| AES Acronyms and Definitions | |
| AES | Automated Export System |
| AESTIR | Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements |
| BOL | Bill of Lading |
| BIS | Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of Commerce |
| BTA | Border Targeting and Analysis, CBP, DHS |
| CBP | Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security |
| CFR | Code of Federal Regulations |
| CCL | Commerce Control List |
| DDTC | Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, Department of State |
| DEC | Data Entry Center |
| DHS | Department of Homeland Security |
| DUNS | Data Universal Numbering System (Duns & Bradstreet) |
| EAR | Export Administration Regulations |
| ECCN | Export Control Classification Number (BIS, Commerce) |
| EDI | Electronic Data Interchange |
| EEI | Electronic Export Information |
| EIC | Export Information Code |
| EIN | Employer Identification Number |
| FTD | Foreign Trade Division, Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce |
| FTR | Foreign Trade Regulations |
| FTZ | Foreign Trade Zone |
| HAZMAT | Hazardous Material |
| HHMMSS | Hours (2digits) Minutes (2 digits) Seconds (2 digits) |
| HTS | Harmonized Tariff Schedule |
| IATA | International Air Transport Association |
| IRS Number | Internal Revenue Service Number |
| ITN | Internal Transaction Number (AES System generated confirmation number) |
| LOI | Letter of Intent |
| MarAD | Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation |
| MOT | Method of Transportation |
| MMDDYYYY | Month (2 digits) Day (2 digits) Year (2 digits) |
| NLR | No License Required |
| NVOCC | Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier |
| OFAC | Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of Treasury |
| OGA | Other Government Agency |
| PGA | Partnership Government Agency |
| PIN | Product Identification Number |
| POE | Port of Export |
| SCAC | Standard Carrier Alpha Code |
| SRN | Shipment Reference Number |
| SSN | Social Security Number |
| TRG | Trade Resource Group |
| USML | United States Munitions List |
| USPPI | United States Principal Party in Interest (Exporter) |
| VAN | Value Added Network |
| VIN | Vehicle Identification Number |
| AES Term | Definition |
| AES | The Automated Export System. AES is an export information gathering and processing system developed through cooperative efforts between Customs and Border Protection, Bureau of the Census, other government agencies and the export trade community |
| AESTIR | Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements. A document that describes the operational usage of AES. The AESTIR presents record formats and other reference materials used in AES. |
| AESDirect | A free Internet application supported by the Bureau of the Census that allows USPPIs or their agents to file commodity data in AES via the Internet. (aesdirect.census.gov) |
| AESWebLink | An application available from AESDirect that receives data from another Internet application and facilitates the transmission of that data to AES via AESDirect. (aesdirect.census.gov) |
| Batch (in a Commodity Filing) | A batch in an AES commodity data filing consists of USPPI and Commodity shipment information ‘enclosed’ in an envelope. The batch records specify the filer and transmitter of the shipment enclosed within that batch. Each batch begins with an A record and concludes with a Z record. |
| Block (in a Commodity Filing) | A block in an AES commodity filing consists of commodity shipment transactions ‘enclosed’ in a envelope. The block records specify the USPPI declared on the shipment enclosed within that block. Each block begins with a B record and concludes with a Y record. |
| Bill of Lading | A Bill of Lading is a negotiable instrument that allows the carrier to transport a cargo from a shipper to a consignee. |
| Bill of Lading Number | An alphanumeric code issued by a carrier that reference an individual cargo shipment on a manifest. |
| Business Data (in a Commodity Filing) | Those data elements that represent the export information required on an EEI by the Census Bureau. Additionally includes export information required by CBP and other licensing agencies. |
| Commodity Data | Information from the USPPI or the authorized agent that is commonly reported on the Electronic Export Information that describe the goods being exported, the parties of interest, etc. |
| Compliance Alert Condition | A potential reporting violation. A reporting condition found to violate Census regulation or another agency reporting requirement. |
| Consignee | The Person, party, or designee on the export license who is located abroad and actually receives the export shipment. |
| Consign | To send or deliver goods to be sold. |
| Data Element | User-entered or system generated data that collectively make up a record or report |
| Data Entry Center | An AES participant that has a signed agreement with the Census Bureau to report commodity data in AES. |
| Downtime Policy | Standard guidelines for processing of automated export transactions during downtime of AES and/or the AES participant’s computer system. (See PART IV of AESTIR) |
| DUNS Number | Data Universal Numbering System. DUNS is a registered trademark of the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation. It provides consistent/unique identification scheme for business databases. |
