Be-15ez

FORM

BE-15(EZ)

FORM CODE 5

(REV. 10/2011)

BE-15 Identification Number

OMB No. 0608-0034: Approval Expires 08/31/2014

MANDATORY — CONFIDENTIAL
2011 ANNUAL SURVEY OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
IN THE UNITED STATES
FORM BE-15(EZ)
Name and address of U.S. business enterprise

DUE DATE: MAY 31, 2012

1002

Name of U.S. affiliate
0

ELECTRONIC FILING:
1010

www.bea.gov/efile

c/o (care of)
0

MAIL REPORTS TO:

1003

U.S. Department of Commerce
Bureau of Economic Analysis BE-49(A)
Washington, DC 20230

Street or P.O. Box
0

1004

City

State

0998

0

0

DELIVER REPORTS TO:
1005

U.S. Department of Commerce
Bureau of Economic Analysis, BE-49(A)
Shipping and Receiving Section, M100
1441 L Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005

ZIP Code

Foreign Postal Code

0

OR

0

FOR INFORMATION OR ASSISTANCE:
Email:
Telephone:
Copies of blank forms:

FAX REPORTS TO:
(202) 606-1905*

be12/15@bea.gov
(202) 606-5577
www.bea.gov/fdi

Please include your BE-15 Identification Number with all requests.
Who must file BE-15(EZ) – Form BE-15(EZ) must be filed for a U.S. affiliate with total assets, sales or gross operating revenues, or net income greater
than $40 million (positive or negative) but not greater than $120 million (positive or negative) if:
(a) the affiliate has NOT filed a BE-12 or BE-15 for a fiscal year that ended BEFORE January 1, 2011; OR
(b) the affiliate has been instructed in writing by BEA to file a BE-15 for the fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2011.
If you do not meet these filing criteria, see instruction I.A.1 on page 8 to determine which form to file.
MANDATORY
CONFIDENTIALITY
PENALTIES

➔

This survey is being conducted under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (P.L. 94-472, 90
Stat. 2059, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended). The filing of reports is mandatory and the Act provides that your
report to this Bureau is confidential. Whoever fails to report may be subject to penalties. See page 7 for more details.

PERSON TO CONSULT CONCERNING QUESTIONS
ABOUT THIS REPORT — Enter name and address
1000

Name
0

1029

Address

CERTIFICATION — The undersigned official certifies that this report
has been prepared in accordance with the applicable instructions, is
complete, and is substantially accurate except that, in accordance with
instruction III.B. on page 9, estimates may have been provided.

0
1030 0

Authorized official’s signature

1031 0

0990

Print or type name

Date
0991

0
1001

Telephone number Area code

Number

Extension

0992

0

Telephone number
0

Print or type title
0

0993

FAX number
0

May FAX and/or email be used in correspondence between your enterprise and BEA, including FAX’ed reports, and/or to discuss questions relating
to this survey that may contain confidential information about your company?
* NOTE: The internet and telephone systems are not secure means of transmitting confidential information unless it is encrypted. If you choose to
communicate with BEA via FAX or electronic mail, BEA cannot guarantee the security of the information during transmission, but will treat information
we receive as confidential in accordance with Section 5(c) of the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act.

1027

Email:

1
1

1032

FAX:

1
1

1

Yes (If yes, please print your e-mail address.)

2

No

1
2

Yes (If yes, please print your fax number.)
No

Email address (Please print)
0
1028

Fax number
1
0999

PART I – IDENTIFICATION OF U.S. AFFILIATE
IMPORTANT
Please review the Instructions starting on page 7 before completing this form. Insurance and real estate companies see
Special Instructions starting on page 11.
• Accounting principles – If feasible use U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to complete Form BE-15 unless you are requested
to do otherwise by a specific instruction. References in the instructions to Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards
Codification Topics are referred to as "FASB ASC."
• U.S. affiliate’s 2011 fiscal year – The affiliate’s financial reporting year that had an ending date in calendar year 2011.
• Consolidated reporting – A U.S. affiliate must file on a fully consolidated domestic U.S. basis, including in the consolidation
ALL U.S. affiliates in which it directly or indirectly owns more than 50 percent of the outstanding voting interest. The
consolidation rules are found in instruction IV.2. on page 10.
• Rounding – Report currency amounts in U.S. dollars rounded to thousands (omitting 000).
Do not enter amounts in the shaded portions of each line.
Example – If amount is $1,334,891.00 report as:
1.

Bil.

Mil.

Thous. Dols.

$

000

Which financial reporting standards will be used to complete this BE-15 report?
NOTE: Unless it is highly burdensome or not feasible, the BE-15 report should be completed using U.S. Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP).
1399 1
1

1

U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

2

International Financial Reporting Standards (as promulgated by, or adapted from, the International Accounting Standards Board)
NOTE: Do not prepare your BE-15 report using the proportionate consolidation method, except as noted in
instruction IV.2.b. and c on page 10.

1

3

Other reporting standards–Specify the reporting standards used.

1a. If you use financial reporting standards other than U.S. GAAP, are you able to make adjustments to correct for any
material differences between U.S. GAAP and the reporting standards used?
1398 1

2.

1

Yes

1

2

No

Consolidated reporting by the U.S. affiliate – Is more than 50 percent of the voting interest in this U.S. affiliate owned by another U.S.
affiliate of your foreign parent (see the diagram below for assistance in answering this question)?
1400 1

1

1

Yes

If "Yes" – Do not complete this report unless exception 2c described in the consolidation rules on page 10 applies. If this
exception does not apply, please forward this BE-15 survey packet to the U.S. business enterprise owning your company
more than 50 percent, and notify BEA of the action taken by filing BE-15 Claim for Exemption with item 2(d) completed on
page 3 of that form. The BE-15 Claim for Exemption can be downloaded from BEA’s web site at: www.bea.gov/fdi

2

No

If "No" – Complete this report in accordance with the consolidation rules on page 10.
CONSOLIDATION OF U.S. AFFILIATES

Foreign Parent

Foreign

NOTE – Arrows connecting
boxes represent direction of
ownership

10 to 100 percent

United States
U.S. affiliate A
>50 percent

U.S. affiliate B should be consolidated on the BE-15
report for U.S. affiliate A because U.S. affiliate B is more
than 50 percent owned by U.S. affiliate A.

U.S. affiliate B

Page 2

FORM BE-15(EZ) (REV. 10/2011)

PART I – IDENTIFICATION OF U.S. AFFILIATE – Continued
3.

