Certain U.S. companies and their foreign affiliates should be aware that responses to a mandatory Commerce Department outbound investment survey are due as soon as May 29, 2015. The survey is the BE-10 Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad, a broad statistical survey conducted every five years by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). U.S. companies that fail to comply with the BE-10 reporting requirements could be subject to civil penalties of up to $25,000 or, in some cases, criminal penalties.
The BE-10 reporting requirements apply to any U.S. person that, at any time during the U.S. person’s 2014 fiscal year, had direct or indirect ownership or control of at least 10% of the voting securities of an incorporated foreign business or held an equivalent interest in an unincorporated foreign business (e.g., a branch). A complete BE-10 report consists of a BE-10 form for the U.S. company that holds the voting interest in one or more foreign affiliates and separate BE-10 forms filed by the U.S. company on behalf of its foreign affiliates.
Please read our client alert for more details.