On January 15, 2025, the Department of Commerce’s inflation-adjusted civil monetary penalties for 2025 went into effect. The adjustments, which the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) published in the Federal Register on December 30, 2024, update the penalty rates for violations of laws and regulations enforced by the agency and its bureaus.
While over 40 civil monetary penalty levels have been adjusted, the following are highlighted because of their central importance to trade compliance:
- False Claims Act violation: minimum penalty increased to $14,308, and the maximum penalty increased to $28,619.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis:
- International Investment and Trade in Services Act; failure to furnish information: minimum penalty increased to $5,911, and the maximum penalty increased to $59,114.
- Bureau of Industry and Security:
- International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA): maximum penalty increased to $377,700.
- Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA): maximum penalty increased to $374,474.
- Census Bureau:
- Collection of Foreign Trade Statistics maximum daily delinquency to report penalty increased to $1,740, and the maximum penalty per violation increased to $17,412.
- International Trade Administration:
- Foreign Trade Zone: maximum penalty increased to $3,650.