The Future is DECCS

The folks at DDTC are beginning a slow roll out of their new electronic interface, DECCS, starting next week. DECCS, which stands for the Defense Export Control and Compliance System, is DDTC’s new modernized IT system. It is intended to eventually replace the current D-Trade, the Electronic Filing System (EFS), MARY and ELLIE systems. The first phase of the DECCS rollout will focus on the new Commodity Jurisdiction (CJ) application.

DDTC recently hosted a webinar (available here) to get people up to speed on the process including a demo of the process to submit a CJ. Some new features include web-based applications instead of the prior Adobe PDF forms, the ability to save works in progress, the use of a digital signature instead of ink, and prompts to upload specific documents necessary to include with the specific form. Further, accessibility of the application will no longer be limited to a particular web browser as Chrome, Firefox, and Safari will all be available. Although DECCS will be the method used to submit CJ requests going forward, ELISA will still be available for users to track the status of requests. Determinations from DDTC will continue to be mailed although the notification process will be automated in a later version.

As you can imagine, new features and kinks will be worked out in subsequent releases. The vision for the system is to provide a better user experience with a one stop shop featuring a content rich home page, updates, history and copy in-progress or completed submissions. The end goal is for all activities associated with ITAR registration, commodity jurisdiction, and licensing to occur through DECCS. As of Wednesday, November 16 at 5:00 pm, DDTC will no longer accept CJ applications through the EFS system and will go dark until DECCS  goes live on Monday, November 21.