[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR20.6]

[Page 459-462]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
PART 20_EXPORT SALES REPORTING REQUIREMENTS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 20.6  Submission of reports.

    (a) Weekly reports. For each commodity for which reports are 
required under these regulations, the reporting exporter shall file 
weekly with the office specified in Sec. 20.10 and not later than the 
time specified in paragraph (k) of this section, a report by marketing 
year on the applicable forms contained in appendix 2 (FAS-97, ``Report 
of Optional Origin Sales,'' FAS-98, ``Report of Export Sales and 
Exports,'' and on FAS-100, ``Report of Exports for Exporter's Own 
Account''), setting forth the following information and that required by 
such forms. Information for each applicable item on the respective form 
shall be reported. If the reporting exporter determines that the report 
forms cannot be received in the office specified in ``20.10 by the time 
specified in paragraph (k) of this section, the exporter shall transmit 
the information contained in the report forms by the use of FAX, 
telephone, or electronic submission. The required form must be 
subsequently submitted in accordance with Sec. 20.6(k)(2). Exporters 
have the option to submit the weekly reports using an electronic 
reporting system (forms 97e, 98e, and 100e) which may be accessed via a 
secured Internet website. Reporting exporters should contact the Export 
Sales Reporting staff to obtain passwords and access to the Internet 
reporting site. Exporters also have the option of satisfying the 
requirements of Forms FAS-97, FAS-98, and FAS-100 by submitting ASCII 
comma delimited files via e-mail to the ESR mailbox at esr@fas.usda.gov.
    (1) United States origin sales only. (i) Total quantity of 
outstanding export sales from the previous report by country of 
destination.
    (ii) Quantity of new export sales made during the week expressed in 
the specified unit of measure (do not include any tolerance). Include 
the quantity of any optional original export sale for which an option 
was exercised during the week to export the commodity from the United 
States.
    (iii) Quantity of any purchases of the same kind of commodity made 
from foreign sellers during the week.
    (iv) Quantity of export sales cancelled and quantity of buyback 
contracts made during the week.
    (v) Changes in destination during the week for export sales 
previously reported.

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    (vi) Changes in the marketing year during the week for export sales 
previously reported.
    (vii) Exports made against export sales during the week.
    (viii) Total outstanding balance of export sales at the close of 
business for the current report.
    (2) Optional origin sales (United States and other countries). (i) 
Total quantity of outstanding export sales from the previous report by 
country of destination.
    (ii) Quantity of new export sales made during the week expressed in 
the specified unit of measure (do not include any tolerance) by country 
of destination.
    (iii) Quantity of export sales for which an option was exercised 
during the week which would determine the origin of the commodity to be 
exported with the origin indicated as the United States or other than 
the United States.
    (iv) Quantity of optional export sales cancelled and the quantity of 
optional buy-back contracts made during the week.
    (v) Changes in destination during the week for sales previously 
reported.
    (vi) Changes in the marketing year during the week for sales 
previously reported.
    (vii) Total outstanding balance of optional export sales for which 
an option has not been exercised at the time of compiling the report.
    (3) Exports for exporter's own account. (i) Total outstanding 
balance of exports for exporter's own account that has been shipped from 
the United States as shown on the previous report by country where 
located or, if in transit, by country of intermediate destination.
    (ii) Quantity of new exports for exporter's own account exported 
during the week.
    (iii) Quantity of previously reported exports for exporter's own 
account that was applied to outstanding or new export sales during the 
week.
    (iv) Quantity of previously reported exports for exporter's own 
account sold to other U.S. exporters during the week.
    (v) Changes in destination during the week for exports previously 
reported.
    (vi) The total outstanding balance of exports for exporter's own 
account at the close of business for the current report.
    (b) Monthly reports. The information described in paragraph (a) of 
this section shall be reported monthly when specified by an announcement 
issued pursuant to Sec. 20.5. The forms specified in paragraph (a) of 
this section shall be utilized to furnish the information required to be 
reported monthly and such information shall be filed in the manner and 
at the time required by Sec. 20.6(k).
    (c) Exporters who are required to report. The reporting exporter has 
the sole responsibility of reporting any and all information required by 
these regulations. The following are examples of who shall be considered 
the reporting exporter for the purpose of these regulations. (Firm A in 
each example is a firm whose place of doing business with respect to the 
transaction is in the United States, and the commodity to be delivered 
under the purchase contract is subject to these regulations. See Sec. 
20.4(i) for definition of a foreign buyer and foreign seller.)
    (1) Firm A makes an export sale to Firm B whose place of doing 
business with respect to the transaction is also in the United States. 
Firm B has made or will make an export sale to a foreign buyer. In this 
case Firm A cannot report the sale to Firm B since Firm B's place of 
doing business with respect to the transaction is located in the United 
States. In this example, Firm B is required to report the sale to the 
foreign buyer.
    (2) Firm A makes an export sale to a foreign buyer through the 
foreign buyer's agent and the agent's place of doing business with 
respect to the transaction is in the United States. In this example Firm 
A is required to report the export sale since the resulting contract is 
between Firm A and the foreign buyer.
    (3) Firm A consigns an export to his agent (other than an employee 
of Firm A). When the agent makes a sale to a foreign buyer, Firm A is 
required to report the sale. If the agent makes the sale to a firm whose 
place of doing

