§ 806.14 - Nt. U.S. direct investment abroad.

(a) Specific definitions —(1) U.S. direct investment abroad means the ownership or control, directly or indirectly, by one U.S. person of 10 per centum or more of the voting securities of an incorporated foreign business enterprise or an equivalent interest in an unincorporated foreign business enterprise, including a branch.

(2) U.S. Reporter means the U.S. person which has direct investment in a foreign business enterprise, including a branch. If the U.S. person is an incorporated business enterprise, the U.S. Reporter is the fully consolidated U.S. domestic enterprise consisting of (i) the U.S. corporation whose voting securities are not owned more than 50 percent by another U.S. corporation, and (ii) proceeding down each ownership chain from that U.S. corporation, any U.S. corporation (including Domestic International Sales Corporations) whose voting securities are more than 50 percent owned by the U.S. corporation above it.

(3) Foreign affiliate means an affiliate located outside the United States in which a U.S. person has direct investment.

(4) Majority-owned foreign affiliate means a foreign affiliate in which the combined “direct investment interest” of all U.S. Reporters of the affiliate exceeds 50 per centum.

(b) Foreign affiliate consolidation. In cases where the recordkeeping system of foreign affiliates makes it impossible or extremely difficult to file a separate report for each foreign affiliate, a U.S. Reporter may consolidate affiliates in the same country when the following conditions apply:

(1) The affiliates are in the same BEA 4-digit industry as defined in the Guide to Industry Classifications for International Surveys, 2007; or

(2) The affiliates are integral parts of the same business operation. For example, if German affiliate A manufactures tires and a majority of its sales are to German affiliate B which produces autos, then affiliates A and B may be consolidated.

Any affiliates consolidated shall thereafter be considered to be one affiliate and should be consolidated in the same manner for all reports required to be filed pursuant to this section.

(c) Reports required. The place and time for filing, and specific instructions and definitions relating to, a given report form are given on the form. Reports are required even though a foreign affiliate may have been established, acquired, seized, liquidated, sold, expropriated, or inactivated during the reporting period.

(d) Exemption levels. Exemption levels for individual report forms will normally be stated in terms of total assets, net sales or gross operating revenues excluding sales taxes, and net income after income taxes, whether positive or negative, although different or special criteria may be specified for a given report form. If any one of the three items exceeds the exemption level and if the statistical data requested in the report are applicable to the entity being reported, then a report must be filed. Since these items may not have to be reported on a given form, a U.S. Reporter claiming exemption from filing a given form must furnish a certification as to the levels of the items on which the exemption is based or must certify that the data requested are not applicable. The exemption-level tests shall be applied as outlined below.

(1) For quarterly report forms, as to the assets test reports are required beginning with the quarter in which total assets exceed the exemption level; as to the test for sales (revenues) and net income after income taxes, reports are required for each quarter of a year in which the annual amount of these items exceeds or can be expected to exceed, the exemption level. Quarterly reports for a year may be required retroactively when it is determined that the exemption level has been exceeded.

(2) For report forms requesting annual data after the close of the year in question, the test shall be whether any one of the three items exceeded the exemption level during that year.

If total assets, sales or net income exceed the exemption level in a given year, it is deemed that the exemption level will also be exceeded in the following year.

The number and title of each report form, its exemption level, and other reporting criteria, if any, pertaining to it, are given below.

(e) Quarterly report form. BE–577, Quarterly Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad—Direct Transactions of U.S. Reporter With Foreign Affiliate: One report is required for each foreign affiliate exceeding an exemption level of $60 million except that a report need not be filed by a U.S. Reporter to report direct transactions with one of its foreign affiliates in which it does not hold a direct equity interest unless an intercompany balance for the quarter exceeds $1 million.

(f) Annual report forms. (1) [Reserved]

(2) [Reserved]

(3) BE–11—Annual Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad: A report, consisting of Form BE–11A and Form(s) BE–11B, BE–11C, BE–11D and/or BE–11E, is required of each U.S. Reporter that, at the end of the Reporter's fiscal year, had a foreign affiliate reportable on Form BE–11B, BE–11C, BE–11D or BE–11E. Forms required and the criteria for reporting on each are as follows:

(i) Form BE–11A (Report for U.S. Reporter) must be filed by each U.S. person having a foreign affiliate reportable on Form BE–11B, BE–11C, BE–11D or BE–11E. If the U.S. Reporter is a corporation, Form BE–11A is required to cover the fully consolidated U.S. domestic business enterprise.