| Embassy Code | The 2-position ISO country code followed by the word ‘EMBASSY” used to identify an embassy as the USPPI if appropriate. |
| Export Shipment | A commodity shipment (EEI) on file in AES. An Export Shipment consists of those attributes common to all reported commodity line items for a declared shipment. |
| Export Shipment Commodity | That portion of a commodity shipment (EEI) on file in AES that represents the information regarding a single line ‘item’. |
| End-user | The person abroad that receives and ultimately uses the exported or reexported items. The end-user is not a forwarding agent or intermediary, but may be the purchaser or ultimate consignee. |
| Examination | CBP inspection of a shipment and/or its documents. |
| Exemption Legend | A proper annotation on a bill or lading, air waybill, or other commercial document used for presentation to CBP. The USPPI or their authorized agent is responsible for annotating the proper exemption legend on the bill of lading, air waybill or other commercial documentation for presentation to the carrier prior to tendering the cargo to the exporting carrier. (See Appendix R of the AESTIR) |
| Exporter | The person in the United States who has the authority of a principal party in interest to determine and control the sending of items out of the United States. Under the FTSR, the exporter is the U.S. principal party in interest. |
| Fatal Condition | A condition is generated and returned to the filer when AES identifies an error in a data element during processing of a commodity or transportation filing. AES will not accept a transaction with a fatal condition |
| Filing Options | AES provides 3 electronic filing options for reporting commodity data. Predeparture is a one step filing option that requires complete pre-departure filing of commodity data. Postdeparture is a one step filing option that requires complete post-departure filing of commodity data within 5 calendar days of export. Postdeparture is available to an approved USPPI only. Advance Export Information (AEI) is a limited number of commodity data elements are required prior to departure; requires complete commodity data reporting within 5 calendar days after departure. |
| Final Disposition | An explicit statement by AES regarding the result of a requested commodity shipment transaction action. The final disposition is unconditionally returned as the trailing ES1 record in the response. The final disposition may include the ‘status’ of a pre-existing condition. |
| Foreign Entity | A non-U.S. national who is under U.S. jurisdiction at the time of shipment, shown as the exporter (USPPI) in AES. Since a foreign entity may not possess an EIN, SSN or DUNS identification, the foreign entity may be identified by their passport number, border crossing card number or other official document number in AES. |
| Foreign Trade Zone | Secured areas legally outside of a nation’s customs territory. |
| Forwarding Agent | The person in the United States who is authorized by a principal party in interest to perform the services required to facilitate the export of the goods from the United States. This may include air couriers or carriers. In routed export transactions, the forwarding agent and the exporter may be the same for compliance purposes under the EAR |
| Harmonized Tariff Schedule | The 10-digit classification system used by the United States to classify goods for import. The HTS is an international classification system up to the 6-digit level. The seventh and eighth digits represent duty rates and the ninth and tenth digits are for statistical breakouts on a national basis. AES accepts HTS commodity numbers with some exceptions. (See Appendix V of the AESTIR for a list of the exceptions). The decision to report in AES using HTS or Schedule B classifications is left solely to the filer |
| House Bill Number | An alphanumeric identifier that references an individual cargo shipment consolidated under a master bill of lading. |
| IATA Code | The International Air Transport Association code used to identify the exporting air carrier. |
| Information Condition | A non-critical notification (i.e., message) returned to the filer. |
| Intermediate Consignee | The person that acts as an agent for a principal party in interest for the purpose of effecting delivery of items to the ultimate consignee. The intermediate consignee may be a bank, forwarding agent, or other person who acts as an agent for a principal party in interest. |
| ISO Code | A 2-position alphabetic International Organization for Standardization Code for countries. (See Appendix C of the AESTIR). |
| Letter of Intent (LOI) | A written statement of a company’s desire to participate in AES. It sets forth a commitment to develop, maintain, and adhere to CBP and Census performance requirements and operational standards. |
| License | A legal permit to export specific commodities. |
| Manifest | True listing of the cargo on a conveyance. Form and detail are specified by regulation. |
| Master Bill Number | Bill of lading number created by the consolidator or carrier (or share-charter) which is passed to the ultimate carrier to protect the consolidator (or sharecharter) from the need to give information on their individual clients to other carriers. |
