By Austin Peña
Certain U.S. entities with international transactions are required to report their international trade business to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Additionally, certain kinds of foreign entities must also file BE forms if they transaction business with U.S. entities. This reporting is documented on the BE series of forms available on the BEA website, bea.gov/international/index.htm#surveys. These forms are informational only and do not assess tax, but those who are required to file can be penalized for failing to file the required forms.
The entities with international business activities that are required to file BE forms fall into four categories: 1. shipping businesses; 2. financial services firms; 3. U.S. persons with large payments to non-U.S. persons; and 4. entities with ownership of a foreign business.
- The first category, shipping businesses with international transactions, includes airline operators and ocean carriers.
- The financial service category includes financial service providers, insurance companies, and credit card companies.
- The third category consists of U.S. persons who pay over $1 million to foreign individuals.
- The final category comprises U.S. entities that own foreign entities and U.S. entities owned by foreign entities.
If you own or participate in an entity included in one of these four categories, then you and/or your organization may be required to file one or more forms of the BEA forms. Determining the correct form to file can be a difficult process as the forms are revised regularly and there are multiple versions of many forms. In addition, some entities will also need to file multiple forms; for example, a U.S. entity owned by a foreign entity may need to file BE-605, BE-13, and BE-15 forms. If you are concerned that you may have a filing requirement, please contact Sol Schwartz & Associates on 210 384 8000.