Enter Employer Identification Number(s) used by the U.S. affiliate to file income and payroll taxes.
Primary
1006 1

Other
2

–

–

4. REPORTING PERIOD – Reporting period instructions are found in instruction 4 on page 10. If there was a change in
fiscal year, please review instruction 4.b. on page 10.
Month

Day

Year

1007 1

This U.S. affiliate’s financial reporting year ended in calendar year 2011 on

__/ __ /2
_ _0 _1 _1

Example – If the financial reporting year ended on March 31, report for the 12-month period ended March 31, 2011.
NOTE – Affiliates with a fiscal year that ended within the first week of January 2012 are considered to have a 2011 fiscal year and should
report December 31, 2011 as their 2011 fiscal year end.
5. Did the U.S. business enterprise become a U.S. affiliate during its fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2011?
1008 1

1

1

Yes

2

No

If "Yes" – Enter date U.S. business enterprise became a U.S. affiliate and see
instruction 5 on page 10 to determine how to report for the first time.
Month

1009 1

Day

Year

__/ __ /____

NOTE – For a U.S. business enterprise that became a U.S. affiliate during its fiscal year that ended
in calendar year 2011, leave the close FY 2010 data columns blank.

Ownership — Enter percent of ownership, in this U.S. affiliate, to a tenth of one percent, based on voting interest (or an equivalent
interest if an unincorporated affiliate). "Voting interest" is defined in instruction 6a on page 10.
Foreign parent — A foreign parent is the FIRST person or entity outside the U.S. in a chain of ownership that has a 10 percent or more voting interest
(direct or indirect) in this U.S. affiliate. The country of foreign parent is the country of incorporation or organization if the parent is a business enterprise, or
of residence if the parent is an individual. For individuals, see instruction 6b starting on page 10.

Name of each direct owner

Voting interest
Close FY 2011 Close FY 2010
(1)
(2)

Country of
foreign parent

BEA
USE
ONLY

Ownership held directly by foreign parent(s) of this affiliate — see example 1 below.
Enter name and country of each foreign parent with direct ownership — if more than 2, continue on separate sheet.
6.

1017

7.

1018

1

_ _ _. _

%

1

_ _ _. _

%

2

_ _ _. _

%

2

_ _ _. _

%

3
3

Ownership held indirectly by foreign parents of this U.S. affiliate through another U.S. affiliate — see example 2 below. Enter name of each U.S.
affiliate that owns this affiliate and the country of the foreign parent — if more than 2, continue on separate sheet.
8.

1063

9.

1064

10.

Direct ownership held by all other persons (do not list names)

1

_ _ _. _

%

1

_ _ _. _

%

_ _ _. _

%

1
1061

100.0%

TOTAL — Sum of items 6 through 10.

2

_ _ _. _

%

2

_ _ _. _

%

_ _ _. _

%

2

3
3

100.0%

EXAMPLES OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT FOREIGN OWNERSHIP
Example 1 – Ownership held directly by a foreign parent
Foreign company X
Foreign company Y is the foreign
parent because it is the first owner
located outside the U.S. in a chain of
ownership that owns 10 percent or
more of the U.S. affiliate.

Foreign company Y
(Foreign Parent)

Example 2 – Ownership held indirectly by a foreign parent
through another U.S. affiliate
Foreign Parent
10 to 100 percent
Foreign
United States
U.S. affiliate A

10 to 100 percent
Foreign
United States
U.S. affiliate

U.S. affiliate B is indirectly owned by the
foreign parent through U.S. affiliate A. U.S.
affiliate A has a direct ownership interest in
U.S. affiliate B.

U.S. affiliate B

NOTE: Arrows connecting boxes represent direction of ownership
FORM BE-15(EZ) (REV. 10/2011)

Page 3

PART I – IDENTIFICATION OF U.S. AFFILIATE – Continued
11.

Enter the name and industry code of the foreign parent. If there is more than one foreign parent, list each and its industry code on a
separate sheet.

11a. Enter name of foreign parent. If the foreign parent is an individual enter "individual."
3011

0

11b. Enter the foreign parent industry code from the list of codes below that best describes the PRIMARY activity of the SINGLE entity named as
the foreign parent. DO NOT base the code on the world-wide sales of all consolidated subsidiaries of the foreign parent. If the foreign parent is
an individual, enter code "05."
3018

12.

1

For each foreign parent, furnish the name, country and industry code of the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) – see UBO definition and
examples on page 5. If there is more than one foreign parent, list each on a separate sheet and give the name of its UBO, and the UBO’s
country and industry codes.

12a. Is the foreign parent also the UBO? If the foreign parent is owned or controlled more than 50 percent by another person or entity, then the
foreign parent is NOT the UBO.
3019 1

1

Yes (as shown in example 1 on page 5) –
Skip to 12d.

1

2

No (as shown in examples 2A and 2B on page 5) –
Continue with 12b.

12b. Enter the name of the UBO of the foreign parent. If the UBO is an individual enter "individual."
Identifying the UBO as "bearer shares" is not an acceptable response.
3021

0

12c. Enter country of the UBO. For individuals, see instruction 6b starting on page 10.

BEA USE ONLY
3022 1

12d. Enter the industry code of the UBO from the list of codes below. NOTE – Select the industry code that best reflects the consolidated world-wide
sales of all majority-owned subsidiaries. If the UBO is an individual, enter code "05."
3023

1

DO NOT use code "14" unless you receive permission from BEA.
PLEASE CONTINUE WITH QUESTION 13 ON PAGE 6
FOREIGN PARENT AND UBO INDUSTRY CODES
Note: "ISI codes" are International Surveys Industry codes, as given in the
Guide to Industry Classifications for International Surveys, 2007 located at www.bea.gov/naics2007.
01 Government and government-owned or -sponsored enterprise, or
quasi-government organization or agency
02 Pension fund — Government run
03 Pension fund — Privately run
04 Estate, trust, or nonprofit organization (that part of ISI
code 5252 that is estates and trusts)
05 Individual

16 Real estate (ISI code 5310)
17 Information (ISI codes 5111–5191)
18 Professional, scientific, and technical services (ISI codes 5411–5419)
19 Other services (ISI codes 1150, 2132, 2133, 5321, 5329, and 5611–8130)
Manufacturing, including fabricating, assembling,
and processing of goods:
20 Food (ISI codes 3111–3119)

Private business enterprise, investment
organization, or group engaged in:

21 Beverages and tobacco products (ISI codes 3121 and 3122)

06 Insurance (ISI codes 5242, 5243, 5249)

22 Pharmaceuticals and medicine (ISI code 3254)

07 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (ISI codes 1110–1140)

23 Other chemicals (ISI codes 3251–3259, except 3254)

08 Mining (ISI codes 2111–2127)

24 Nonmetallic mineral products (ISI codes 3271–3279)

09 Construction (ISI codes 2360–2380)
10 Transportation and warehousing (ISI codes 4810–4939)
11 Utilities (ISI codes 2211–2213)
12 Wholesale and retail trade (ISI codes 4231–4251 and 4410–4540)

25 Primary and fabricated metal products (ISI codes 3311–3329)
26 Computer and electronic products (ISI codes 3341–3346)
27 Machinery manufacturing (ISI codes 3331–3339)
28 Electrical equipment, appliances and components (ISI codes 3351–3359)
29 Motor vehicles and parts (ISI codes 3361–3363)

13 Banking, including bank holding companies (ISI codes 5221 and 5229)
14 Holding companies, excluding bank holding companies
(ISI codes 5512 and 5513)
15 Other finance (ISI codes 5223, 5224, 5231, 5238, that part of ISI
code 5252 that is not estates and trusts, and ISI code 5331)
Page 4

30 Other transportation equipment (ISI codes 3364–3369)
31 Other manufacturing (ISI codes 3130–3231, 3261, 3262, 3370–3399)
32 Petroleum manufacturing, including integrated petroleum and petroleum
refining without extraction (ISI codes 3242–3244)
FORM BE-15(EZ) (REV. 10/2011)

PART I – IDENTIFICATION OF U.S. AFFILIATE – Continued
EXAMPLES OF THE ULTIMATE BENEFICIAL OWNER (UBO)
NOTE: Arrows connecting boxes represent direction of ownership

Example 1 – The UBO and Foreign Parent are the same
Foreign Company X

The UBO and foreign parent are the
same if the foreign parent is NOT more
than 50 percent owned or controlled by
another person or entity.

