Census to Test Alternative EEI Data Sources, Planning Online VSD Portal
The Commerce Department plans to soon test possible data sources to replace the Electronic Export Information submitted by exporters for shipments to Puerto Rico, an agency official said. If the data sources are accurate and reliable, the Census Bureau may remove the EEI requirements from the Automated Export System, which could reduce costs and filing obligations for shippers to the territory. But Census is unsure whether the alternative data sources will be viable and is still reviewing the proposed changes to the filing requirements, which were outlined in a September pre-rule (see 2009160033).
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“That's kind of the biggest holdup,” Shannon Barley, a Census official, said during a March 9 Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee meeting. “We have to make sure that there's some alternative data set to the current Electronic Export Information.”
Census received a mixed bag of comments on its September pre-rule. Several U.S. industry groups called the filings a time and cost burden, but government officials said the filings are a vital data collection source and may be irreplaceable (see 2012040033). Barley said Census recently presented a breakdown of the comments for Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis and for certain stakeholders in Puerto Rico. She said Census and BEA plan to meet again in the next couple of weeks to “figure out testing of some of these alternative sources.”
Barley also said Census is hoping to establish a new EEI working group composed of government officials and parties from Puerto Rico. The group’s membership will eventually expand to trade associations, industry and the public. “We're hoping that's going to happen sooner than later,” she said.
Census is also working on a new process for electronically submitting voluntary disclosures, Barley said. The agency hopes to establish a “secure portal” where companies can submit disclosure information and attach necessary documents, which will help the agency move further away from paper and simplify disclosure procedures. Barley said the portal will help reduce “confusion” about what needs to be submitted with a disclosure. “We're really trying to make it a more secure experience, but then also just easier for both you guys and for us to be able to process it as efficiently as possible.”
Barley said Census will review an initial version of the portal, which will allow for communication between submitters and Census officials, by month's end. She didn't say when the portal would be operational. “We're really excited about this, because in the whole virtual world that we've all been accustomed to in the last year, it's going to be nice” to have a “one-stop shop that will really help all of us,” she said.