When is EEI required in the US?

For each Schedule B or HTS line valued over $2,500, and for goods needing an export licence whatever their value. Lines of $2,500 or less in the same shipment need not be reported.

What is an Export Accompanying Document?

The document the EU office of export issues once it accepts the export declaration. It travels with the goods to the office of exit, which confirms they have left.

What is a shipping bill?

India's export declaration under section 50 of the Customs Act, 1962. Goods exported by land go on a bill of export instead.

Term

Export declaration

An export declaration tells customs what is leaving the country, its value, classification and destination, before it goes. The EU runs it in two stages, export and exit, through its Automated Export System; the US calls it Electronic Export Information, filed in AES generally for each Schedule B line over $2,500; India uses a shipping bill.

Also called EEI, Electronic Export Information, AES filing, Export Accompanying Document, EAD, shipping billUpdated 14 October 2026

When to file

Mode	UK	US (EEI in AES)
Sea, in containers	At least 24 hours before loading	24 hours before loading
Sea, not in containers	At least 2 hours before leaving port	24 hours before loading
Air	At least 30 minutes before departure	No later than 2 hours before scheduled departure
Road	At least 1 hour before departure	No later than 1 hour before the truck reaches the US border

UK: HMRC, May 2025 · US: 15 CFR Part 30, eCFR, October 2026

The EU: export, then exit

The EU export procedure has two stages, export and exit. The declaration is lodged electronically in the Automated Export System; the office of export issues an Export Accompanying Document, which is presented at the office of exit, and once the goods have left, the office of export sends the declarant a message certifying exit. Customs administrations and traders all had to be ready on the new AES by 2 December 2024. In the UK, export declarations go through the Customs Declaration Service.

Worked example: a US sea shipment

Two lines: Schedule B line A $3,000 · line B $1,800 · EEI needed for line A only (over $2,500); line B need not be reported · file in AES 24 hours before the container is loaded · licensable goods need EEI whatever their value

Thresholds and timing from 15 CFR Part 30. The Census Bureau calls ACE AESDirect the primary, free filing tool.

Penalties in the US

Late filing has a line: information filed more than ten calendar days after it was due counts as a failure to file. Civil penalties, adjusted for inflation from 15 January 2025, reach $17,412 per violation, and knowingly giving false or misleading export information can bring a fine of up to $10,000 or up to five years in prison.

The mistake people make

Treating a lodged declaration as proof of export. HMRC says that without a departure message, a declaration cannot be used as official evidence that goods have been exported; in the EU it is the exit message that certifies it. Check that each movement was closed, not only filed.

FAQ