1 to 50%

Foreign Parent = UBO

Foreign
United States

U.S. affiliate
Examples 2A and 2B – The Foreign Parent is NOT the UBO
A. The UBO is a foreign person or entity
Foreign Company Y is the foreign
parent of the U.S. affiliate; foreign
Company X is the UBO. The foreign
parent is not the UBO if the foreign
parent is more than 50 percent owned
or controlled by another person or
entity.
Foreign

B. The UBO is a U.S. person or entity
Foreign Company X
(UBO)

Foreign Company Z is the foreign
parent of the U.S. affiliate.
U.S. Company C is the UBO.

>50 Percent
Foreign Company Y
(Foreign Parent)

United States

Foreign Company Z
(Foreign Parent)
Foreign

>50 Percent

United States
U.S. affiliate

U.S. Company C
(UBO)

U.S. affiliate

DEFINITION OF THE ULTIMATE BENEFICIAL OWNER (UBO)
Ultimate beneficial owner is that person, proceeding up the ownership chain beginning with and including the foreign parent, that is not
more than 50 percent owned or controlled by another person. Note: Stockholders of a closely or privately held corporation are normally
considered to be an associated group and may be a UBO.

Remarks

FORM BE-15(EZ) (REV. 10/2011)

Page 5

PART II – FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA OF U.S. AFFILIATE
13. What is (are) the major product(s) and/or service(s) of the fully consolidated U.S. affiliate? If a product, also state what is done to it, i.e.,
whether it is mined, manufactured, sold at wholesale, transported, packaged, etc. (For example, "manufacture widgets.")
1163

14.

0

Industry of this affiliate – Enter the 4-digit International Surveys Industry (ISI) code of the industry with the
largest sales or gross operating revenues.

ISI Code
1164

1

For a full explanation of each code see the Guide to Industry Classifications for International Surveys, 2007
located at www.bea.gov/naics2007.
15.

Total sales or gross operating revenues, excluding sales taxes
Report gross sales minus returns, allowances, and discounts; or gross operating revenues. Exclude sales or
consumption taxes levied directly on the consumer and excise taxes levied directly on manufacturers,
wholesalers, and retailers. Include revenues generated during the year from the OPERATIONS of a discontinued
business segment, but exclude gains or losses from DISPOSALS of discontinued operations.
Holding Companies (ISI code 5512) should report total income on this line including income (loss) from equity
investments in unconsolidated U.S. affiliates and all foreign entities, certain gains (losses), other income, plus sales
and gross operating revenues, if any. Zero normally is NOT a correct entry for this line.

Bil.

2149

Amount
(1)
Mil. Thous. Dols.

1

$

000

BALANCE SHEET ITEMS
NOTE – Foreign operations in which you own an interest of 20 percent or more, including those in which you own a majority interest, are to
be unconsolidated. Include all unconsolidated foreign businesses in which you own a majority interest on the equity basis.
Close FY 2011
(1)
Mil. Thous. Dols.
Bil.
16.
17.

2109

1

2114

1

Total assets

$

Total liabilities

000

$

000

1 3

Please check box if total liabilities are zero.

Bil.
2159

18.

Net income (loss) – After provision for U.S. Federal, state, and local income taxes.

Amount
(1)
Mil. Thous. Dols.

1

$

000
Number

2700

19.

3

Number of employees at close of FY 2011 – Reporting employment (including how to report when employment is
subject to unusual variations) is discussed in instruction 19 on page 11.

Bil.
20.
21.

22.

2253

1

2397

1

2403

1

1299

1

Total employee compensation for FY 2011 – Employee compensation is defined in instruction 20 on page 11.

$

Gross book value (at historical cost) of all land and other property, plant, and equipment, at the close of the
fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2011.

$

Research and development (R&D) performed BY the U.S. affiliate – R&D is defined in instruction 22 on page 11.

$

Amount
(1)
Mil. Thous. Dols.
000

000

000

BEA USE ONLY
1200 1

2

3

4

5

1201 1

2

3

4

5

1202 1

2

3

4

5

1203 1

2

3

4

5

Page 6

FORM BE-15(EZ) (REV. 10/2011)

2011 ANNUAL SURVEY OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
BE-15(EZ) INSTRUCTIONS
NOTE: Instructions in section IV are cross referenced by number to the items located on pages 2 to 6 of this form.
Authority – This survey is being conducted pursuant to the International
Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (P.L. 94-472., 90 Stat. 2059,
22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended, hereinafter "the Act"), and the filing of
reports is MANDATORY pursuant to Section 5(b)(2) of the Act (22 U.S.C.
3104).
A response is required from persons (in the broad sense, including
companies) subject to the reporting requirements of the BE-15 survey,
whether or not they are contacted by BEA. Also, persons contacted by BEA
concerning their being subject to reporting, either by sending them a report
form or by written inquiry, must respond pursuant to section 806.4 of 15
CFR, Chapter VIII. This may be accomplished by completing and submitting
Form BE-15A, BE-15B, BE-15(EZ), or the BE-15 Claim For Exemption,
whichever is applicable, by May 31, 2012.
PENALTIES – Whoever fails to report shall be subject to a civil penalty of
not less than $2,500, and not more than $25,000, and to injunctive relief
commanding such person to comply, or both. These civil penalties are
subject to inflationary adjustments. Those adjustments are found in 15 CFR
6.4. Whoever willfully fails to report shall be fined not more than $10,000
and, if an individual, may be imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
Any officer, director, employee, or agent of any corporation who knowingly
participates in such violations, upon conviction, may be punished by a like
fine, imprisonment or both (22 U.S.C. 3105).
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is required to
respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply
with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid
OMB Control Number. The control number for this survey is at the top of
page 1 of this form.
Respondent Burden – Public reporting burden for this BE-15(EZ) form is
estimated to vary from 1 to 3 hours per response, with an average of 1.5
hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching
existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and
completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments
regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of
information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Director,
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BE-1), U.S. Department of Commerce,
Washington, DC 20230; and to the Office of Management and Budget,
Paperwork Reduction Project 0608-0034, Washington, DC 20503.
CONFIDENTIALITY – The Act provides that your report to this Bureau is
CONFIDENTIAL and may be used only for analytical or statistical purposes.
Without your prior written permission, the information filed in your report
CANNOT be presented in a manner that allows it to be individually identified.
Your report CANNOT be used for purposes of taxation, investigation, or
regulation. Copies retained in your files are immune from legal process.
I. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
To determine which BE-15 report form to file, read the following sections on
this page and review the flow chart on page 8.
A. Who must report – A BE-15 report is required for each U.S. affiliate,
i.e., for each U.S. business enterprise in which a foreign person or entity
owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, 10 percent or more of the voting
securities if an incorporated U.S. business enterprise, or an equivalent
interest if an unincorporated U.S. business enterprise, at the end of the
business enterprise’s fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2011.
Foreign ownership interest – All direct and indirect lines of
ownership held by a foreign person in a given U.S. business enterprise
must be summed to determine if the enterprise is a U.S. affiliate of the
foreign person for purposes of reporting.
Indirect ownership interest in a U.S. business enterprise is
the product of the direct ownership percentage of the foreign parent in the
first U.S. business enterprise in the ownership chain multiplied by that first
enterprise’s direct ownership percentage in the second U.S. business
enterprise multiplied by each succeeding direct ownership percentage of
each other intervening U.S. business enterprise in the ownership chain
between the foreign parent and the given U.S. business enterprise.

