ABI (Automated Brokerage Interface)

Simplified entry pilot – apply by November 17

Monday, November 14th, 2011

As reported in our blog post of October 4, US Customs is launching a simplified entry process pilot program. To that end, the agency is seeking applicants for the pilot, and has extended the deadline by which to apply for the pilot through midnight (EST), Thursday, November 17.

Applicants interested in participating must submit an email to cbpsimplifiedprocess@dhs.gov with the subject heading “Simplified Entry Participant Request,” and must include information regarding estimated volume of entries anticipated to be filed under the pilot, and the identity of the ports where filings are likely to occur. Additional information is available in November 9th’s Federal Register.

CBP hopes to simplify the entry process by allowing participants to submit 12 required and three (3) optional data elements to CBP at any time prior to the arrival of the merchandise on the conveyance transporting the cargo to the United States. This data will fulfill merchandise entry requirements and will allow for earlier release decisions and more certainty for the importer in determining the logistics of cargo delivery.

Posted in ABI (Automated Brokerage Interface), ACE (Automated Commercial Environment), Customs & Border Protection, Direct Filing, Federal Register Notices, Simplified Entry | 1 Comment »

On-demand webinar available for ACE courtesy notice of liquidation

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

If you missed US Customs’ October 12 live webinar on life after the termination of the paper courtesy of liquidation program (see our blog post), you may now watch it at your convenience.

Simply click here to view the webinar. The presentation provides helpful tips for imports — who rely on brokers to file their entries — to access ACE to run reports to determine liquidation status of those entries.

Posted in ABI (Automated Brokerage Interface), ACE (Automated Commercial Environment), Post-Entry, Webinars | Add Comment »

Guidance for entry deletion and cancellation

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

US Customs recently updated its guidance on entry deletion and entry or entry summary cancellation to correct errors contained in the previous version.

An entry deletion refers to completely removing entry data from the system of record – either ACS or ACE. Conversely, entry or entry summary cancellation refers to “rendering entry summary data inactive” in the system of record, although CBP will retain the entry summary data for historical purposes.

Entry deletion may only be used in very limited circumstances, and may be requested only up until CBP cargo release processing occurs and the provisional release notification is system generated.
Once the processing has occurred, then entry or entry summary cancellation must be used. This encompasses situations such as where merchandise was denied admission by a PGA and either destroyed or exported, or where merchandised was seized at the port of entry.

The guidance also provides advice on requesting refunds of duties, fees and taxes on a cancelled entry summary, and discusses CBP policy on entry substitution and liquidated damages.

The guidance is available here.

Posted in ABI (Automated Brokerage Interface), ACE (Automated Commercial Environment), Customs & Border Protection | Add Comment »

Merchandise fee for processing entries increases

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

On Friday, October 21, 2011, H.R. 2832 became law. The main purpose of the statute is to extend the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which expired on December 31, 2010, through July 31, 2013. However, to offset the estimated cost of lost tariffs associated with expanding the GSP benefits, H.R. 2832 increases US Customs’ merchandise fee for processing entries (Class Code 499) from 0.21% to 0.3464%.

Currently, Customs is modifying the Automated Broker Interface to accept the new rate, which will apply to entries filed via ACS and ACE between October 1, 2011 and June 30, 2014. CBP has indicated that it will provide the trade with one week’s notice before it is able to accept the new MPF rate.

Customs’ official notice regarding the rate increase can be found here.

Posted in ABI (Automated Brokerage Interface), ACE (Automated Commercial Environment), Customs & Border Protection, News | 1 Comment »

Highlights from the Trade Support Network (TSN) plenary session

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

The Trade Support Network (TSN), a group of trade representatives who provide input to US Customs for the design and development of modernization projects, such as ACE, met in Arlington, VA, for its plenary session last month. Following is a summary of the highlights of the meetings.

Overall Message

In the current economic state, TSN’s priority is to help US Customs drive down costs for both importers and CBP, such as less exams of cargo and simplified entry processing. CBP is under significant pressure from Congress to get ACE up-and-running in order to receive funding to complete the project. Customs must show that entries are being filed in ACE and parts of ACS are being turned off.

Agency Structure

Cindy Allen, formerly with the trade, joined CBP around 1 year ago and is in charge (Exec. Director, ACE Business Office, OIT). She is doing a fantastic job of getting ACE back on track and has a great understanding of how it’s going to work. She has a new boss in Allen Gina, a 29 year veteran of CBP, and a new Exec. Director, Cargo Systems and Program Office, OIT, in LindaJacksta. Rich DiNucci, who headed up 10+2, is also on the team now.

Post Summary Corrections

As reported in this blog on September 20, PSC functionality was delivered June 4, and it became mandatory to file PSCs instead ofPEAs effective last month. PSCs may be filed 270 calendar days from date of entry, but cannot be filed within 20 calendar days of the scheduled liquidation date. Filers can request “accelerated liquidation” to get a quick bill/refund but then will forfeit an opportunity to file another PSC. It’s a full-replace of the entry and CBP will maintain all versions of entries. Importers should ensure that their ABI applications also keep versions of the entry before filing PSCs in order to keep an adequate record of their transactions with CBP.

