In November 2014, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) updated the filing requirements related to its Benchmark Survey, the BE-10 survey. It is now mandatory for U.S. companies that own a foreign affiliate (defined as direct or indirect ownership of at least 10 percent of the voting stock) to complete the survey.
This survey is done every five years from U.S. companies with both large and small foreign affiliates. The survey is mandatory and confidential and there are penalties for not reporting. The penalties for failure to report range from $2,500 to $25,000. Willful failure to report results in fines not more than $10,000 and, if such failure is by an individual (including an officer, director, employee, or agent of any corporation), the individual may be imprisoned for not more than one year. The survey collects financial data as well as operational data, and produces statistics on U.S. direct investments abroad. These statistics are available in detail by country and by industry on the BEA website.
BE-10A is filed for the U.S. parent company and BE-10B, BE-10C, or BE-10D is filed for each foreign affiliate depending on whether the U.S. reporter has majority (>50 percent) or minority (between 10 percent and 50 percent) ownership of the foreign affiliate and on the size of the affiliate. The 2014 survey is due May 29, 2015, for a U.S. reporter filing fewer than 50 forms of BE-10B, BE-10C, and BE-10D. The survey is due June 30, 2015, for a U.S. reporter filing more than 50 forms of BE-10B, BE-10C, and BE-10D. A request for extension can be filed by completing the Request for Extension form no later than the original due date.
The forms can also be paper filed at the addresses found on the front of the survey forms. If a U.S. person was notified by the BEA about the need to file the survey but did not have foreign affiliates during its 2014 fiscal year, the Claim for Not Filing form can be filled out by the due date of the form.
The information provided in this alert is only a general summary and is being distributed with the understanding that Plante & Moran, PLLC, is not rendering legal, tax, accounting, or other professional advice, position, or opinions on specific facts or matters and, accordingly, assumes no liability whatsoever in connection with its use.