[[Page 461]]

business with respect to the transaction is in the United States, Firm A 
will not report the sale.
    (4) Firm A makes a purchase from a foreign seller. In this example, 
Firm A is required to report the purchase.
    (5) Firm A makes a purchase from an agent of a foreign seller and 
the agent's place of doing business with respect to the transaction is 
in the United States. In this example, Firm A is required to report the 
purchase. The agent is not a principal party in interest in the contract 
and cannot report the sale to Firm A. The foreign seller is not a 
reporting exporter and is not required to make a report of the sale.
    (6) Firm A, the agent of the foreign buyer, whose place of doing 
business with respect to the transaction is in the United States, 
purchases commodities domestically at interior warehouses and arranges 
for exportation to its principal, the foreign buyer. In this example, 
Firm A is required to report the sale and export.
    (7) If a reporting exporter has a transaction not described in 
paragraphs (1) through (6) of this paragraph (c) and is in doubt whether 
a transaction should be reported, the exporter should request a decision 
from the office specified in Sec. 20.10.
    (d) Contract terms. Reports of contract terms shall be filed when 
requested in accordance with Sec. 20.11. The report showing contract 
terms shall be filed on FAS-99, ``Contract Terms Supporting Export Sales 
and Foreign Purchases,'' and shall include the following:
    (1) Reporting exporter's contract number.
    (2) Date of export sale or purchase.
    (3) Name of foreign buyer or foreign seller.
    (4) Delivery period specified in the export sale or purchase.
    (5) Delivery terms specified in the export sale or purchase (F.O.B., 
C. & F., etc.).
    (6) Actual quantity of the export sale or purchase.
    (7) Quantity not exported against the sale or foreign purchase (do 
not include any tolerance).
    (8) Country of destination.
    (9) On purchases from foreign sellers, show separately from export 
sales all items of this paragraph (d).
    (e) Reporting of destination. The reporting exporters shall report 
the country of destination specified in the export sale contract or 
otherwise declared in writing by the foreign buyer. (Where a government, 
or agency of such government, is the sole importer of the commodity in a 
country, the exporter shall report that country as the country of 
destination only if the exporter or foreign buyer has made a direct sale 
to that foreign government or agency.) If the country of destination is 
not so specified or declared, the exporter shall report the destination 
as ``unknown.'' If by the time of exportation the exporter has not so 
ascertained the country of destination, the name of the country reported 
to the Bureau of Customs of the Shipper's Export Declaration for such 
export shipment should be reported, even though it may be an 
intermediate destination. The reporting exporter is not expected to 
report destination changes made after reporting the export on FAS-98, 
``Report of Export Sales and Exports.''
    (f) Optional class or kind of commodity. If the export sale provides 
for an option as to the class or kind of commodity to be delivered under 
the export sale, the reporting exporter should report the particular 
class or kind of commodity expected to be exported.
    (g) Range in contract quantity. If the export sale provides for a 
range in quantity (e.g. 10,000 metric tons to 12,000 metric tons with or 
without a loading tolerance) with the reporting exporter or buyer having 
the option to declare a firm quantity at a later date, the reporting 
exporter shall report the maximum export sale quantity (exclusive of any 
loading tolerance). If an option is exercised for a lesser quantity at a 
later date, the reporting exporter shall report the reduction as an 
amendment to an export sale previously reported.
    (h) Transfer of unexported balances from one marketing year to the 
next marketing year. If exports against an export sale are not complete 
by the end of the marketing year in which the