Additionally, when the PSC is filed, the entry goes into “customs status” and CBP will remove the scheduled liquidation date. Currently filers can query the entry to get some insight as to the status, but long term there will be a UC message to all filers associated with the entry detailing the status and new liquidation information. Most PSC’s filed to date (around 100) were a “pass through” meaning they did not require CBP involvement. Note to brokers: You should review your powers of attorney to make sure your clients haven’t limited your ability to file PSCs.

Cargo Release

For this project, there is a new approach to requirement gathering – A Concept of Operations (CONOPS) has been created and all requirements mapped back to the CONOPS. Currently they are detailing the system requirement, with input from the trade and CBP field offices. These functional requirements, and the functional decomposition should be completed by June 2012. The goal is to deploy a subset of functionality within the next 18 months (then turn off selectivity in ACS)

E-Manifest: Rail & Sea

Allows holds to be placed/removed at the conveyance, container, master bill level as well as the house bill of lading level. CBP will provide brokers with a “broker download” to assist in populating the entry header. Nine early adopters will begin filing their manifest in this new system in the coming weeks in 3 ports. ETA for full deployment is January 2012, then CBP will begin decommissioning AMS in ACE. This will enable true visibility on which PGA has held merchandise and the reason for the hold.

ACE Technical Discussion (Linda Jacksta)

Remaining In-Scope: E-Manifest, Cargo Processing and release, Remaining Entry Types, Collections (lots of emphasis), and Exports. Trying to leverage existing functionality with ACE or any other federal agency systems.

Entry Simplification

See our blog post of October 4 for details.

PGA Panel Discussion

FDA is replacing OASIS with MARCS at the end of this year. A component of MARCS is PREDICT which allows FDA to automatically validate AoC qualifiers. No more AoC codes will be required in ACE as they will be mapped based on the field definition. Filers will have better visibility to the status and can receive their Notice of Sampling via the system.

Posted in ABI (Automated Brokerage Interface), ACE (Automated Commercial Environment), Customs & Border Protection, FDA, News, Simplified Entry, e-Manifest | Add Comment »

Free importer webinar on ACE courtesy notice report

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

As discussed in this blog last month, with the termination of paper courtesy notices of liquidation program, CBP has reprogrammed ACE to allow an importer of record to establish its own ACE Portal Account to monitor entry filings made by a customs broker using the importer’s IOR number.

Now, Customs is offering guidance on running and managing these reports with a free webinar to be held next Wednesday, October 12 from 1:00 – 2:30 PM EST. Register for the webinar here.

For more information about the webinar, view US Customs’ official notice here.

Posted in ABI (Automated Brokerage Interface), ACE (Automated Commercial Environment), Customs & Border Protection, Events | 1 Comment »

Simplified entry process pilot expected soon

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

US Customs said last week that it has made great strides towards establishing a simplified entry process. After having worked closely on this issue with the Trade Support Network, a group representing the trade, CBP said to expect a Federal Register notice soon to announce a trial program and solicit participants.

The simplified entry is designed to reduce the number of documentation requirements on the entry, which will streamline the process and reduce costs for both importers and Customs. The majority of the ISF data elements, but not all, will be required fields. It will also include additional data elements, such as 10-digit HTS code, estimated value, and an entry number; however, importers will no longer need to be concerned with including the manifest quantity.

Simplified entries will be available for ocean, air, rail, and truck shipments. Importers must be in Tier 2 or Tier 3 of the C-TPAT program, file their simplified entries in ACE, and meet a few other requirements to avail themselves of the new program.

More details on the simplified entry program are available in the American Shipper article, “CBP makes headway on simplified entry,” available here. (site registration required for access to entire article). In addition, Customs has provided additional information in the “Simplified Processes Fact Sheet,” which is posted on AAEI’s website.

Posted in ABI (Automated Brokerage Interface), ACE (Automated Commercial Environment), Customs & Border Protection, News, Simplified Entry | 3 Comments »

ACE courtesy notice of liquidation reports – not ready yet

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

As mentioned in our blog post of September 9, to save on postage, US Customs is terminating the paper courtesy notice of liquidation notices. Since importers who hire customs brokers to file their entry summaries via ABI will now no longer receive a paper courtesy notice, CBP is reprogramming ACE to allow importers of record to establish its own ACE Portal Account to monitor entry filings made using the importer’s IOR number.

Unfortunately, the trade and others are trying to access those reports prematurely — in advance of the announced September 30 ready date — which is adversely affecting the reprogramming. Following is Customs’ request for patience:

CBP has not completed the deployment process for the AM 100 Courtesy Notice Liquidation Report. We are asking both the field and the trade to refrain from running the report or pulling any ad hoc data from the new liquidation tables until they have received an update that the deployment is complete. The hits on the tables by users are impacting the initial data load into the report’s tables.

