Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) For Use by Contractors
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Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) For Use by Contractors
Q: Does each contract personnel need their own DSP-73?
A: No. Your company may obtain a DSP-73 for all the defense articles required by your personnel (that they will carry with them). The DSP-73 may request enough of each piece of equipment so as to allow for changes in manpower on short notice. A single DSP-73 can cover multiple personnel.
Subcategory: Government Furnished Equipment
Q: Do the personnel have to export every defense article identified on the DSP-73?
A: No. A single DSP-73 may be used to cover the equipment needs for a variety of missions and contract requirements. Some personnel may have different equipment requirements, and your DSP-73 may include equipment needed for all of your missions, but not necessarily carried by all personnel. Again, these DSP-73s are for personnel equipment necessary for the mission; large platforms, end items, and vehicles are not covered under this policy. For any specific questions, please ask DDTC prior to submitting a DSP-73 under this policy.
Subcategory: Government Furnished Equipment
Q: Can I have multiple locations identified on each DSP-73?
A: Yes. Please identify all the locations that the defense articles may transit or will be temporarily exported to. It is requested that you limit the end user countries that the defense articles will be used in to those on your contract. If you are providing services for a contract that spans both Iraq and Afghanistan, you may include both of them on your DSP-73. If you have one contract for Afghanistan, one contract for Iraq, and one contract for services in a third country; it is requested that you obtain 3 separate licenses.
Subcategory: Government Furnished Equipment
Q: Does this policy include more than personal protective equipment?
A: Yes. This policy was initially intended to alleviate the export of chemical detection kits and chemical detection paper, which are not eligible for the exemption. However it was decided that it should not be limited to any particular list. The policy is limited to government furnished equipment to be carried in the personal baggage of contractors to and from an area of operation. The equipment requirements may change based on the mission and location, however as long as all equipment is eligible and identified on the license, this policy will apply.
Subcategory: Government Furnished Equipment
Q: What if my DSP-73 expires during the contractor deployment?
A: Please apply for a replacement DSP-73 in a timely enough fashion to allow for the deployed personnel to fall under a new authorization prior to their re-deployment. Your company will be required to track and update the approved license to identify the amount of equipment exported and available when a license is expiring and to be replaced by a new one.
Subcategory: Government Furnished Equipment
Q: What if our DSP-73 is currently exhausted, can we amend it to allow for additional quantities to meet mission staffing needs?
A: No. DSP-73s may not be amended to increase quantities authorized for export. It is recommended that you project some increase in quantity requirements in your license requests. If your company anticipates additional staffing or contracts to be awarded you should apply for additional DSP-73s or you must return equipment to the United States (or transfer equipment to another company, see FAQ #7).
Subcategory: Government Furnished Equipment
Q: What if our deployed personnel change companies while deployed and never return to the U.S. with their equipment prior to the contract change, yet are still in the same country and have the same equipment needs?
A: Please upload information to the license that indicates that such a change has happened. You may consider the equipment to be returned under your original DSP-73 however any company hiring personnel under such a process must have available space and identify a DSP-73 under which the new hire will be authorized. The goal is to allow for facilitation of government contracts; however oversight and tracking will be required by companies of all of their personnel and their exported equipment. DDTC understands that in certain circumstances personnel may change DSP-73s and employers, and never change jobs or locations. These changes should be well documented and explained in any approved DSP-73 when applicable.
Subcategory: Government Furnished Equipment
Q: What if the personnel deploy on a military aircraft yet return to the U.S. on a commercial airline?
A: This policy is meant to allow for a variety of arrivals and departures of the defense articles authorized under the DSP-73. No license will need to be decremented under this policy and as long as your personnel have in their possession the DSP-73 and the hand receipt for the equipment they are responsible for, the delays in clearing Customs should be minimal.
Subcategory: Government Furnished Equipment
Q: What if our personnel return to the U.S. without their equipment and never return to the area of operation, in essence we now have extra hand carried equipment overseas?
A: You will need to speak with the Central Issuance Facility that issued the equipment. The Department of State has no objection if additional personnel employed by your company return the equipment. Please provide the personnel carrying the extra equipment a letter to be shown to CBP that will augment the DSP-73 and hand receipt, and provide further explanation as to why an individual has more than their own equipment.
Subcategory: Government Furnished Equipment
Q: Can our personnel return additional items not authorized on the DSP-73 covered by this policy, but authorized under separate DSP-73 not subject to this policy?
A: This policy is intended to facilitate the transit of individuals carrying GFE defense articles on their person (or in personal baggage) in furtherance of a U.S. government contract overseas. All return of temporarily exported defense articles will be subject to their original export authorization and subject to all other ITAR regulatory requirements. This is to prevent the return of additional defense articles not covered by a DSP-73 subject to this policy by personnel attempting to use the policy as a way to import items that are not authorized. If your personnel deploy with an M-4 rifle on a DSP-73 and a hand receipt, they must return with that rifle, they cannot return with an M-16 rifle and that was not previously authorized. CBP (if present) will check carried equipment against the DSP-73 and the hand receipt. Any anomalies will require further screening and delay.
Subcategory: Government Furnished Equipment
Q: Does this policy apply to defense articles owned by our company and issued to deploying personnel?
A: No. This policy only applies to government furnished equipment. All non-GFE defense articles will be subject to standard licensing procedures.
Subcategory: Government Furnished Equipment
Q: We had contractors deploy under an exemption that they may not have been eligible for or deployed without any approved license. What should we do?
A: This policy is retroactive to August 1, 2012. All personnel deployed since that date that exported government furnished defense articles may be included under a DSP-73 applied for under this policy. Your company must account for all equipment currently exported and ascertain when the original export happened. If eligible for this policy, you must upload documentation once the DSP-73 is approved indicating that you have decremented you license for the previously exported defense articles. Please provide personnel who deployed without a license and hand receipt a copy of the DSP-73 that they now fall under and work with the Central Issuance Facility to obtain a copy of their hand receipt. Any personnel still deployed who left prior to August 1, 2012 will have their name and company annotated along with the equipment in their possession. This information will be sent from CBP to DDTC for review, however, barring any additional irregularities, these individuals and their equipment should be able to proceed to the issuance facility for turn in. Any individuals who deployed prior to this date and who return on non-military aircraft or non-military chartered aircraft are likely to receive the most scrutiny and delay in processing at the port of entry.
Any personnel who have deployed and are covered under an authorized license or properly filed exemption may return under such authorization. It is recommended that you provide those personnel a letter and guidance for them to relay to CBP upon arrival explaining their original export authority. Delays in processing may occur when a returning chartered aircraft has the majority of personnel who have the requirements of this policy while a few on those flights have no records or knowledge or ITNs or license numbers, yet may have properly exported originally. Communication to your personnel on documentation or export/import requirements will go a long way to improving the entry and exit process for these personnel.
Subcategory: Government Furnished Equipment