FORM BE-15(EZ) (REV. 10/2011)

Example: In the diagram below, foreign person A owns 100% of the
voting stock of U.S. affiliate B; U.S. affiliate B owns 50% of the voting stock
of U.S. affiliate C; and U.S. affiliate C owns 25% of the voting stock of U.S.
affiliate D. Therefore, U.S. affiliate B is 100% directly owned by foreign
person A; U.S. affiliate C is 50% indirectly owned by foreign person A; and
U.S. affiliate D is 12.5% indirectly owned by foreign person A.
Calculation of Foreign Ownership

Foreign
U.S.

Foreign person A
↓ 100%
U.S. affiliate B
100% directly owned
by foreign person A
↓ 50%
U.S. affiliate C
100% x 50% = 50% indirectly
owned by foreign person A
↓ 25%
U.S. affiliate D
100% x 50% x 25% = 12.5%
indirectly owned by foreign person A

NOTE: Arrows connecting boxes represent direction of ownership.
A report is required even though the foreign person’s voting interest in the
U.S. business enterprise may have been established or acquired during the
reporting period.
Beneficial, not record, ownership is the basis of the reporting criteria.
Voting securities, voting stock, and voting interest all have the same
general meaning and are used interchangeably throughout these
instructions and the report forms.
Airline and ship operators – U.S. stations, ticket offices, and terminal
and port facilities of foreign airlines and ship operators that provide services
ONLY to the foreign airlines’ and ship operators’ own operation are not
required to report. Reports are required when such enterprises produce
significant revenues from services provided to unaffiliated persons.
Agencies and representative offices – U.S. representative offices,
agents and employees of a foreign person or entity that meet the criteria
outlined below are not considered to be U.S. affiliates, and therefore, they
should not be reported on Forms BE-15A, BE-15B, or BE-15(EZ). However,
a foreign person’s or entity’s disbursements to maintain U.S. sales and
representative offices must be reported on Form BE-125, Quarterly Survey
of Transactions in Selected Services and Intangible Assets with Foreign
Persons. Copies of Form BE-125 are available on the BEA Web site at:
www.bea.gov/surveys/iussurv.htm
A U.S. presence of a foreign person or entity (or their representative(s))
is considered a U.S. sales promotion or representative office if:
1. It is engaged only in sales promotion, representational activities,
public relations activities, or the gathering of market information, on
behalf of the foreign person or entity;
2. It does not produce revenue (other than funds from the foreign person
or entity to cover its expenses); and
3. It has minimal assets held either in its own name or in the name of
the foreign person or entity.
A U.S. presence of a foreign person or entity (or their representative(s))
that produces revenue for its own account from goods or services it
provides to others is considered a U.S. affiliate and is subject to the BE-15
reporting requirements.

Page 7

I. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS – Continued
1. Which form to file – Please review the questions and the flow chart
below to determine if your U.S. business is required to file Form BE-15.
Blank forms can be found at: www.bea.gov/fdi
a. Were at least 10 percent of the voting rights in your business directly
or indirectly owned by a foreign person or entity at the end of your
fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2011?
Yes – Continue with question b. NOTE: Your business is
hereinafter referred to as a "U.S. affiliate."
No – You are not required to file Form BE-15(EZ).
File Form BE-15 Claim for Exemption by May 31, 2012.

Which 2011 BE-15 Form to File?
At least 10 percent voting interest directly
and/or indirectly owned by a foreign person?

Yes

No

More than 50 percent of the voting rights
owned by another U.S. affiliate at end of the
fiscal year ending in calendar year 2011?

b. Were more than 50 percent of the voting rights in this U.S. affiliate
owned by another U.S. affiliate at the end of this U.S. affiliate’s fiscal
year that ended in calendar year 2011?

File Form BE-15
Claim for Exemption

Yes

Yes – Continue with question c.
No – Skip to question d.

No

Do different foreign persons hold a direct and
indirect ownership interest in the U.S. affiliate
(exception c to the consolidation rules found in
instruction IV.2. on page 10)?

c. Do different foreign persons hold a direct and an indirect ownership
interest in this U.S. affiliate (exception c to the consolidation rules)?
(The consolidation rules are found in instruction IV.2. on page 10.)
Yes – Continue with question d.

Yes

No

No – This U.S. affiliate must be consolidated on the BE-15
report of the U.S. affiliate that owns it more than 50 percent.
File the BE-15 Claim for Exemption with page 1 and item 2(d)
on page 3 completed by May 31, 2012, forward this survey
packet to the U.S. affiliate that owns this affiliate more than 50
percent, and have them consolidate your data into their report.

This U.S. affiliate must be consolidated
on the BE-15 report of the U.S. affiliate
that owns it more than 50 percent. File
Form BE-15 Claim for Exemption.

d. Did any one of the items – Total assets, Sales or gross operating
revenues, or Net income (loss) – for the U.S. affiliate (not just the
foreign parent’s share) exceed $40 million at the end of, or for, its
fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2011?
Assets, sales, or net income (loss)
greater than $40 million?

Yes – Continue with question e.
No – You are not required to file a Form BE-15(EZ). File
Form BE-15 Claim for Exemption by May 31, 2012.
e. Did any one of the items – Total assets, Sales or gross operating
revenues, or Net income (loss) – for the U.S. affiliate (not just the
foreign parent’s share) exceed $120 million at the end of, or for, its
fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2011?

