations and Exemption Legends

By: Sean

Overview

A filing citation is a notation placed on the commercial loading documentation indicating that Electronic Export Information (EEI) filed in the Automated Export System (AES) has been accepted or will be filed in the AES. In contrast, an exemption legend is a notation placed on the commercial loading documentation indicating that a shipment is exempt from filing the EEI. The filing citation or exemption legend must be placed on the commercial loading documents so that it is clearly visible to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. If this information is not provided, your goods could be detained at the port and a penalty may be issued. Below are the AES Filing Citations, and Exemption Legends to be used:

• Proof of Filing Citation

• Internal Transaction Number (ITN): This is the randomly generated number from the AES assigned to a shipment to confirm that an EEI transaction has been accepted (for example: AES ITN X20100630123456).

• Postdeparture Citation

• AESPOST: This can be used only if your company has postdeparture filing privileges and the shipment is eligible for postdeparture filing. If you use AES postdeparture citation (for example: AESPOST 12345678912 06/30/2010), it is still your responsibility to ensure that the EEI is filed in the AES no later than 10 days from the date of export.

• AES Downtime Citation

• AESDOWN: This can only be used when the AES or AESDirect is unavailable, in which all users will be notified via an AES Broadcast . It is important to note, however, that the EEI must be filed as soon as this system becomes available and that items controlled by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) cannot be exported while these systems are down.

Common Exemptions

• NOEEI 30.36: This exemption is for shipments originating in the United States where Canada is the country of ultimate destination.
• NOEEI 30.37(a): This exemption is for shipments that are valued at $2,500 or less, per Schedule B.
• NOEEI 30.37(r): This exemption applies to shipments that were previously imported into the U.S. under a temporary import bond and are being returned to the country of origin in the same condition as they were when they entered the U.S.
• NOEEI 30.39: This exemption applies to shipments for the exclusive use of the U.S. Armed Services.

The entire list of exemptions can be found in sections 30.36 through 30.40 of the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR).

Exemptions DO NOT apply if:

• A license is required from any government agency
• The goods are ITAR controlled
• The shipment is destined to a location listed in Country Group E:1 (Supplement 1 to 15 CFR 740)
• The shipment is on the Office of Foreign Assets Control Sanctions Program List
• The goods are rough or uncut diamonds

This information will help you present the correct citation or exemption to a CBP officer the next time you have an export shipment. You can save yourself a headache by getting it right the first time.