[[Page 462]]

commodity is being reported for export, the reporting exporter shall 
transfer the quantity not exported against the export sale to the next 
marketing year on the first report submitted after the beginning of the 
new marketing year.
    (i) Errors on previous reports. Whenever an exporter discovers an 
error or is advised by the office specified in Sec. 20.10 of an error 
on a prior report, the error shall be corrected in the current weekly 
report to reflect the proper outstanding export sales and exports. The 
exporter shall also furnish a complete written explanation of such 
reporting error.
    (j) When reports are required. (1) A reporting exporter shall submit 
reports for those commodities for which there are new export sales, 
outstanding export sales, exports for exporter's own account for which 
an offsetting export sale has not been made and reported, or purchases 
from foreign sellers.
    (2) A reporting exporter may discontinue reporting for a commodity 
only when actual exports and other required reporting of changes have 
reduced to zero all export sales, exports for exporter's own account and 
purchases from foreign sellers. The reporting exporter shall report a 
zero balance prior to discontinuing reporting for the commodity 
involved.
    (3) If a reporting exporter discontinues making reports because a 
zero balance has been reached for a particular commodity, the exporter 
shall be responsible to commence reporting again once a new export sale, 
a new export for exporter's own account, or a new purchase from a 
foreign seller for that commodity is made.
    (k) Manner and time of reporting--(1) Manner. An original of all 
report forms, other than electronic forms and ASCII comma delimited 
files, must be filed with the office specified in Sec. 20.10. Each 
report form shall contain the full business name, address and telephone 
number of the reporting exporter and the name and original signature of 
the person submitting the report form on behalf of the reporting 
exporter. Computer generated printouts may be used in lieu of standard 
reporting forms when approved by the office specified in Sec. 20.10.
    (2) Time of filing reports. Information required to be reported 
weekly (either via fax, telephone, or electronically) must be received 
in the office specified in Sec. 20.10 no later than 11:59 p.m. eastern 
time, on each Monday or such other time as may be approved in advance by 
that office. Such weekly report must set forth the required information 
as to export sales transactions made during the seven day period ending 
the preceding Thursday, midnight. If Friday or Monday is a national 
holiday, the due date shall be Tuesday. If information is transmitted by 
other than use of forms specified in Sec. 20.6(a) (such as by use of 
telephone or electronic transmission) the required forms containing such 
information shall be transmitted by first class mail the next business 
day. It is the responsibility of the reporting exporter to arrange the 
most efficient and expeditious manner for the office specified in Sec. 
20.10 to receive the reported information. Information required to be 
reported monthly must be received in the office specified in Sec. 20.10 
no later than 5:00 p.m., Eastern time, the fourth business day following 
the end of the reporting month, or such other time as may be approved in 
advance by that office, setting forth the required information as to 
export sales transactions made during the reporting month ending 
midnight the last day of such month.

[Rev. 2, 40 FR 23839, June 3, 1975, as amended by Amdt. 3, 45 FR 8562, 
Feb. 8, 1980; Amdt. 4, 45 FR 24104, Apr. 9, 1980; 45 FR 24439, Apr. 10, 
1980; Amdt. 5, 45 FR 24439, Apr. 10, 1980; 47 FR 746, Jan. 7, 1982; 68 
FR 62214, Nov. 3, 2003]