Yes

File Form BE-15 Claim
for Exemption

Yes – Skip to question h.
No – Continue with question f.

Assets, sales, or net income (loss)
greater than $120 million?

f. Did you file either a BE-12 or a BE-15 for a fiscal year that ended
BEFORE January 1, 2011?

Yes

Yes – Continue with question g.
No – File Form BE-15(EZ) by May 31, 2012.
g. Did you receive a request in writing from BEA to file a BE-15 for the
fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2011?

No

No

Majority-Owned directly and/or
indirectly by foreign parents?

Did you file either a BE-12 or a
BE-15 for a fiscal year that ended
BEFORE January 1, 2011?

Yes – File Form BE-15(EZ) by May 31, 2012.
Yes

No

Assets, sales, or
net income (loss)
greater than $275
million?

File Form
BE-15B

No – You are not required to file a BE-15 for your fiscal year that
ended in calendar year 2011. However, please inform BEA if your
affiliate name, address, or contact person has changed.
h. Was the U.S. affiliate majority-owned by its foreign parent(s) at
the end of its fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2011? (A U.S.
affiliate is "majority-owned" if the combined direct and indirect
ownership interests of all foreign parents of the U.S. affiliate exceed
50 percent.)
Yes – Continue with question i.
No – File Form BE-15B by May 31, 2012.
i. Did any one of the items – Total assets, Sales or gross operating
revenues, or Net income (loss) – for the U.S. affiliate (not just the
foreign parent’s share) exceed $275 million at the end of, or for, its
fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2011?

Yes
File Form
BE-15A

No
File Form
BE-15B

Yes

No

Did you receive a
request in writing
from BEA to file a
2011 BE-15?

Yes
File Form
BE-15(EZ)

File Form
BE-15(EZ)

No
You are not required to file a
BE-15 for your fiscal year that
ended in calendar year 2011.
However, please inform BEA if
your affiliate name, address, or
contact person has changed.

Yes – File Form BE-15A by May 31, 2012.
No – File Form BE-15B by May 31, 2012.

Page 8

FORM BE-15(EZ) (REV. 10/2011)

I. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS – Continued
2. Who must file Form BE-15(EZ) – 2011 Annual Survey of
Foreign Direct Investment in the United States?
Form BE-15(EZ) must be filed for a U.S. affiliate with total assets,
sales or gross operating revenues, or net income greater than $40
million (positive or negative) but not greater than $120 million (positive
or negative) if:
(a) the affiliate has NOT filed a BE-12 or BE-15 for a fiscal year that
ended BEFORE January 1, 2011; OR
(b) the affiliate has been instructed in writing by BEA to file a BE-15
for the fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2011.
B. Aggregation of real estate investments – Aggregate all real
estate investments of a foreign person for the purpose of applying the
reporting criteria. Use a single report form to report the aggregate
holdings, unless BEA has granted permission to do otherwise. Those
holdings not aggregated must be reported separately. Real estate is
discussed more fully in instruction V.B. starting on page 11.
C. Aggregated reporting for banks – All U.S. branches and agencies
(including International Banking Facilities) directly owned by a foreign
bank may be aggregated on a single BE-15. See example A.
(Note that subsequent filings of Form BE-605 quarterly reports with BEA,
if required, must be on the same aggregated basis.) If all U.S. branches
and agencies directly owned by a foreign bank are not aggregated on a
single report, then each branch or agency must file a separate BE-15.

Foreign

4. A corporation and its domestic subsidiaries.
E. Foreign person means any person resident outside the United States
or subject to the jurisdiction of a country other than the United States.
F. Direct investment means the ownership or control, directly or
indirectly, by one person of 10 percent or more of the voting securities of
an incorporated business enterprise or an equivalent interest in an
unincorporated business enterprise.
G. Foreign direct investment in the United States means the
ownership or control, directly or indirectly, by one foreign person of 10
percent or more of the voting securities of an incorporated U.S. business
enterprise or an equivalent interest in an unincorporated U.S. business
enterprise, including a branch.
H. Business enterprise means any organization, association, branch, or
venture which exists for profit making purposes or to otherwise secure
economic advantage, and any ownership of any real estate.
I. Branch means the operations or activities conducted by a person in a
different location in its own name rather than through an incorporated
entity.

Example A
Foreign Parent
Bank A

K. U.S. affiliate means an affiliate located in the United States in which
a foreign person has a direct investment.
1. Majority-owned U.S. affiliate means a U.S. affiliate in which the
combined direct and indirect voting interest of all foreign parents of
the U.S. affiliate exceeds 50 percent.

Miami
Branch
Los Angeles
Branch

New York City
Branch

Data for all three branches (Miami, Los Angeles, and New York City)
owned by Foreign Parent Bank A may be aggregated on a single BE-15.

Example B
Foreign Parent
Foreign
U.S. Bank B
Branch 1

Branch 3

Branch 2
Consolidate data for each branch (branch 1, branch 2, and branch
3) and U.S. Bank B on a single BE-15.

II. DEFINITIONS
A. United States, when used in a geographic sense, means the several
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and
all territories and possessions of the United States.
B. Foreign, when used in a geographic sense, means that which is
situated outside the United States or which belongs to or is
characteristic of a country other than the United States.
C. Person, means any individual, branch, partnership, association,
associated group, estate, trust, corporation, or other organization
(whether or not organized under the laws of any state), and any
government (including a foreign government, the U.S. Government, a
state or local government, and any agency, corporation, financial
institution, or other entity or instrumentality thereof, including a
government sponsored agency).
D. Associated group means two or more persons who, by the
appearance of their actions, by agreement, or by an understanding,
exercise their voting privileges in a concerted manner to influence the
management of a business enterprise. The following are deemed to be
associated groups:
1. Members of the same family.
FORM BE-15(EZ) (REV. 10/2011)

3. Members of a syndicate or joint venture.

J. Affiliate means a business enterprise located in one country which is
directly or indirectly owned or controlled by a person of another country
to the extent of 10 percent or more of its voting securities for an
incorporated business enterprise or an equivalent interest for an
unincorporated business enterprise, including a branch.

U.S.

U.S.