The official notice is here.

Today, CBP also published a clarification of the termination of paper courtesy notices for those needing additional guidance.

Posted in ABI (Automated Brokerage Interface), ACE (Automated Commercial Environment), Customs & Border Protection, News | 2 Comments »

CBP to terminate courtesy paper notice of liquidation program – what is your plan?

Friday, September 9th, 2011

As of September 30, 2011, US Customs will terminate its policy of sending paper courtesy notices of liquidation to importers. For some importers, this is the only direct notice, albeit informal, that they have regarding the status of an entry’s liquidation. Despite this turn of events, importers who rely on the paper notices have several options of which they can avail themselves to continue to have visibility to entry liquidation.

Currently, CBP issues electronic courtesy notices of liquidation to all ABI filers: importers of record who file their own entries and customs brokers who file as the duly authorized agents of the importer of record. CBP also mails paper courtesy notices to all importers of record whose entry summaries are scheduled to liquidate by each port of entry.

This renders duplicative the paper courtesy notice sent by CBP to importers of record that file their own entries in ABI because, as an ABI filer, they already receive an electronic courtesy notice.

To save $3,000,000 in postage annually, Customs is discontinuing the paper courtesy notices. Therefore, as of September 30, 2011, there will be 3 distinct groups of entry filers whose liquidation notice status is as follows:

Importers of record who direct file their own entry summaries in ABI will receive only the electronic courtesy copy.
Customs brokers who file on behalf of importers via ABI will receive only the electronic courtesy copy.
Importers of record who file a paper formal entry with Customs will continue to receive the paper courtesy copy.

Importers in group 1 will not be affected by the discontinuation of the paper courtesy notices, as they will continue to receive an electronic copy of the liquidation notice. Similarly, importers in group 3 will be unaffected, as they will still have direct visibility to the paper notice of liquidation status. In addition, importers in either group who have an ACE account can monitor liquidation in that system.

Unfortunately, importers who hire customs brokers in group 2 to file their entry summaries via ABI will no longer receive a paper courtesy notice. Without that notice, these importers will not have any direct visibility to whether and when an entry has been liquidated. Nevertheless, an importer in this category has options:

Request a copy of the liquidation notice from the customs broker, who is required by law to provide this information. However, there is no guarantee that the broker will comply with this request in a timely manner.
Request that the broker provide access to the broker’s ACE Portal Account to monitor liquidation status of entries filed by the broker. Unfortunately, some brokers may be unwilling or unable to grant this request
Set up its own ACE Portal Account to monitor entry filings made using the importer’s IOR number. This option is not currently available. Customs claims that ACE is being reprogrammed to allow importers of record to do so, by the effective date of the termination of paper courtesy notices (September 30, 2011). Given CBP’s spotty record in launching timely, fully functioning updates to ACE, importers who wish to pursue this option should be cautious. In addition, the ACE Portal contains entry data for the past 4 fiscal years, so this option will be of no help to importers who need information about entries filed before then.
Direct file its own customs entries with an ABI-approved system to gain direct visibility and immediate notice of all liquidations. Since doing so will give the importer complete control, the importer will not have to rely on the whims of a broker providing the notice or granting the importer access to the broker’s ACE Portal Account. In addition, the importer will be not be dependent on whether the aforementioned ACE functionality will be ready and fully functional by the stated deadline. Finally, the importer that self files will have access to liquidation status of all entries it has filed, not just those in the past 4 years.

Posted in ABI (Automated Brokerage Interface), ACE (Automated Commercial Environment), Customs & Border Protection, Direct Filing, Federal Register Notices, News | Add Comment »

August 2011 ACE Trade Account Owner Update

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

US Customs has just issued its August 2011 ACE Trade Account Owner Update.

Highlights include:

e-Manifest: Rail and Sea deployed but not in use yet
- Given the success of e-Manifests: Trucks, CBP deployed the functionality on August 27 to allow rail and sea carriers to transmit electronic manifest data to ACE.
- Customs will continue testing the of the code in production, and will notify the trade when it will be available for use.
New ACE capabilities deployed on August 29 and September 5
- Carriers may view continuous bonds, as well as view and verify ocean conveyances, in their ACE Portal Accounts
- Carriers may create a list of authorized bond users
- Brokers may create rail entry banks
- Users may save customized reports in shared reports folder
Reminder: PSCs – As of September 22, post summary corrections will replace the post entry amendment (PEA) procedures to amend pre-liquidation summaries (see our previous blog post on this topic).
New CPB Forms 301 and 301A for customs bonds – Forms will replace previous versions; CBP to accept old forms through December 31
Elimination of paper courtesy notices of liquidation – Customs is discontinuing this service as of September 30, and will be updating ACE to provide a new ACE report that provides the information as contained in the paper notice