BIS 50% Rule

Complying with the BIS 50% Rule

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) rule automatically extends trade restrictions to any company that is 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, by any organization on the BIS Entity List, regardless of whether the subsidiary, joint venture, or related company is explicitly named.

The BIS 50% Rule aims to close loopholes that have allowed restricted entities to circumvent controls through majority-owned subsidiaries.

Effectively meet BIS 50 requirements

Descartes Visual Compliance™ offers advanced screening solutions designed to address the complexities introduced by the BIS 50% Rule, including comprehensive ownership screening, real-time list updates, and automated compliance workflows.

How we can benefit you

The most reliable way of complying with the BIS 50% Rule

  • Comprehensive Ownership Screening
    Identify and assess entities with complex ownership structures that may be subject to the BIS 50% Rule restrictions.  
  • Real-Time List UpdatesStay informed with the latest changes to the BIS Entity List and related regulations.  
  • Automated Compliance WorkflowIntegrate compliance checks seamlessly into your existing processes to ensure efficiency and accuracy. 
  • Great Customer Support – Always Here to HelpFrom addressing customer issues to meeting new government trade compliance initiatives, we provide extensive training, technical support, and regulatory-related product updates. (See also the positive reviews customers give us).

Solving compliance challenges

Bolstering organizations’ compliance workflows

Testimonial image - Erick Wallace

The initial feedback from the employees was, ‘this is awesome. This is a huge improvement, we love it.’ … Descartes Visual Compliance™ has managed to save us nearly 28,000 man-hours per year, and reduce our compliance risk exposure.

Erick Wallace, Corporate Export Compliance Manager
Testimonial image - Céline Emmenegger

Due to the rising importance of compliance in our sector, we needed an automated screening solution that is efficient and highly reliable. Implementing the Descartes solution has resulted in a more systematic and efficient screening practice, which has significantly reduced costs and risks for the company and its clients.

Céline Emmenegger, Compliance Officer at IFCHOR
Testimonial image - Peter Loftspring

Embedding Descartes Visual Compliance into our internally-developed systems and leveraging its automated screening capability has helped us to keep pace with the growing number of contracts that we manage. The technology increases capacity in the compliance team to focus on more strategic activities, such as training and internal stakeholder engagement.

Peter Loftspring, Black & Veatch’s Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Manager
Testimonial image - Limor Fried

You can’t grow your business if you keep doing manual screening. Descartes Visual Compliance was very easy to integrate into our existing ERP and sales platform. Now we have an automated way to check every order as it comes in. There’s no manual screening and we only have to go in to check when there is a flag.

Limor Fried, Founder & Lead Engineer Adafruit Industries
Testimonial image - Amy Chen

By automating screening of our trade partner database against denied party lists and determining appropriate export license requirements, Argosy has realized a 75% productivity gain in our compliance practice. Descartes Visual Compliance has allowed us to focus more resources on international growth, better mitigate risk and ensure we achieve 100% trade compliance rates.

Amy Chen, Quality and Compliance Manager at Argosy International Inc.

Solution Highlights

Detailed BIS 50 results

Receive information-rich results, including pertinent details on ownership percentage by sanctioned entities

  • Screen clients, customers, and third parties
  • Easily check percentages of ownership
  • Reveal true ownership
  • Demonstrate BIS 50 due diligence

Easy-to-interpret results

Conveniently investigate potential matches in the same interface that your other screening results appear

  • Single interface
  • Familiar results screen
  • Increased productivity
  • Strengthened compliance

Built-in recordkeeping / audit trail

Benefit from a full range of audit recording and due diligence systems that automatically records BIS 50 screening details

  • Automatically record screening details
  • Easily demonstrate compliance due diligence
  • For internal and official use
  • Single source of truth

Effective risk mitigation

Reduce the risk of doing business with sanctioned entities

  • Reveal complex ownership structures
  • Gain visibility into entities in over 100 jurisdictions
  • Enhance compliance with real-time list updates
  • Leverage automated compliance workflows

Related Solutions

Streamline your compliance journey

Denied Party Screening

Comply with international trade regulations and avoid dealing with unauthorized parties.

Export Classification

Facilitate fast and accurate export classification decisions.

Export Automation

Streamline your export documentation, compliance, and licensing processes.

Take the next step in your compliance journey and experience global trade securely and successfully

Call toll-free 1-877-328-7866 (Intl: 716-881-2590) and talk to one of our compliance consultants.