2. A business enterprise and one or more of its officers or directors.

2. Minority-owned U.S. affiliate means a U.S. affiliate in which the
combined direct and indirect voting interest of all foreign parents of
the U.S. affiliate is 50 percent or less.
L. Foreign parent means the foreign person, or the first person outside the United States in a foreign chain of ownership, which has direct
investment in a U.S. business enterprise, including a branch.
M. Foreign parent group means (i) the foreign parent, (ii) any foreign
person, proceeding up the foreign parent’s ownership chain, which
owns more than 50 percent of the person below it up to and including
that person which is not owned more than 50 percent by another
foreign person, and (iii) any foreign person, proceeding down the
ownership chain(s) of each of these members, which is owned more
than 50 percent by the person above it.
N. U.S. corporation means a business enterprise incorporated in the
United States.
O. Intermediary means any agent, nominee, manager, custodian, trust,
or any person acting in a similar capacity.
III. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
A. Required information not available – Make all reasonable efforts
to obtain the information required for reporting. Answer every question
except where specifically exempt. Indicate when only partial information
is available.
B. Estimates – If actual figures are not available, please provide
estimates and label them as such. When items cannot be fully subdivided
as required, provide totals and an estimated breakdown of the totals.
Information necessary to complete some of the items on Form BE-15(EZ)
may not be available from a company’s customary accounting records.
Precise answers for these items may present the respondent with a
substantial burden beyond what is intended by BEA. Therefore, the
answers may be reasonable estimates based upon the informed
judgement of persons in the responding organization, sampling
techniques, prorations based on related data, etc. However, the
estimating procedures used should be consistently applied on all BEA
surveys.
C. Space on form insufficient – When space on a form is insufficient
to permit a full answer to any item, provide the required information on
supplementary sheets, appropriately labeled and referenced to the item
number on the form.
Page 9

IV. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SPECIFIC SECTIONS
OF THE REPORT FORM
NOTE: Instructions in section IV. are cross referenced by number to the
items located on pages 2 to 6 of this form.
PART I – IDENTIFICATION OF U.S. AFFILIATE
2. Consolidation Rules
Consolidated reporting by the U.S. affiliate – A U.S. affiliate
must file on a fully consolidated domestic U.S. basis, including in the
full consolidation all U.S. business enterprises in which it directly
or indirectly owns more than 50 percent of the outstanding voting
interest. The fully consolidated entity is considered one U.S. affiliate.
A foreign person holding real estate investments that are reportable on
the BE-15 must aggregate all such holdings. See Instruction V.B.
starting on page 11 for details.
Do not prepare your BE-15 report using the proportionate consolidation
method. Except as noted in IV.2.b. and c. below, consolidate all
majority-owned U.S. affiliates into your BE-15 report.
Unless the exceptions discussed below apply, any deviation
from these consolidation rules must be approved in writing
each year by BEA. If you file deconsolidated reports, you must file the
same type of reports that would have been required if a consolidated
report was filed. Report majority-owned subsidiaries, if not consolidated,
on the BE-15(EZ) using the equity method of accounting. DO NOT
eliminate intercompany accounts (e.g., receivables or liabilities) for
affiliates not consolidated.
Exceptions to consolidated reporting – Note: If a U.S. affiliate is
not consolidated into its U.S. parent’s BE-15 report, then it must be
listed on the Supplement B of its parent’s BE-15 report (unless the report
is a BE-15(EZ) which does not have a Supplement B) and each U.S.
affiliate not consolidated must file its own Form BE-15.
a. DO NOT CONSOLIDATE FOREIGN SUBSIDIARIES,
BRANCHES, OPERATIONS, OR INVESTMENTS NO MATTER
WHAT THE PERCENTAGE OWNERSHIP. Include foreign
holdings owned 20 percent or more using either the equity method or
fair value accounting. DO NOT report employment, land, and
other property, plant, and equipment and DO NOT eliminate
intercompany accounts for holdings reported using the equity method
or fair value accounting.
b. Special consolidation rules apply to U.S. affiliates that are
limited partnerships or that have an ownership interest in
a U.S. limited partnership. These rules can be found on our web
site at: www.bea.gov/ltdpartner15
c. A U.S. affiliate in which a direct ownership interest and an indirect
ownership interest are held by different foreign persons should not
be fully consolidated into another U.S. affiliate, but must complete and
file its own BE-15 report. (See diagram below.)
Foreign person B

Foreign person A

Foreign
>

U.S.

100%

U.S. affiliate X

30%

>

>

60%

U.S. affiliate Y

U.S. affiliate Y may not be fully consolidated into U.S. affiliate X
because of the 30 percent direct ownership by foreign person B.

If this exception applies, reflect the indirect ownership interest, even if
more than 50 percent, on the owning U.S. affiliate’s BE-15 report on an
equity basis. For example, using the situation shown in the diagram
above, U.S. affiliate X must treat its 60 percent ownership interest in
U.S. affiliate Y as an equity investment.
4. Reporting period – The report covers the U.S. affiliate’s 2011 fiscal
year. The affiliate’s 2011 fiscal year is defined as the affiliate’s financial
reporting year that had an ending date in calendar year 2011.
Special Circumstances:
a. U.S. affiliates without a financial reporting year – If a U.S.
affiliate does not have a financial reporting year, its fiscal year is
deemed to be the same as calendar year 2011.
Page 10

b. Change in fiscal year
(1) New fiscal year ends in calendar year 2011 – A U.S.
affiliate that changed the ending date of its financial reporting year
should file a 2011 BE-15 report that covers the 12
month period prior to the new fiscal year end date. The
following example illustrates the reporting requirements.
Example 1: U.S. affiliate A had a June 30, 2010 fiscal year end
date but changed its 2011 fiscal year end date to
March 31. Affiliate A should file a 2011 BE-15 report covering the
12 month period from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011.
(2) No fiscal year ending in calendar year 2011 – If a
change in fiscal year results in a U.S. affiliate not having a fiscal
year that ended in calendar year 2011, the affiliate should file
a 2011 BE-15 report that covers 12 months. The
following example illustrates the reporting requirements.
Example 2: U.S. affiliate B had a December 31, 2010 fiscal
year end date but changed its next fiscal year end date to March
31. Instead of having a short fiscal year ending in 2011, affiliate B
decides to have a 15 month fiscal year running from January 1,
2011 to March 31, 2012. Affiliate B should file a 2011 BE-15
report covering a 12 month period ending in calendar year 2011,
such as the period from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011.
5. Reporting for a U.S. business that became a U.S. affiliate
during fiscal year 2011 —
a. A U.S. business enterprise that was newly established
in fiscal year 2011 should file a report for the period starting
with the establishment date up to and ending on the last day of its
fiscal year that ended in calendar year 2011. DO NOT estimate
amounts for a full year of operations if the first fiscal year is less
than 12 months.
b. A U.S. business enterprise existing before fiscal year
2011 that became a U.S. affiliate in fiscal year 2011
should file a report covering a full 12 months of operations.
6a. Voting interest and Equity interest
(1) Voting interest – is the percent of ownership in the voting
equity of the U.S. affiliate. Voting equity consists of ownership
interests that have a say in the management of the company.
Examples of voting equity include capital stock that has voting
rights, and a general partner’s interest in a partnership.
(2) Equity interest – is the percent of ownership in the total equity
(voting and nonvoting) of the U.S. affiliate. Nonvoting equity
consists of ownership interests that do not have a say in the
management of the company. An example of nonvoting equity is
preferred stock that has no voting rights.
Voting interest and equity interest are not always
equal. For example, an owner can have a 100 percent voting
interest in a U.S. affiliate but own less than 100 percent of the
affiliate’s total equity. This situation is illustrated in the following
example.
Example: U.S. affiliate A has two classes of stock, common and
preferred. There are 50 shares of common stock outstanding.
Each common share is entitled to one vote and has an ownership
interest in 1 percent of the total owners’ equity amount. There are
50 shares of preferred stock outstanding. Each preferred share
has an ownership interest in 1 percent of the total owners’ equity
amount but has no voting rights. Foreign parent B owns all 50
shares of the common stock. U.S. investors own all 50 shares of
the preferred stock. Because foreign parent B owns all of the
voting stock, foreign parent B has a 100 percent voting interest in
U.S. affiliate A. However, because all 50 of the nonvoting
preferred shares are owned by U.S. investors, foreign parent B
has only a 50 percent interest in the owners’ equity amount of
U.S. affiliate A.
6b. Determining place of residence and country of jurisdiction
of individuals – An individual is considered a resident of, and subject
to the jurisdiction of, the country in which he or she is physically located.
The following guidelines apply to individuals who do not reside in their
country of citizenship.
(1) Individuals who reside, or expect to reside, outside their country of
citizenship for less than one year are considered to be residents of
their country of citizenship.
FORM BE-15(EZ) (REV. 10/2011)

