If you’ve ever submitted information to the Automated Export System (AES), you already know the importance of reporting all information accurately. After all, you don’t want to receive a response email warning your filing was rejected. Reporting all details in Electronic Export Information (EEI) is crucial for compliance, and you may be surprised to receive a fatal error message for something as simple as the United States Principal Party in Interest (USPPI) address.  

Speaking of USPPI address, you may have come across a previous blog article entitled “USPPI Address: Getting It Right in the Automated Export System” describing the reporting requirements for the USPPI address as listed in the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR). It also explains how to report the USPPI address in various scenarios.

But what does the FTR require? The FTR §30.6(a)(1)(ii) requires you, as an AES filer, to report the USPPI address as the “address or location (no post office box number) from which the goods actually begin the journey to the port of export even if the USPPI does not own/lease the facility.” To emphasize, this regulation specifically indicates that a Post Office Box (PO Box) cannot be used as the USPPI address in the AES. This is important for statistical purposes because it identifies the exact location where the goods start their journey to the port of export, which is necessary for the collection of accurate export data.

AES edits are in place to assist filers in identifying certain misreported information, but it’s ultimately the filer’s responsibility to ensure the EEI is accurate and reported in accordance with the FTR. Fatal errors 240 and 242 are in place to prevent an “ineligible value” such as a PO Box from being listed in USPPI address fields. 

If you list a PO Box in the USPPI address line 1 and/or USPPI address line 2, the AES will reject your EEI and trigger fatal error 240 and/or 242, depending on the faulty field(s).

The reason and resolution for these errors and other AES response messages are located in Appendix A of the Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR).

Let’s explore these two fatal error messages further in examples below: 

Response Code: 240

Narrative Text: USPPI ADDR LINE 1 INELIGIBLE

Severity: FATAL

Proprietary Record ID/Data Elements: Input N02 Record/address line 1

X.12 Segment ID/Data Elements: N301; when N101 = EX

Reason: The Party Type was declared as ‘E’ (USPPI) and the USPPI address line 1 contains variations of ‘P.O. Box or UNKNOWN, UNK, UNKN’.

Resolution: The primary address line of the USPPI must be declared in an EEI.  The USPPI address line 1 cannot contain an ineligible value identified in AES.  Verify the USPPI address line 1, correct the N02 record and retransmit.

Response Code: 242

Narrative Text: USPPI ADDR LINE 2 INELIGIBLE

Severity: FATAL

Proprietary Record ID/Data Elements: Input N02 Record/address line 2

X.12 Segment ID/Data Elements: N302; when N101 = EX

Reason: The Party Type was declared as ‘E’ (USPPI) and the USPPI address line 2 contains variations of ‘P.O. Box or UNKNOWN, UNK, UNKN’.

Resolution: An additional address line for the USPPI may be declared in an EEI.  When reported, the USPPI address line 2 cannot contain an ineligible value identified in AES.  Verify the USPPI address line 2, correct the N02 record and retransmit.

If you receive a fatal error message after reporting an ineligible USPPI address, you must amend the filing, correct the USPPI address field and retransmit to receive a valid Internal Transaction Number (ITN) prior to exporting your shipment. If you listed a PO Box, you must remove it and report the correct address based on FTR §30.6(a)(1)(ii) above. According to the FTR §30.9, corrections, cancellations and amendments must be made in the AES as soon as possible, including resolving fatal errors. Remember, making sure your USPPI address field details are correct will help our statistical data collection and your export compliance efforts.

For information on how to amend an export filing, please refer to pages 25 and 26 of the ACE AESDirect User Guide. If you have more questions or need AES assistance, please contact the Census Bureau’s Trade Data Collection Branch at askaes@census.gov or 1-800-549-0595, option 1.