The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Census Bureau require mailers who ship packages internationally to provide Automated Export System Internal Transaction Numbers (AES/ITN) or Exemption Exclusion Legend (EEL) codes on Customs declaration forms.
An AES/ITN is a number provided by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Automated Export System (AES) when you electronically file a package’s information.
An EEL represents an exemption to the requirement to electronically file the package’s information with AES, based on certain package details such as value or destination.
If you have not mailed international packages before, you should visit the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade web page for information about Electronic Export Information (EEI), who should file it, and navigating the ACE AES system.
EEI for international packages should be filed using the U.S. Census Bureau’s AESDirect web site. To access this web site, you must first apply for an ACE Explorer account.
After submitting the ACE Explorer account form, the U.S. Census Bureau will review it and, upon approval, provide you with access to the AESDirect system. After you file your EEI, you should receive an e-mail from AES containing an alphanumeric Internal Transaction Number (ITN) for each package.
The ITNs should be included with the other package information in the data file you send to GSS. If entering this data into GSS manually, you have the option to type an exemption code in the AES/ITN field or make a selection from the menu. Click the blue button next to the AES/ITN field to display a list of common codes.
International packages may be exempt from the EEI filing requirement in many instances. For example, this is often the case for packages that contain low-value items, that are being shipped to certain countries that do not require an export license, or that are being shipped to U.S. Armed Forces facilities. In these cases an Exemption Exclusion Legend (EEL) must be provided instead of an AES/ITN.
The U.S. Census Bureau Web site lists a number of standard EEL codes. You should review and familiarize yourself with these codes to determine when they are appropriate to use:
GSS allows you to select from a list of common EEL codes from the AES/ITN field menu.
You can find more information at the following links: