Key Takeaways:
- The BE-10 survey is a mandatory federal survey of U.S. investments abroad. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) conducts the survey every five (5) years to produce key statistics that will inform U.S. agencies, policymakers, business leaders, researchers, and the general public.
- Certain U.S. persons with foreign investment in 2024 are required by law to complete the survey; a U.S. person is any individual or entity (e.g., for profit, nonprofit, estate, trust, religious, etc.) that is resident in or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
- The deadline to complete the survey is May 30, 2025 (or June 30, 2025, if a company needs to file 50 or more such forms). Failure to file may result in civil penalties of between $5,911 and $59,114, with willful violations carrying criminal penalties of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.
BEA administers the mandatory BE-10 survey to obtain key statistics on U.S. investment abroad for U.S. agencies, policymakers, business leaders, researchers, and the general public. Generally, any U.S. person that had a foreign affiliate at the end of the U.S. person’s 2024 fiscal year must complete the BE-10 survey by the May 30, 2025 deadline (or June 30, 2025, if a company needs to file 50 or more forms). A U.S. person is defined in this context as any individual or entity (e.g., for profit, nonprofit, estate, trust, religious, etc.) that is resident in or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States of America. Having a foreign affiliate means having direct or indirect ownership or control of at least ten percent (10%) of the voting stock of an incorporated foreign business enterprise, or an equivalent interest in an unincorporated foreign business enterprise.
If you are such a U.S. person, then you may need to submit a BE-10 survey whether or not you are contacted by the BEA. If you are not such a U.S. person, but BEA nevertheless contacts you, then you must file a BE-10 exemption form (the “Claim for Not Filing”). There is no BE-10 exemption for small businesses or even inactive companies. There are some exemptions or special rules that apply to private funds, limited partnerships, ownership of foreign real estate, and consolidating several foreign entities. Failure to file the BE-10 survey when required to do so could result in civil penalties between $5,911 and $59,114. A willful violation of the requirement to file can carry criminal penalties of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.
Each U.S. person required to submit a BE-10 survey must complete the Form BE-10A and one or more of the below forms. Whether a U.S. person’s foreign affiliate is majority-owned or not and, the amount of the foreign affiliate’s assets, sales, or net income of such foreign affiliate, will determine which supplemental form to the BE-10A will be required.
- Form BE-10B: For each majority-owned foreign affiliate whose assets, sales, or net income exceeds $80 million.
- Form BE-10C: For each majority-owned foreign affiliate whose assets, sales, or net income exceeds $25 million but for which none of the foregoing items exceeds $80 million.
- Form BE-10D: For each foreign affiliate whose assets, sales, and net income do not exceed $25 million.
The BE-10 survey requests information regarding the domestic and foreign operations of the U.S. person, including the number of employees and financial data – including but not limited to, sales, assets, and equity holdings – of both the U.S. person itself and its foreign affiliate(s). However, federal law protects the confidentiality of the data that U.S. persons report and this data is neither subject to FOIA requests nor can it be shared with other agencies for tax, investigative, or other regulatory purposes.
After you have selected the correct supplemental form to your BE-10A, the forms should be completed and filed online.
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