Hazmat Training Records – What is the Burden?

June 17, 2025 by Leave a comment

The FAA is seeking comments on the burden associated with hazmat training records. This information will typically be shared with OMB, which manages recordkeeping obligations.

The FAA mandates that certificate holders, like airlines and repair station, must obtain hazmat training and they must retain records of such training. The FAA’s guidance suggests that repair station must create training manuals for their hazmat training obligation. E.g. FSIMS Vol. 6, Chap. 9, Sec. 2, Para. 6-1653(F). Repair stations are also required to obtain hazmat training and document that training.

The government periodically collects information on record-keeping obligations. This is an opportunity to file comments about the accuracy of their estimates on time consumed in record-keeping.

ASA filed comments challenging the current estimates, based on the proposition that hazmat recordkeeping typically takes more time than the estimates provide (mc0-o5c0-79jk).

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New Treasury Export Reporting Procedures

May 8, 2024 by Leave a comment

The Treasury Department’s export-related functions will soon eliminate paper filings in favor of electronic filings. The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) plans to issue the new rule in this Friday’s Federal Register.

The current OFAC regulations set forth standard reporting and recordkeeping requirements, license application procedures, and other procedures relevant to the export programs administered by OFAC. OFAC is amending several regulations to require electronic submissions and to remove options for mail submission. The rule change will remove the addresses for physical delivery of such correspondence, and require such correspondence to be communicated electronically according to the new regulatory instructions. Some of the reporting mechanisms that are changed by the rule will be:

  • Annual Reports of Blocked Property (31 C.F.R. § 501.603(d))
  • Reports of rejected transactions (31 C.F.R. § 501.604(d))
  • Required notice to the government of litigation that may affect blocked property or retained funds (31 C.F.R. § 501.605)
  • Seeking export licenses (31 C.F.R. § 501.801)
  • Petitioning for rulemaking (31 C.F.R. § 501.804)
  • Seeking records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (31 C.F.R. § 501.805)
  • Petitioning for the unblocking of property (31 C.F.R. § 501.806)
  • Petitioning to be removed from a SDN or blocked person list (31 C.F.R. § 501.807)

The rule is expected to be issued as an interim final rule on Friday. This means that the rule will be issued as a direct final rule, but the public is allowed to comment on the final rule, and a subsequent change could be made based on public comments.

The rule is expected to be effective 90 days after publication (if everything stays on schedule then that means August 9, 2024).

If you complete your filings electronically, then be sure to maintain evidence to prove that the filing was properly made. This can include screen shots, copies of sent emails with routing information, etc.

Resources

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Recordkeeping for Aviation Exports – What Do You Need to Retain?

November 12, 2017 by Leave a comment

Exporters must maintain records as proof of compliance with U.S. government regulations for a minimum of 5 years.  During this retention period, these retained records may be requested by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Census, or any other U.S. Government Agency that has jurisdiction over your export.  This can be a daunting task and I have seen businesses that failed to retain such records.  This article seeks to provide some guidance on the scope and length of your recordkeeping obligations as an exporter.

What records should be kept, you ask? The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) provides a list of records that must be retained.

  1. Export control documents.  Examples include license and license application, AES record, dock receipt, 7512 forms, and antiboycott reports. The only exception is a party that submits documents electronically to BIS via the SNAP-R system; these parties are not required to retain copies of submitted documents. Note:  I would not count on this and I would be sure to keep all copies for reference purposes.
  2. Memoranda.  Examples include written records of business communications, reminders, agreements, and contracts.
  3. Notes.
  4. Correspondences.  Chances are, there are emails concerning your transaction.  These are supposed to be retained.
  5. Contracts.  A series of communications that result in an agreement may be considered a contract.
  6. Invitations to bid.  This could include any RFP/RFQ.
  7. Books of account.  This means accounting records, which may be used to defend against an audit.
  8. Financial records.  All formal records of the financial activities of a business or person.
  9. Restrictive trade practice or boycott documents and reports.
  10. Notifications from BIS.  This includes notification from BIS of an application being returned without action, of an application being denied, of the results of a commodity classification or encryption review request conducted by BIS.
  11. Other records pertaining to any other transaction subject to BIS regulations (pursuant to 15 C.F.R. § 762.1).
  12. Any other record that is required to be retained under other BIS regulations.  There is a partial list of these regulations in 15 C.F.R. § 762.2(b).

I said that you have to retain these documents for at least five years.  What does this mean?  Export Regulations state 5 years from the latest of the following times:

  1. The date of export from the U.S.
  2. The date of any known re-export, transshipment, or diversion. If you are shipping to a overseas broker, then you may need to start the clock when the broker re-exports the articles.
  3. The date of the termination of the transaction, whether formally in writing or by any other means. If the articles are returned under an RMA, then you still need to keep the records for five years from the return.
  4. In the case of records of pertaining to transactions involving restrictive trade practices or boycotts, the date the regulated person receives the boycott-related request or requirement.

Another caveat: if any U.S. government agency makes a formal (or informal) request for records before that 5 year period is up, or give you any reason to believe that the record may be relevant to a court action, then that record may not be destroyed or disposed-of.  If this happens, make sure you get legal advice about the disposition of the records, in order to avoid an allegation of spoliation.

There is a list of records that are exempt from the recordkeeping requirements; however  some of these records may need to be retained because of other reasons (including other regulatory systems and your own quality assurance system).  These include:

  • Inspection certificate (but some documents like a raw materials certification may need to be retained under other provisions like your written quality system);
  • Warranty certificate (but if it is part of the contract then it may need to be retained);
  • Packing material certificate (but certificates like a shipper’s declaration of dangerous goods may be required to retained under other laws);
  • Goods quality certificate (but some documents like 8130-3 tags may need to be retained under other provisions like your written quality system);

Don’t forget that other agencies may have other overlapping retention requirements and you must comply with all such requirements.  For example, under the State Department regulations, 22 C.F.R. § 123.22 of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) explains that the exporter of ITAR-controlled defense articles must file information prior to export and then under 22 C.F.R. § 122.5 must retain records for a period of five years from the expiration of the license or other approval.

As always, if you need help, contact us and we can work with you on developing the right systems for compliance!

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