Written Compliance Policies Will Help With Upcoming ITAR Change, Consulting Firm Says
Due to an upcoming change, companies should make sure they have written policies for complying with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations before registering, renewing or amending their ITAR registrations, according to a Nov. 13 post from Export Solutions. That change relates to the submission of ITAR registrations as part of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls’ effort to update its processes for administration of the ITAR, the post said. The change will “most likely” take effect before 2020, Export Solutions said.
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The DDTC will require “quite a bit of new information,” the post said, including a question that asks whether the applicant has written policies and procedures for complying with the ITAR. DDTC rarely asks companies if they have written policies, the post said, but this change could signal a willingness by DDTC to require the applicant to compose written policies if the company does not have them.
In addition, the agency could ask for a copy of the written policies “to be provided within a specified period of time” or inform other agencies about the applicant’s response to pave the way for a “company visit” by government officials, the post said. DDTC could also keep records of the fact that the applicant does not have a written ITAR compliance guide and return to it later if the applicant files a voluntary disclosure. If that happens, “the immediate conclusion by DDTC will be that the violation very possibly never would have occurred if the company had ‘Written ITAR Policies,’” the post said.
Export Solutions said companies should make sure they have written ITAR policies “whether your company is new to ITAR transactions” or has been registered for years. “You want to be able to answer the question on ‘Written ITAR Policies’ with a big ‘YES,’” the post said. Companies should also make sure their policies’ definitions and wording are up to date, reflecting the definitions for “export” and “release” that were changed in 2016.
The changes are part of the recently launched Defense Export Control and Compliance System (see 1905070055), which allows users to determine whether products or services are covered by the U.S. Munitions List and subject to ITAR export controls.