The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is revising the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by extending by about eight months the triggering date for authorized integrated circuit designer status and submission date for applications to become an approved integrated circuit (IC) designer. The new date is December 31, 2026.
On January 16, 2025, BIS published an interim final rule (IFR) (90 FR 5298) (FDD IFR), adding certain presumptions for “front-end fabricators” and “OSAT” companies seeking to export, reexport, or transfer (in-country) certain “applicable advanced logic integrated circuits” under ECCN 3A090.a (see § 742.6(a)(6)(iii)(A) and Note 1 to 3A090.a), unless the presumption is overcome via Note 1 to 3A090.a. The FDD IFR provided three ways to overcome the presumption that involve Approved IC designers, approved “OSAT” companies, or via identifying authorized IC designers with criteria included in Note 1 to 3A090.a. To be listed, entities must submit requests to BIS and be approved through the End-user Review Committee (ERC).
This final rule revises Note 1 to ECCN 3A090.a by removing the April 13, 2026 date wherever it occurs, and replacing it with December 31, 2026. This change will allow entities additional time to apply to be approved IC designers and allows BIS additional time to process these applications.
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