| Message Control Data Elements (in a Commodity Filing) | A data element that identifies a transaction component and conditionally indicates, or clarifies, the action that is to be performed. In the SC1 record: Shipment Reference Number, Shipment Filing Action Request Indicator, and the Filing Option Indicator. In the CL1 record: Line Number and Line Item Filing Action Request Indicator. In the N01 record: Party Type |
| Order Party | The person in the United States who conducts the direct negotiations or correspondence with the foreign purchaser or ultimate consignee and who, as a result of these negotiations, receives the order from the foreign purchaser or ultimate consignee. |
| Principal Parties in Interest | Those persons in a transaction that receive the primary benefit, monetary or otherwise, of the transaction. Generally, the principals in a transaction are the seller and the buyer. In most cases, the forwarding or other agent is not the principal party in interest. |
| Proof of Export Citation | Items identified on the USML must meet the pre-departure reporting requirements identified in the ITAR (22 CFR, Part 120-130) for the State Department requirements concerning AES proof of filing citations and time and place of filing. |
| Purchaser | The person abroad who has entered into a transaction to purchase an item for delivery to the ultimate consignee. In most cases, the purchaser is not a bank, forwarding agent, or intermediary. The purchaser and ultimate consignee may be the same entity. |
| Reminder Message | An electronic message sent to an AES filer as a reminder to timely correct commodity data that was accepted by AES with ‘warnings’. |
| Routed Export Transaction | A transaction where the foreign principal party in interest authorizes a U.S. forwarding agent to facilitate export of items from the United States. |
| SCAC | Standard Carrier Alpha Code is an identifier issued by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association. SCAC identifiers are issued to vessel, rail, and truck carriers. |
| Schedule B | The 10-digit classification system used by the United States to classify domestic or foreign goods for export. Schedule B is an international classification system up to the 6-digit level. The seventh through tenth digits represent statistical breakouts at the national level. AES accepts Schedule B commodity numbers without exceptions. The decision to use Schedule B or HTS classifications is left solely to the AES filer.(See Appendix Z of the AESTIR for Internet access to Schedule B or HTS) |
| Schedule K | Five-digit foreign port codes maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/ndc/usforeign |
| Electronic Export Information (EEI) | Electronic Export Information is the U.S. Department of Commerce data required by law that enables Census to compile export statistics and enables other agencies to enforce U.S. export laws and regulations. It is a declaration made by an USPPI or the USPPI’s filing agent covering merchandise moving from ONE USPPI to ONE ultimate consignee, carried on ONE conveyance, leaving ONE domestic port on ONE day, ultimately destined for ONE foreign country to be unladed at ONE foreign port. Includes a description of the quantities, monetary values, and licenses of the commodities being exported. |
| Service Bureau | An independent business concern that files electronic data on behalf of a USPPI for a fee. |
| Shipment Reference Number | Unique identification number AES filers create in their system to identify individual shipments reported in AES. This number must remain unique |
| Transportation Reference Number | A number referencing a transportation bill or booking. |
| Ultimate Consignee | The principal party in interest located abroad who receives the exported or reexported items. The ultimate consignee is not a forwarding agent or other intermediary, but may be the end-user. |
| USPPI | United States Principal Party in Interest is the term used to identify the person in the United States that receives the primary benefit, monetary or otherwise, of the export transaction. Generally, that person is the U.S. seller, manufacturer, order party, or foreign entity. The foreign entity must be listed as the USPPI on the AES record if it is in the United States when the items are purchased or obtained for export. In most cases, the forwarding or other agent is not a principal party in interest. The USPPI replaces the term ‘exporter’ as stated in Federal Register/Vol. 65, No. 132/July 10, 2000. |
| VAN | A Value Added Network that can be used to connect trade participant’s computer to CBP mainframe. |
| Verification Condition (in a Commodity Filing) | A condition in which a business data element conflicts with a pre-established Census parameter regarding a commodity or another component of the shipment or other established norm. The filer is informed of a verify condition. The reported data may or may not be correct. The filer is requested to verify the data and send a correction if needed. |
| Warning Condition (in a Commodity Filing) | A warning condition is noted when certain incomplete and/or conflicting data conditions are encountered. AES accepts the information as filed to facilitate an expedient movement of cargo. The filer is informed of the warning condition. The filer must correct shipments accepted with warnings within 4 days. |
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