Pencils up: BEA survey reporting deadline looms

Earlier this month, chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee Fred Upton (R-Mich) along with six other members of Congress, sent a bipartisan letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker outlining concerns about the BE-10 Benchmark Survey and reporting requirements placed on private funds. Despite concerns by private funds and members of Congress, GPs must plan to file their BE-10 forms by the extended deadline of August 31.

For the uninitiated: All GPs who own foreign entities are required to file, but filers submitting more than 100 forms may submit a request by June 30 in order to extend the deadline to August 31. And unlike the last BE-10 survey conducted in 2009, all US private funds that owned, directly or indirectly, 10 percent or more of the “voting stock” of a non-US entity (including real estate investments) during the 2014 fiscal year must participate in the 2014 Benchmark regardless of whether or not they were notified by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

The BE-10 Survey, particularly completion of Form BE-10A, has been problematic for GPs who typically do not report consolidated financial or operating information about their portfolio companies. However, the BEA has confirmed that any US private equity firm with direct or indirect control of at least 10 percent of any foreign affiliate during the 2014 fiscal year is required to complete the survey. The original May 29 deadline was extended to the August 31 deadline for Forms BE-10A, B, C and D.

 On July 16, the Association for Corporate Growth held an informative webinar with BEA staff specifically focused on the application of the BE-10 Survey to advisers of private funds. The webinar explained filing requirements, offered tips and addressed questions on how best to complete the survey. The playback for the webinar can be found here.

 While the BEA continues to work with private funds and other entities, persistent failure to file may ultimately result in civil and criminal penalties. The BEA may pursue civil penalties of up to $25,000 and seek injunctive relief, and willful violations may result in criminal penalties of up to $10,000 and imprisonment for up to one year.

Private funds should also be aware of a number of other surveys that could impact them, including the BE-180 Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between US Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons due October 1, 2015, according to BEA staff. 

Amber Landis is senior director of public policy at the Association for Corporate Growth, an advocacy group for mid-market companies and professionals.