06/05/2018
The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is conducting its 2017 Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States. Compliance with the survey is mandatory for U.S. affiliates/subsidiaries of non-U.S. companies, if the non-U.S. company owned more than 10% of the U.S. affiliate/subsidiary at the end of the 2017 fiscal year. The information collected for the survey is confidential and is used by the BEA solely for statistical purposes.
If the total assets, sales or gross operating revenues or net income are less than $60 million, then form BE-12C must be completed and filed. A copy of the form can be found here. Not all information is required when affiliate/subsidiary financial numbers are less than $20 million. A copy of the 2017 annual financial statements must be included with the filing of the Form BE-12C. For U.S. affiliates/subsidiaries which exceed the above-mentioned $60 million financial threshold, there are different forms.
The forms are filed electronically through the BEA’s system at www.bea.gov/efile. The deadline for electronic filing is June 30, 2018.
Failure to supply the information required in the BE-12C carries both civil and criminal penalties. Civil penalties range from $4,619 to $46,192. The BEA is also authorized to seek injunctive relief to compel a response. Willful violations could result in criminal penalties of up to $10,000. For individuals, including officers and directors of companies, a criminal penalty of up to $10,000 and imprisonment of up to one year may be imposed upon conviction.
Please let us know if we can help you in any way with complying with this mandatory reporting obligation.