Submitting a Voluntary Self-Disclosure to the U.S. Census Bureau,
Foreign Trade Division

The Census Bureau strongly encourages companies, without prompting from Federal agencies, to voluntarily discover, promptly disclose, and expeditiously correct all violations and potential violations of Title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 30, the Foreign Trade Statistics Regulations (FTSR). A Voluntary Self-Disclosure (VSD) reflects due diligence in detecting, and correcting violations when required information was not reported or when incorrect information was provided that violates the regulations (whether deliberate or unintentional). The violation(s) must be discovered and identified before the Census Bureau or another Federal government agency identifies the problem. The Census Bureau recommends that full disclosures be made for violations going back at least five years.

Procedures for submitting a Voluntary Self-Disclosure to the Census Bureau are as follows:

1. Must be in writing, on company letterhead, and addressed to:
   
   

   Mr. William G. Bostic, Jr.
   Chief, Foreign Trade Division
   U.S. Census Bureau
   4600 Silver Hill Road, Room 6K032
   Washington, DC 20233-6700
   

2. The letter should include the following information:

   1. The name of the person making the disclosure and contact information: address, telephone number, and email address, if applicable.
      
      
   2. A description of the violation(s) or suspected violation(s) including the nature and extent of the violation(s).
      
      
   3. An explanation of when and how the violation occurred.
      
      
   4. A description of all FTSR-mandated information that was either unreported or reported incorrectly.
      
      
   5. The complete identities and addresses of all individuals and organizations, whether foreign or domestic, involved in the activities associated with the violation(s).
      
      
   6. A description of corrective measures applied to resolve the violation(s) that occurred and steps taken to prevent a recurrence of the violation(s).
      
      
   7. A description of any mitigating circumstances that should be considered.
      

Note:

1. Disclosures must be made of suspected violations that involve export of items controlled, licensed, or otherwise subject to the jurisdiction by a department or agency of the Federal Government. These disclosures must be made to the appropriate Federal department or agency, in addition to the VSD required by the Census Bureau.
   
   
2. All VSDs will be forwarded to the appropriate agency.
   
   
3. Information known to be true at the time of export must be reported or an estimate provided. Should such information change after the export of the commodity, a correction must be made to the record filed. Please refer to the FTSR, Section 30.16 for corrections to the paper Shipper’s Export Declaration and Section 30.64 for corrections to the Automated Export Systems record. A VSD should not be used to report a routine correction to a record.