CBP Clarifies Transition Procedures for March 31 ACE Deadline
With its first ACE mandatory use date around the corner, CBP clarified its transition plans for new filing requirements that take effect March 31 (here). Beginning on that date, filing all entry summaries for entry types 01, 03, 11, 23, 51 and 52, as well as all entries and entry summaries of those entry types with Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Lacey Act or National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Partner Government Agency data (and no other PGA data) must be filed in ACE (see 1602080042). Any filers submitting entries or entry summaries required in ACE on March 31 through the legacy Automated Commercial System “will be notified to cease and desist,” said CBP (here). If the filer continues to file in ACS in violation of the March 31 deadline, “CBP will avail itself of any enforcement actions available,” it said.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
All non-PGA entry summaries required. CBP clarified that all entry summaries without PGA data for entry types 01, 03, 11, 23, 51 and 52 will be required in ACE, including the underlying entry requires PGA data but the entry summary does not. Methods that may be used to file transactions that are required in ACE on March 31 include:
- ACE Entry/Cargo Release followed by ACE Entry Summary (two-step process)
- ACS Entry (Release) followed by ACE Entry Summary (two-step process)
- ACE Entry Summary certified for ACE Entry/Cargo Release
- ACE Entry Summary certified for ACS Entry (Release)
Disclaimers are PGA data. CBP will consider disclaimers PGA data for the purposes of its March 31 deadline, it said. “If a NHTSA or APHIS Lacey Act entry is filed with a disclaimer for another PGA, the entry may still be filed in ACS after March 31, 2016.” CBP explained. Interim procedures for ACE filings with NHTSA or APHIS Lacey Act data that are paired with another PGA’s data, including disclaimers, are available (here), said CBP.
Entry lifecycle completed in ACS. The lifecycle of an entry or entry summary required in ACE on March 31 but filed in ACS prior to March 31 may be completed in ACS, said CBP.
New PGAs Added for Summer Deployments
In addition to clarifying its procedures for the March 31 mandatory use date, CBP added additional PGAs to its list of PGAs for which CBP will provide ACE functionality in summer 2016. The list now includes the Consumer Product Safety Commission; Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS); Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Office of Marine Conservation; Office of Textiles and Apparel; and United States Trade Representative, said CBP.