The regulations provide a short-form declaration as an alternative to CFIUS’s traditional voluntary notice. Declarations allow parties to submit basic information regarding a transaction that should generally not exceed five pages in length. Parties use the CMS to file declarations with the Department of the Treasury. In certain circumstances filing a declaration for a transaction is mandatory.
In particular, the regulations implement FIRRMA’s requirement that certain covered transactions where a foreign government is acquiring a “substantial interest” in specified types of U.S. businesses are subject to a mandatory declaration. Additionally, the regulations require the filing of a declaration for covered transactions involving certain U.S. businesses that produce, design, test, manufacture, fabricate, or develop one or more critical technologies. Parties may choose to file a notice instead of a declaration.