CBP Issues General Notice Announcing NCAP Test of the ACE Periodic Monthly Statement

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a general notice announcing that it plans to conduct a National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test of the Periodic Monthly Statement for deposit of estimated duties and fees.

CBP states that this test will be conducted in a phased approach, with the initial release of the Web-based account revenue functionality open to the initial 41 Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Importer Accounts and their designated brokers, who can participate in filing entries and making payments related to the Periodic Monthly Statement.

This is Part I of a two-part series of summaries of CBP's general notice. See future issue of ITT for Part II.

Test to Commence No Earlier than April 14; Statements of Intent/Applications Due by April 5

CBP states that the test will commence no earlier than April 14, 2004. CBP must receive by April 5, 2004, all statements of intent to participate from any of the initial 41 ACE Importer Accounts, their list of designated brokers, and the ACE Broker Account applications for the designated brokers. Under exceptional circumstances, and with CBP approval, an extension of this application time period may be granted.

Participants to Deposit Estimated Duties/Fees No Later Than the 15^th Day of the Month following the Month of Entry/Release

CBP states that under the ACE Periodic Monthly Statement test, participants will be allowed to deposit estimated duties and fees on a monthly basis, based on a Periodic Monthly Statement issued by CBP. Participating importers and their designated brokers will be allowed to deposit estimated duties and fees no later than the 15th calendar day of the month following the month in which the goods are either entered or released, whichever comes first.

CBP Description of the Periodic Monthly Statement Test

In its notice, CBP provides a description of the Periodic Monthly Statement test, as follows:

Periodic Monthly Statement to list periodic daily statements. Participants in the Periodic Monthly Statement test are required to schedule entries for monthly payment. A Periodic Monthly Statement will list Periodic Daily Statements that have been designated for monthly payment.

Periodic Monthly Statement may be created on port or national basis. The Periodic Monthly Statement can be created on a port basis by the importer or broker, as is the case with existing daily statements in the Automated Commercial System (ACS).

The Periodic Monthly Statement can also be created on a national basis by an ABI filer. If an importer chooses to file the Periodic Monthly Statement on a national basis, it must use its filer code and schedule and pay the monthly statements. The Periodic Monthly Statement will be routed under existing CBP procedures.

Brokers will only view/receive information that they have filed on an importer's behalf. CBP notes that ACE will not route a Periodic Monthly Statement to a broker through ABI that lists information filed by another broker.

Only certain entries may be placed on the periodic daily statement. All entries currently eligible for placement on a daily statement may be placed on a Periodic Daily Statement, with the exception of reconciliation entries, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) duty deferral entries, entries requiring the payment of excise taxes, and entries containing Bureau of Census errors.

Importers & Their Designated Brokers Must Meet Certain Criteria to Participate in Test

According to CBP, to be eligible for participation in this test, importers and their designated brokers must:

participate in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program;

have the ability to connect to the Internet;

have the ability to make periodic payment via Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) Credit or ACH Debit; and

have the ability to file entry/entry summary via the Automated Broker Interface (ABI).

Applicants Must Provide Bond Rider & Designate ACE Portal Account Owner, Etc.

Among other responsibilities of applicants, CBP states that all participants are required to provide a bond rider covering the periodic payment of estimated duties. The language of the bond rider will follow the format specified in CBP's general notice.

In addition, each participant must designate one person as the ACE Secured Data Portal (ACE Portal) Account Owner for the information entered into the participant's ACE Portal account. The Account Owner will be responsible for safeguarding the ACE Portal account information, controlling disclosures of that information to authorized persons, authorizing user access to the ACE Portal account, and ensuring that access by authorized persons to the ACE Portal account information is strictly controlled. CBP states that the participant will also need to identify a point of contact for the testing of communications and software.

CBP further reminds participants that participation in this test is not confidential, and that lists of approved participants will be made available to the public.

CBP May Expand Test to Others

CBP states that it will process additional Importer Account applications as CBP expands the universe of participation for this test. However, CBP notes that expansion of this test to allow future applicants to participate may be delayed due to funding and technological constraints. Future phases of ACE may also be tested; however, the eligibility criteria may differ from the criteria listed in this CBP notice. CBP states that acceptance into this test does not guarantee eligibility for, or acceptance into, future technical tests.

CBP notice (FR Pub 02/04/04) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-2254.pdf