Support documents for evaluation of foreign parties in license applications and/or for promoting compliance with license requirements.
15 C.F.R. § 748.9
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) Scope. License applicants may be required to obtain support documents concerning the foreign parties and the disposition of the items intended for export, reexport, or transfer (in-country). Some support documents are issued by foreign governments, while other support documents are signed and issued by the purchaser and/or ultimate consignee. For support documents issued by foreign governments, any foreign legal restrictions or obligations exercised by the government issuing the support document are in addition to the conditions and restrictions placed on the transaction by BIS. However, the laws and regulations of the United States are in no way modified, changed, or superseded by the issuance of a support document by a foreign government.
(b) Requirements to obtain support documents for license applications. Unless an exception in paragraph (c) of this section applies, a support document is required for certain license applications for:
(1) The People's Republic of China (PRC) other than the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (see §§ 748.10 and 748.11(a)(2));
(2) “600 Series Major Defense Equipment” (see § 748.11);
(3) Firearms and related commodities to member countries of the Organization of American States (see § 748.12); and
(4) The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (see § 748.13).
(c) Exceptions to requirements to obtain support documents. (1) Even if a support document requirement is imposed by paragraph (b) of this section, no support document is required for any of the following situations:
(i) The ultimate consignee or purchaser is an “Agency of the United States Government” (see § 740.11(b)(1) for definition). If either the ultimate consignee or purchaser is not an agency of the United States government, however, a support document may still be required from the non-U.S. governmental party;
(ii) The ultimate consignee or purchaser is a foreign government(s) or foreign government agency(ies), other than the government of the People's Republic of China. To determine whether the parties in a transaction meet the definition of “foreign government agency,” refer to the definition contained in part 772 of the EAR. If either the ultimate consignee or purchaser is not a foreign government or foreign government agency, however, a support document may still be required from the nongovernmental party;
(iii) The license application is filed by, or on behalf of, a relief agency registered with the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid, U.S. Agency for International Development, for export to a member agency in the foreign country;
(iv) The license application is submitted for commodities for temporary exhibit, demonstration, or testing purposes;
(v) The license application is submitted for commodities controlled for short supply reasons (see part 754 of the EAR);
(vi) [Reserved]
(vii) The license application is submitted for software or technology; or
(viii) The license application is submitted for encryption commodities controlled under ECCN 5A002, 5A004 or 5B002.
(2) BIS will consider granting an exception to the requirement for obtaining a support document where the requirements cannot be met due to circumstances beyond the applicant's control. An exception will not be granted contrary to the objectives of the U.S. export control laws and regulations. Refer to § 748.13 of this part for specific instructions on procedures for requesting an exception.
(d) Content of support documents. In addition to specific requirements described for each support document in §§ 748.10, 748.11, and 748.12, the use and submission of support documents must comply with the following requirements.
(1) English translation. All abbreviations, coded terms, or other expressions on support documents having special significance in the trade or to the parties to the transaction must be explained on an attachment to the document. Documents in a language other than English must be accompanied by an attachment giving an accurate English translation, either made by a translating service or certified by the applicant to be correct. Explanations or translations should be provided on a separate piece of paper, and not entered on the support documents themselves.
(2) Responsibility for full disclosure. (i) The license application covering the transaction discloses all facts pertaining to the transaction. Information contained in a support document obtained after submission of a license application and not submitted to BIS as part of the application cannot be construed as extending or expanding or otherwise modifying the specific information supplied in a license application or license issued by BIS. The authorizations contained in the resulting license are not extended by information contained in the support document regarding reexport from the country of destination, transfer (in-country), or any other facts relative to the transaction that are not reported on the license application.
(ii) Misrepresentations, either through failure to disclose facts, concealing a material fact, or furnishing false information, may subject responsible parties to administrative or criminal action by BIS.
(iii) In obtaining the required support document, the applicant is not relieved of the responsibility for full disclosure of any other information concerning the ultimate destination, end use, or end user of which the applicant knows, even if inconsistent with the representations made in the applicable support document. The applicant is responsible for promptly notifying BIS of any change in the facts contained in the support document that comes to the applicant's attention.
(e) Procedures for using support document with license application—(1) Timing for obtaining support document. When a support document is required for a license application in §§ 748.10, 748.11, and 748.12, license applicants may submit the application prior to receipt of a copy of the support document, unless BIS informs the applicant that the support document must be submitted with the application. However, if the license is granted, items authorized on the license may not be exported, reexported, or transferred (in-country) until the license holder obtains a copy of the support document. The documents issued by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative region that are required pursuant to § 748.13 are not used to evaluate license applications. They must be obtained before shipment and need not be obtained before submitting a license application.
(2) Information necessary for license application. When a support document is required for a license application, applicants should mark the appropriate box in Block 7, regardless of whether a copy of the support document is on file with the applicant at the time of submission.
(f) Recordkeeping provisions. License applicants must retain on file the original or a copy of any support document issued in support of a license application submitted to BIS. All recordkeeping provisions in part 762 of the EAR apply to this requirement.
(g) Effect on license application review. BIS reserves the right in all respects to determine to what extent any license will be issued covering items for which a support document has been issued. If a support document was issued by a foreign government, BIS will not seek or undertake to give consideration to recommendations from the foreign government as to the action to be taken on a license application. A support document will be only one of the factors upon which BIS will base its licensing action, since end uses and other considerations are important factors in the decision making process.
(h) Grace period for complying with requirements following regulatory change. (1) Whenever the requirement for a PRC End-User Statement, Statement by Ultimate Consignee or Purchaser, or Firearms Convention Import Certificate is imposed or extended by a change in the regulations, the license application need not conform to the new support documentation requirements for a period of 45 days after the effective date of the regulatory change published in the Federal Register.
(2) License applications filed during the 45-day grace period may require the submission of evidence available to the applicant that will support representations concerning the ultimate consignee, ultimate destination, and end use, such as copies of the order, letters of credit, correspondence between the applicant and ultimate consignee, or other documents received from the ultimate consignee. If such evidence is required, applicants must also identify the regulatory change (including its effective date) that justifies exercise of the 45-day grace period.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-15.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026