IV – INSTRUCTIONS FOR SPECIFIC SECTIONS
OF THE REPORT FORM – Continued
(2) Individuals who reside, or expect to reside, outside their country of
citizenship for one year or more are considered to be residents of
the country in which they are residing, except as provided in
paragraphs (3) and (4) below.
(3) If an owner or employee of a business enterprise resides outside the
country of location of the enterprise for one year or more for the
purpose of furthering the business of the enterprise, and the country
of the business enterprise is the country of citizenship of the owner
or employee, then the owner or employee is considered a resident
of the country of citizenship, provided there is the intent to return to
the country of citizenship within a reasonable period of time.
(4) Individuals and members of their immediate family who are residing
outside their country of citizenship as a result of employment by the
government of that country - diplomats, consular officials, members
of the armed forces, etc. - are considered to be residents of their
country of citizenship.
PART II – SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA
OF U.S. AFFILIATE
19. Number of employees at close of FY 2011 – Employment is the
number of full-time and part-time employees on the payroll at the end
of FY 2011, excluding contract workers and other workers not carried
on the payroll of the U.S. affiliate. A count taken during, rather than at
the end of, FY 2011 may be used provided it is a reasonable estimate
for the end of FY 2011 number. If employment at the end of FY 2011,
or the count taken at some other time during FY 2011, was unusually
high or low because of temporary factors (e.g., a strike), give the
number of employees that reflects normal operations. If the business
enterprise’s activity involves large seasonal variations, give the average
number of employees for FY 2011. If given, the average should be the
average for FY 2011 of the number of persons on the payroll at the end
of each payroll period, month, or quarter. If precise figures are not
available, give your best estimate.
20. Total employee compensation – Base compensation on payroll
records. Employee compensation must cover compensation charged
as an expense on the income statement, charged to inventories, or
capitalized during the reporting period. Exclude employee
compensation related to activities of a prior period, such as
compensation capitalized or charged to inventories in prior periods.
Employee compensation consists of:
a. Wages and salaries – are the gross earnings of all employees
before deduction of employees’ payroll withholding taxes, social
insurance contributions, group insurance premiums, union dues, etc.
Include time and piece rate payments, cost of living adjustments,
overtime pay and shift differentials, bonuses, profit sharing amounts,
and commissions. Exclude commissions paid to persons who are not
employees.
b. Employee benefit plans – are employer expenditures for all
employee benefit plans, including those required by government
statute, those resulting from a collective-bargaining contract, or those
that are voluntary. Employee benefit plans include Social Security
and other retirement plans, life and disability insurance, guaranteed
sick pay programs, workers’ compensation insurance, medical
insurance, family allowances, unemployment insurance, severance
pay funds, etc. If plans are financed jointly by the employer and the
employee, include only the contributions of the employer.
22. Research and development (R&D) performed BY the U.S.
affiliate – Report all research and development (R&D) performed BY
the U.S. affiliate for its own account or for others, including the foreign
parent group and affiliates owned by the U.S. affiliate. Include all costs
incurred in performing R&D, including depreciation, amortization,
wages and salaries, taxes, materials and supplies, allocated overhead,
and indirect costs. Exclude the cost of all R&D funded by the U.S.
affiliate but performed by others.
R&D includes activities carried on by persons trained, either formally or
by experience, in engineering, the physical sciences such as chemistry
and physics, the biological sciences such as medicine, the mathematical
and statistical sciences, and computer science. R&D includes these
activities if the purpose is to do one or more of the following:
a. The planned, systematic pursuit of new knowledge or understanding
toward general application (basic research);

FORM BE-15(EZ) (REV. 10/2011)

b. The acquisition of knowledge or understanding to meet a specific,
recognized need (applied research); or
c. The application of knowledge or understanding toward the
production or improvement of a product, service, process, or
method (development).
R&D includes the activities described above whether assigned to
separate R&D organizational units of the company or carried out by
company laboratories and technical groups not a part of an R&D
organization.

V. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
A. Insurance companies – Reporting should be in accordance with
U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles not Statutory Accounting
Practices (SAP). For example, the BE-15 report should include the
following assets even though they are not acceptable under SAP:
1. non-trusteed or free account assets, and 2. nonadmitted assets such
as furniture and equipment, agents’ debit balances, and all receivables
deemed to be collectible.
B. Real Estate – The ownership of real estate is defined to be a business
enterprise, and if the real estate is foreign owned, it is a U.S. affiliate of
a foreign person. A BE-15 report is required unless the enterprise is
otherwise exempt.
Residential real estate held exclusively for personal use and not for
profit making purposes is not subject to the reporting requirements. A
residence that is an owner’s primary residence that is then leased by the
owner while outside the United States, but which the owner intends to
reoccupy, is considered real estate held for personal use and therefore
not subject to the reporting requirements. Ownership of U.S. residential
real estate by a corporation whose sole purpose is to hold the real
estate for the personal use of the owner(s) of the corporation is
considered to be real estate held for personal use and therefore not
subject to the reporting requirements.
Aggregation of real estate investments – A foreign person
holding real estate investments that are reportable on the BE-15 must
aggregate all such holdings for the purpose of applying the reporting criteria.
If the aggregate of such holdings exceeds one or more of the exemption
levels, then the holdings must be reported even if individually they would be
exempt. In such a case, file a single Form BE-15(EZ) to report the
aggregated holdings. If permission has been received in writing from BEA to
file on an non-aggregated basis, the reports should be filed as a group and
you should inform BEA that they are all for one owner.
On page 1, name and address of U.S. business enterprise, BEA is not
seeking a legal description of the property, nor necessarily the address of
the property itself. Because there may be no operating business enterprise
for a real estate investment, what BEA seeks is a consistently identifiable
name for the investment (i.e., the U.S. affiliate) together with an address to
which report forms can be mailed so that the investment (affiliate) can be
reported on a consistent basis for each reporting period and for the various
BEA surveys.
Thus, on page 1 of the BE-15 survey forms the "name and address" of
the U.S. affiliate might be:
XYZ Corp. N.V., Real Estate Investments
c/o B&K Inc., Accountants
120 Major Street
Miami, FL XXXXX
If the investment property has a name, such as Sunrise Apartments, the
name and address on page 1 of the BE-15 survey forms might be:
Sunrise Apartments
c/o ABC Real Estate
120 Major Street
Miami, FL XXXXX
There are questions throughout the Form BE-15(EZ) that may not be
applicable to certain types of real estate investments, such as the
employer identification number and the number of employees. In such
cases, mark the items "none".
Joint ventures and partnerships – If a foreign person has a direct or
indirect voting ownership interest of 10 percent or more in a joint venture,
partnership, etc., that is formed to own and hold, develop, or operate real
estate, the joint venture, partnership, etc., in its entirety, not just the foreign
person’s share, is a U.S. affiliate and must be reported as follows:

