Census Expects Online VSD Portal in Next Few Months, New AES Rule Soon
The Census Bureau hopes to release its new online voluntary self-disclosure portal (see 2103100022) by the year's end or early January, said Kiesha Downs, chief of Census’ Foreign Trade Division’s regulations branch. Downs, speaking during the Commerce Department’s Sept. 14 Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee meeting, said Census has been overwhelmed lately by a large number voluntary disclosures -- partly because the branch has lost some staff (see 2106080058) -- and hopes the new portal will help.
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“We are definitely working on ensuring that we are trying to meet our customers' needs, but please know that right now I’m also operating on a skeleton staff,” Downs said. She said submissions of disclosures have almost doubled over the past year, with the agency sometimes receiving multiples a day. “We are plugging away at them. Honestly, my staff and I probably get 10 a day to review,” she said. “It's kind of insane right now on the VSD front.”
Until the online portal is running, she urged industry to send the disclosures via email or by fax instead of physical mail, which can take longer for Census to receive and can cause backlogs. “We want to make sure that we get them in a timely manner, and right now we're not,” Downs said. “It will also help the process to speed it up for you guys.”
Downs also said the agency is getting “close” to issuing a rule that would require export filers to declare the country of origin for foreign products included in certain transactions in the Automated Export System (see 2107010043). She said the agency will seek public comments on the rule and expects an “extended time frame for implementation” to assess the impact on filers. “Probably within the next month or two you will see that proposed rule in the Federal Register,” she said.