[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 233 (Monday, December 4, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75667-75670]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-30695]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

[Docket No. 001115321-0321-01]


Revisions to Shipper's Export Declaration, Commerce Form 7525-V

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, Commerce.

ACTION: Program notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that on September 28, 2000, the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) approved use of the revised Shipper's 
Export Declaration (SED), Commerce Form 7525-V, and the Automated 
Export System (AES) for export reporting purposes. Under the OMB 
clearance, the Commerce Form 7525-V-Alternate (Intermodal) is 
eliminated as a shipper's export reporting form, and the sponsorship of 
the Commerce Form 7513, ``Shipper's Export Declaration for In-Transit 
Goods,'' is transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 
effective date for use of the new form is October 1, 2000. However the 
Census Bureau is allowing a 180 day grace period to April 1, 2001, to 
allow the trade community to deplete current stocks of the old forms. 
During the grace period, the Census Bureau will allow use of both the 
old and revised Commerce Form 7525-V and Commerce Form 7525-V-Alternate 
(Intermodal). As of April 1, 2001, only the Commerce Form 7525-V and 
the AES record will be accepted by the Census Bureau and the Customs 
Service as a means of reporting shipper's export declaration 
information.

DATES: The effective date for use of the revised SED form is October 1, 
2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
instructions for completion of the new form should be addressed to 
Jerome Greenwell, Foreign Trade Division, U.S. Census Bureau, Room 
3125, FOB-3, Washington, DC 20233-0001, (301) 457-2238.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) 
Commerce Form 7525-V and the Automated Export System (AES) reporting 
methods were approved under OMB clearance number 0607-0152. The SED is 
a Department of Commerce Form used by the Bureau of the Census (Census 
Bureau) for statistical reporting purposes and the Bureau of Export 
Administration (BXA) for export control purposes. It also is used by 
the U.S. Customs Service for verifying export shipments, the Department 
of State, and other federal government agencies for export control 
purposes. The SED was revised to delete unused or outdated data fields, 
to make it consistent with the regulation provisions contained in the 
final rule published in the Federal Register on July 10, 2000 (65 FR 
42556), and to make the data elements on the paper SED consistent with 
the data elements on the AES record.
    The OMB clearance for the SED, Commerce Form 7525-V, and Commerce 
Form 7525-V-Alternate (Intermodal), the Automated Export Reporting 
Program (AERP), the AES, and Commerce Form 7513, ``Shipper's Export 
Declaration for In-Transit Goods'' expired on September 30, 2000. On 
April 28, 2000, the Census Bureau published a presubmission notice in 
the Federal Register (65 FR 24912) announcing its intent to submit a 
forms clearance proposal to OMB to renew its clearance for the 
reporting of export data using: (1) the two types of paper SEDs, Form 
7525-V, and Form 7525-V-Alternate (Intermodal); and (2) the AES.
    In that notice the Census Bureau also announced that it was not 
renewing clearance for the AERP and the Commerce Form 7513, ``Shipper's 
Export Declaration for In-Transit Goods.'' With the rapid growth of the 
AES, the Census Bureau discontinued the AERP program as of December 31, 
1999. Filers using the AERP program, which was an electronic reporting 
system that was strictly used for Census Bureau statistical collection 
purposes, are now filing their export data through the AES or are in 
the process of converting to the AES.
    The authority for clearance of the ``Shipper's Export Declaration 
for In-Transit Goods,'' Commerce Form 7513, which serves as the source 
document from which the official U.S. statistics on outbound in-transit 
waterborne shipments is collected and compiled, has been transferred to 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This program was transferred to the 
Corps, as they are the primary users of the in-transit data.
    In that notice the Census Bureau also identified the revisions that 
were being made to the SED to bring it up to date with current 
regulatory and policy provisions and to make it consistent with the AES 
record format.
    On August 21, 2000, the Census Bureau published a second notice in 
the

[[Page 75668]]

Federal Register (65 FR 50674) announcing its submission of the Forms 
Clearance proposal to OMB requesting clearance only for the Commerce 
Form 7525-V, ``Shipper's Export Declaration,'' and the AES. Subsequent 
to issuing the April 28, 2000, Federal Register notice, the Census 
Bureau determined that making the changes required to make the paper 
SEDs compatible with the AES record format would make the Form 7525-V-
Alternate (Intermodal) incompatible with the ocean bill of lading, with 
which it was intended to align, thereby negating its utility to the 
vessel exporting community. Therefore, the Census Bureau did not 
request clearance for the Form 7525-V-Alternate (Intermodal). There was 
no objection to the elimination of the Form 7525-V-Alternate 
(Intermodal) as provided in comments to the August 21 Federal Register 
notice.

Program Change

    Effective October 1, 2000, the only methods by which filers can 
report export information to the Census Bureau is by using the paper 
SED, Commerce Form 7525-V, or filing the export information 
electronically through the AES. In order to allow filers to deplete 
existing stocks of the old paper SED forms, the Census Bureau is 
allowing a 180-day grace period to April 1, 2001, during which time 
filers will be allowed to use either the revised SED or the old 
versions of the Form 7525-V or Form 7525-V-Alternate (Intermodal).
    However, when using either the old or new version of the SED, 
filers must follow the provisions contained in the revised Foreign 
Trade Statistics Regulations (FTSR), published as a final rule in the 
Federal Register on July 10, 2000 (65 FR 42556). These regulations 
contain revised provisions for reporting the name of the U.S. principal 
party in interest (USPPI) on the SED or AES record, specifically 
clarify the reporting responsibilities of the USPPI and forwarding or 
other agents involved in the export transaction, and clarify the power 
of attorney provisions whenever a principal party interest authorizes a 
U.S. forwarding or other agent to act on its behalf to facilitate the 
export of items from the United States.
    The revised SED is available for downloading on the Census Bureau's 
Foreign Trade Division (FTD) Web site at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www. The SED can be prepared and downloaded from this website or it can 
be downloaded from the Web site on yellow or goldenrod paper and 
privately printed, or it can be ordered from the Government Printing 
Office by calling the Publication Order and Information Office at (202) 
512-1800. The FTD also will provide a software package, free of charge, 
that will allow respondents to input SED information on their own 
computer and transmit it electronically through AESDirect. The FTD will 
inform the public through its FTD Web site and the AES newsletter as to 
when this software will be available. A copy of the revised SED also is 
published as part of this notice.
    The Census Bureau strongly encourages all filers of export data to 
report their export information electronically using the AES. The 
Census Bureau offers a free Internet-based filing service on its Web 
site through which filers can transmit export information. This system 
is known as AESDirect, and detailed information on using this system 
can be obtained from the Census Bureau, FTD Web site at 
www.aesdirect.gov. General information about the AES and AESDirect can 
be obtained from the Census Bureau's FTD Web site at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www and on the U.S. Customs Service Web site at 
www.customs.gov.aes.
    The new instructions for completing the SED, ``The Correct Way To 
Complete The SED,'' are also available for downloading on the FTD Web 
site at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www. These instructions include 
detailed data element descriptions for completing the revised SED. 
These data element descriptions should be used as a general reference 
for completing the SED. All filers are strongly encouraged to reference 
the detailed provisions for completing the SED and AES records 
contained in the FTSR, title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, part 30. 
Filers should be familiar with these regulations prior to completing 
the SED or AES record.

    Dated: November 27, 2000.
Kenneth Prewitt,
Director, Bureau of the Census.
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P

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[FR Doc. 00-30695 Filed 12-1-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-C