(A) If for a U.S. Reporter any one of the following three items—total assets, sales or gross operating revenues excluding sales taxes, or net income after provision for U.S. income taxes—was greater than $300 million (positive or negative) at the end of, or for, the Reporter's fiscal year, the U.S. Reporter must file a complete Form BE–11A. It must also file a Form BE–11B, BE–11C, BE–11D or BE–11E, as applicable, for each nonexempt foreign affiliate.

(B) If for a U.S. Reporter no one of the three items listed in paragraph (f)(3)(i)(A) of this section was greater than $300 million (positive or negative) at the end of, or for, the Reporter's fiscal year, the U.S. Reporter is required to file on Form BE–11A only items 1 through 26 and Part IV. It must also file a Form BE–11B, BE–11C, BE–11D, or BE–11E as applicable, for each nonexempt foreign affiliate.

(ii) Forms BE–11B, BE–11C, BE–11D, and BE–11E (Report for Foreign Affiliate).

(A) Form BE–11B must be reported for each majority-owned foreign affiliate, whether held directly or indirectly, for which any one of the following three items—total assets, sales or gross operating revenues excluding sales taxes, or net income after provision for foreign income taxes—was greater than $60 million (positive or negative) at the end of, or for, the affiliate's fiscal year, unless the foreign affiliate is selected to be reported on Form BE–11E.

(B) Form BE–11C must be reported for each minority-owned foreign affiliate, whether held directly or indirectly, for which any one of the three items listed in paragraph (f)(3)(ii)(A) of this section was greater than $60 million (positive or negative) at the end of, or for, the affiliate's fiscal year.

(C) Form BE–11D must be reported for each majority- and minority-owned foreign affiliate, whether held directly or indirectly, established or acquired during the year for which any one of the three items listed in paragraph (f)(3)(ii)(A) of this section was greater than $25 million (positive or negative), but for which no one of these items was greater than $60 million (positive or negative), at the end of, or for, the affiliate's fiscal year. Form BE–11D is a schedule; a U.S. Reporter would submit one or more pages of the form depending on the number of affiliates that are required to be filed on this form.

(D) Form BE–11E must be reported for each foreign affiliate that is selected by BEA to be reported on this form in lieu of Form BE–11B. BEA statistically divides into panels, affiliates for which any one of the three items listed in paragraph (f)(3)(ii)(A) of this section was greater than $60 million (positive or negative), but for which no one of these items was greater than $300 million (positive or negative), at the end of, or for, the affiliate's fiscal year. At the direction of BEA, U.S. Reporters would alternate reporting these affiliates on Form BE–11B and Form BE–11E.

(iii) Based on the preceding, an affiliate is exempt from being reported if none of the three items listed in paragraph (f)(3)(ii)(A) of this section exceeds $60 million (positive or negative). However, affiliates that were established or acquired during the year and for which at least one of the items was greater than $25 million but not over $60 million must be listed, and key items reported, on schedule-type Form BE–11D.

(iv) Notwithstanding paragraph (f)(3)(iii) of this section, a Form BE–11B, BE–11C, or BE–11E must be filed for a foreign affiliate of the U.S. Reporter that owns another non-exempt foreign affiliate of that U.S. Reporter, even if the foreign affiliate parent is otherwise exempt. That is, all affiliates upward in the chain of ownership must be reported.

(g) Other report forms. (1) [Reserved]

(2) BE–10–Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad: Section 4(b) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 3103) provides that a comprehensive benchmark survey of U.S. direct investment abroad will be conducted in 1982, 1989, and every fifth year thereafter. Exemption levels, specific requirements for, and the year of coverage of, a given BE–10 survey may be found in §806.16.

[42 FR 64315, Dec. 22, 1977]

Editorial Note:   For  Federal Register  citations affecting §806.14, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.fdsys.gov .