Remaining ACE Functionality to be Phased in Starting in September

Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report

After several delays, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that all remaining post-release capabilities in the Automated Commercial Environment, other than collections, will be deployed in the following three phases.

  • Sept. 16 – non-ABI entry summary, duty deferral, e214 (electronic foreign-trade zone admission), and manufacturer ID creation
  • Dec. 16 – statements
  • Feb. 24 – reconciliation, ACE core drawback and Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act drawback, liquidation, and Automated Surety Interface

CBP will be retraining its personnel and providing updated materials on each capability prior to these deployments. Between February 2018 and February 2019, trade users will have the option to file either core drawback or TFTEA drawback. Core drawback includes consolidation to entry type 47, submission of entire drawback packages electronically for electronic claims, system validations, integration with post-release processes, and improved system controls, and there is no requirement for line level reporting. TFTEA drawback includes substitution based on eight-digit HTS or Schedule B number, allows filers to rely on documents kept in the normal course of business, and includes requirements to file all drawback claims electronically, keep records for three years from the date of liquidation, file all claims within five years from the date of importation, and engage in line level reporting.

According to CBP, the re-planning required to address the issues with collections capabilities is continuing and developers are working on software changes that will allow deployment of these capabilities while also ensuring that they continue to interface seamlessly with collections in the Automated Commercial System. In addition, the ABI query for foreign currency rates will remain in ACS until ACS is no longer available.