Effective July 18, 2019, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®), subchapter 52, to align with the Foreign Trade Regulations issued by the U.S. Census Bureau for items sent to international military and diplomatic destinations — i.e., Army Post Offices (APOs), Fleet Post Offices (FPOs), and Diplomatic Post Offices (DPOs).
Effective May 20, 2016, the U.S. Census Bureau completed the transition from the Automated Export System’s (AES) legacy AESDirect website to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) website, which now contains the ACE AESDirect system. The Postal Service is revising various IMM parts as follows:
a. Parts 524 and 525 to reflect the proper steps that a mailer must take when filing Electronic Export Information (EEI) via the ACE AESDirect system, and when the system is unavailable.
b. Part 521 to include PS Form 2976-B, Priority Mail Express International Shipping Label and Customs Form.
c. Parts 523 and 526 to reflect the Census Bureau’s EEI filing requirement for licensed shipments and the exemption citation for nonlicensed shipments destined to APO, FPO, and DPO locations.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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5 Nonpostal Export Regulations
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520 Foreign Trade Regulations — U.S. Census Bureau
521 General
[Revise the second sentence to read as follows (adding a reference to PS Form 2976-B):]
***In certain circumstances, customers are responsible for entering information on the hard copy PS Form 2976-R or on an electronically generated PS Form 2976, 2976-A, or 2976-B.***
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523 Mailpieces Sent to APOs, FPOs, and DPOs
[Revise the text to read as follows:]
Goods mailed to APO/FPO/DPO addresses are subject to the Foreign Trade Regulations. However, mailers are exempt from filing electronic export information, unless mandatory filing is required by 15 CFR 30.2(a)(1)(iv). See 524.21e and 524.21f for more information regarding mandatory filing requirements.
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524 Internal Transaction Number (ITN)
524.1 General
[Revise the text to read as follows:]
U.S. Census Bureau regulations require electronic filing of export information through the Automated Export System (AES) or Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) AESDirect system for certain outbound international shipments of goods. Before mailing, a customer subject to this filing requirement is responsible for presenting an Internal Transaction Number (ITN) or AES Downtime Citation (see 525) as evidence of compliance.
An ITN is the number assigned to a shipment confirming that the AES accepted the Electronic Export Information (EEI) and has it on file. Every AES shipment must have a unique ITN. For the purposes of AES filing, a shipment is all goods (regardless of the number of packages) tendered to the United States Postal Service on the same day from one U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI) to one addressee. As noted in 15 CFR 30.1(c), the Foreign Trade Regulations define the USPPI as “the person or legal entity in the United States that receives the primary benefit, monetary or otherwise, from the export transaction.”
524.2 Filing Requirements
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[Revise the title and text of 524.22 to read as follows:]
524.22 How to File EEI
524.221 Preliminary Steps for First-time Filers
ACE AESDirect requires each mailer to have an employer identification number (EIN) and an ACE Exporter Account. Therefore, a first-time filer must complete the following steps:
1. Obtain an EIN from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at sa.www4.irs.gov/modiein/individual/index.jsp.
Note: A mailer does not have to be an employer to apply for an EIN.
2. Set up an ACE Exporter Account on the Customs and Border Protection Web site at cbp.gov/trade/automated/getting-started/portal-applying. Under “Applying for an Account,” in Step 3, select the option for “Exporters: Apply here” to complete and submit the online form.
Note: For account verification purposes, the “Shared Secret Value” is the "User ID."
524.222 Filing EEI
A customer who has obtained an EIN and has established an ACE Exporter Account must complete the following steps:
1. Log into the customer’s existing ACE Exporter Account at ace.cbp.dhs.gov.
2. Use the following information when completing the EEI fields:
a. The “Port of Export” code for shipping through the Postal Service is “8000.”
b. The “Mode of Transport” is “Mail.”
c. Leave the carrier as “SCAC/IATA,” and leave the conveyance name fields blank.
3. Complete the remaining data fields and file EEI. For more information about filing EEI, refer to the ACE AESDirect User Guide at census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/aesdirect/AESDirect-User-Guide.pdf.
After the customer files the EEI, the AES will send a response message indicating the status of the shipment by email or through the ACE Shipment Manager. A successful filing will receive an ITN as confirmation that the AES has accepted the EEI. A rejected filing will receive a rejection statement.
When completing the customs form(s), the mailer must include the ITN as described in 527. The ITN is unique for every AES shipment and is applicable for multiple packages sent from one USPPI to one addressee when the mailer tenders the packages to the United States Postal Service on the same day (see 524.1).
Note: If the AES is not functioning, call the U.S. Census Bureau’s toll-free information hotline at 800-549-0595, option 1. For more information on electronic filing, use option 3.
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526 AES Exemption
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526.2 When Applicable
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[Redesignate current item d. as item e. and add a new item d. to read as follows:]
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d. “NOEEI 30.37(w)” for shipments to APO, FPO, or DPO addresses.
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Although effective July 18, 2019, the Postal Service will incorporate these revisions into the next update of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification, Marketing, 7-18-19
