EXTRANCHECK: POST-SHIPMENT VERIFICATION: SARTORIUS INDIA

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 000951 SIPDIS SIPDIS USDOC FOR 532/OEA/M. NICKSON-D/J. HATFIELD USDOC FOR 3131/USFCS/OIO/ANESA/KREISSL USDOC FOR 4530/MAC/ANESA/OSA ICE HQ FOR STRATEGIC INVESTIGATIONS STATE FOR EB/ESP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC ETRD BEXP IN SUBJECT: EXTRANCHECK: POST-SHIPMENT VERIFICATION: SARTORIUS INDIA PVT. LTD., BANGALORE REF: USDOC 00260 ¶1. Unauthorized disclosure of the information provided below is prohibited by Section 12(c) of the Export Administration Act. ¶2. Acting Export Control Officer (ECO) David Nardella and BIS FSN Prem Narayan conducted a Post-shipment Verification (PSV) at Sartorius India Pvt. Ltd. (Sartorius),Bangalore, on January 23, ¶2007. ¶3. BIS requested a PSV at Sartorius, a private sector company, located at: #10, 3rd Phase Peenya, 6th Main, KIADB Industrial Area, Bangalore 560058, Tel: 91-80-2837-7728, Fax: 91-80-4117-1840, Email: amit.chatterjee@sartorius.com, Website: www.sartorius.com. The PSV was requested under EAR99/NLR. Sartorius was listed as Ultimate Consignee for one transaction for a welding machinery and apparatus. The exporter was Miller Electronic Manufacturing Co. (Miller), Appleton, WI. ¶4. ECO along with FSN Narayan met with Amit Chatterjee (Chatterjee), Managing Director, Biju Joseph (Joseph),Vice President-Manufacturing and N. Ramesh (Ramesh),Assistant Manager-Materials, Sartorius. ¶5. BIS requested seven (7) PSVs to be conducted at Sartorius for different commodities imported from seven different U.S. firms, including its U.S. affiliation Sartorius North America. Chatterjee and his colleagues were not aware of the BIS regulations. This was the first official visit by a USG or BIS official to Sartorius. Chatterjee stated that they regularly import products from U.S. companies. He stated that in the absence of the U.S. exporters' invoice numbers or relevant transaction papers, it will be difficult to locate the relevant transaction documentation. BIS team did not possess invoices for any of the 7 requested PSVs. ¶6. ECO then advised Chatterjee that BIS, through its headquarters, will obtain the copies of invoices and forward to Sartorius. ECO asked Chatterjee if he would permit the PSV to commence, once all associated invoices are obtained and provided to him. Chatterjee reluctantly replied that he believed the checks would be allowed, but added he would need to inquire with the parent company, to determine if there are corporate legal concerns associated with the PSVs. ¶7. He asked the BIS Team to first obtain, and forward to him the transaction invoices. He would then seek approval from his parent company in Germany, for the PSVs to commence. Chatterjee noted that the subject equipment might not be at their facility because much of what Sartorius purchases is integrated into custom products sold to customers. He stated that the welding machines obtained from Miller, were located at their facility and could be inspected on that date. ¶8. The BIS Team was shown two Miller Co., welding machines, and the serial numbers were identified and written into the BIS Team's notes. The first welding machine was installed but not operational. The second machine was actually seen being used by Sartorius employees. The actual invoice relating to this transaction was received from BIS HQ on January 29, 2007. Upon comparing the serial number listed on that invoice, with the two serial numbers in the BIS Team's notes from the PSV visit, it was determined that the Miller Co., welding machine which was seen in operation at Sartorius on January 23, 2007, was in fact the subject welding machine. ¶9. Sartorius was established in 1992, is a fully owned subsidiary of Sartorius AG based in Goettingen, Germany. According to company brochure Sartorius is one of the leading laboratory and process technology providers covering the segments of biotechnology and mechatronics. For biotechnology industry Sartorius manufactures membrane filters, syringe filters, vacuum filtration units, pressure filtration units and venting units. In mechatronics it manufactures analytical balances, precision balances, micro and ultra micro-balances, moisture analysis equipment, and electrochemical analysis equipment. In addition, it manufactures gold and carat weighing scales. The key Sartorius customers include pharmaceutical, chemical and food and beverage industries. In addition, it sells its products to several research and educational institutes of the public sector undertakings (PSU). In India Sartorius is headquartered in Bangalore along with two manufacturing facilities with five regional offices located in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Secunderabad, and Chennai. Sartorius sales in FY 2006 were approximately $23 million. It employs 450 personnel India-wide. ¶10. Of the seven (7) PSV requests relating to Sartorius, BIS New Delhi has received invoices for five (5) of them. On February 22, 2007, BIS New Delhi sent those invoices and accompanying cover letter to Chatterjee, via facsimile and courier, requesting the ability to conduct the PSV for those. ¶11. Recommendation: Post recommends Sartorius India Pvt. Ltd. as a reliable user of U.S.-origin commodity. All indications are that the listed commodity is being used for its manufacturing process, and in accordance with the Export Administration Regulations. (DNARDELLA/PNARAYAN) Mulford