U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis – Survey Filing Requirement

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (“BEA”) requires all U.S. persons with ownership of a foreign business to file Forms BE-10 Benchmark Survey in order to produce statistics on U.S. investment abroad. This reporting started back in 2014, but it is only filed every five years. The forms were sent to those persons most likely to have such interests and in 2014 only those who received the forms were responsible to fill them out. This year the filing will not be limited to those who were notified by the BEA. For 2020 all U.S. persons who directly or indirectly own 10% or more of a foreign business are required to file BE-10, regardless of whether or not they were notified by the BEA. A “U.S. person” is defined as any individual, business, trust, estate, partnership, corporation or other organization that is a resident of the U.S.. A foreign business is defined as any for profit activity operated either by an entity (corporation, LLC, Trust, etc.) or individually by the U.S. person.

Penalties for not filing the form range from $2,500 to $25,000 and injunctive measures can be invoked to force compliance. Willful failure to report can also carry a penalty of up to $10,000 and up to one year in prison. An officer, director, employee, or agent of the US reporter is also subject to the same civil penalties.

Form BE-10 must be filed with the BEA no later than May 29, 2020. If unable to file by the due date, an extension must be requested, it is not automatic. Please let us know if you would like us to assist you in preparing these forms. They are not tax returns and do not have tax computations, so you may be able to fill them out without our support.

If you plan on filing the BE-10 yourself, there is no need to respond to this message. Please contact gish SEIDEN at (818) 854-6100 if you have any questions.