Page 11

V. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS – Continued
1. If the foreign interest in the U.S. affiliate is directly held by the foreign
person then a BE-15 report must be filed by the affiliate (subject to
the aggregation rules discussed above).
2. If a voting interest of more than 50 percent in the U.S. affiliate is
owned by another U.S. affiliate, the owned affiliate must be fully
consolidated in the BE-15 report of the owning affiliate.
3. If a voting interest of 50 percent or less in the U.S. affiliate is owned
by another U.S. affiliate, and no U.S. affiliate owns a voting interest
of more than 50 percent, then a separate BE-15 report must be filed
by the owned affiliate. The BE-15 report(s) of the owning affiliate(s)
must show an equity investment in the owned affiliate.
C. Farms – For farms that are not operated by their foreign owners, the
income statement and related items should be prepared based on the
extent to which the income from the farm accrues to, and the expenses
of the farm are borne by, the owner. Generally this means that income,
expenses, and gain (loss) assignable to the owner should reflect the
extent to which the risk of the operation falls on the owner. For example,
even though the operator and other workers on the farm are hired by a
management firm, if their wages and salaries are assigned to, and borne
by, the farm operation being reported, then the operator and other
workers should be reported as employees of that farm operation and the
wages and salaries should be treated as an expense.
D. Estates, trusts, and intermediaries
A FOREIGN ESTATE is a person and therefore may have direct
investment, and the estate, not the beneficiary, is considered to be the
owner.
A TRUST is a person but it is not a business enterprise. The trust is
considered to be the same as an intermediary, and reporting should be
as outlined below. For reporting purposes, the beneficiary(ies) of the
trust, is (are) considered to be the owner(s) for purposes of determining
the existence of direct investment, except in two cases: (1) if there is,
or may be, a reversionary interest, and (2) if a corporation or other
organization creates a trust, designating its shareholders or members
as beneficiaries. In these two cases, the creator(s) of the trust is (are)
deemed to be the owner(s) of the investments of the trust (or
succeeding trusts where the presently existing trust had evolved out of
a prior trust), for the purposes of determining the existence and
reporting of direct investment.
This procedure is adopted in order to fulfill the statistical purposes of this
survey and does not imply that control over an enterprise owned or
controlled by a trust is, or can be, exercised by the beneficiary(ies) or
creator(s).
FOR AN INTERMEDIARY:
1. If a U.S. intermediary holds, exercises, administers, or manages a
particular foreign direct investment in the United States for the
beneficial owner, such intermediary is responsible for reporting the
required information for, and in the name of, the U.S. affiliate.
Alternatively, the U.S. intermediary can instruct the U.S. affiliate to
submit the required information. Upon so doing, the intermediary is
released from further liability to report, provided it has informed BEA
of the date such instructions were given and provides BEA the name
and address of the U.S. affiliate, and has supplied the U.S. affiliate
with any information in the possession of, or which can be secured
by, the intermediary that is necessary to permit the U.S. affiliate to
complete the required reports.

Page 12

When acting in the capacity of an intermediary, the accounts or
transactions of the U.S. intermediary with a foreign beneficial owner
are considered as accounts or transactions of the U.S. affiliate with
the foreign beneficial owner. To the extent such transactions or
accounts are unavailable to the U.S. affiliate, BEA may require the
intermediary to report them.
2. If a foreign beneficial owner holds a U.S. affiliate through a foreign
intermediary, the U.S. affiliate may report the intermediary as its
foreign parent but, when requested, must also identify and furnish
information concerning the foreign beneficial owner. Accounts or
transactions of the U.S. affiliate with the foreign intermediary are
considered as accounts or transactions of the U.S. affiliate with the
foreign beneficial owner.

VI. FILING THE BE-15
A. Due date – File a fully completed and certified Form BE-15(EZ) no
later than May 31, 2012. If the U.S. affiliate is exempt from filing Form
BE-15(EZ) based on the criteria in instruction I starting on page 7,
complete and file the BE-15 Claim for Exemption by May 31, 2012.
B. Mailing report forms to a foreign address – BEA will
accommodate foreign owners that wish to have forms sent directly to
them. However, the extra time consumed in mailing to and from a
foreign place may make meeting filing deadlines difficult. In such cases,
please consider using BEA’s electronic filing option. Go to our web site
at www.bea.gov/efile for details about this option. To obtain forms
online go to: www.bea.gov/fdi
C. Extensions – For the efficient processing of the survey and timely
dissemination of the results, it is important that your report be filed by
the due date. Nevertheless, reasonable requests for extension of the
filing deadline will be granted. Requests for extensions of more than 30
days MUST be in writing and should explain the basis for the
request. You may request an extension via email at
be12/15@bea.gov. For extension requests of 30 days or less, you
may call BEA at (202) 606-5577. All requests for extensions must be
received NO LATER THAN the due date of the report.
D. Assistance – For assistance, telephone (202) 606-5577 or send email
to be12/15@bea.gov. Forms can be obtained from BEA’s web site
at: www.bea.gov/fdi
E. Annual stockholders’ report or other financial statements –
Please furnish a copy of your FY 2011 annual stockholders’ report or
Form 10K when filing the BE-15 report. If you do not publish an annual
stockholders’ report or file Form 10K, please provide any financial
statements that may be prepared, including the accompanying notes.
Information contained in these statements is useful in reviewing your
report and may reduce the need for further contact. Section 5(c) of the
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act, Public Law
94-472, 90 Stat. 2059, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended, provides that
this information can be used for analytical and statistical purposes only
and that it must be held strictly confidential.
F. Number of copies – File a single original copy of the form. If you are
not filing electronically, this should be the copy with the address label on
page 1, if such a labeled copy has been provided by BEA. (Make
corrections to the address on the label, if necessary.) You should also
retain a file copy of each report for three years to facilitate resolution of
any questions that BEA may have concerning your report. (Both copies
are protected by law; see the statement on confidentiality on page 7.)

FORM BE-15(EZ) (REV. 10/2011)