APHIS Still in Planning Phases for Mandatory APHIS Core in ACE, Will Set Up Help Desk for Transition
SAN ANTONIO -- The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will set up a range of outreach options, including a help desk, to assist importers, customs brokers and software developers with the upcoming mandatory use of the APHIS “Core” partner government agency message set in ACE, said Dr. Vivek Kamath of APHIS at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference April 16. The agency is still in the “planning phases” for the move and the “final timeline is not yet decided,” Kamath said.
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As reported (see 1903220047), APHIS plans to allow a transition period of six to nine months once the APHIS Core PGA message set becomes mandatory. There are some internal discussions at APHIS over whether to take a phased approach to implementation, Kamath said during a program. The APHIS Core message set includes all data for APHIS-regulated plants and animals not already required for Lacey Act purposes.
APHIS recognizes that its Core PGA message set is “quite complex compared to other PGAs,” so it plans to take a page from FDA and set up a support desk “during that transition period and beyond,” Kamath said. While APHIS Core filing is already available in ACE, APHIS estimates there’s only about 1 percent to 2 percent participation in terms of the amount of shipments it would expect should be filed with the data. Screen sharing will be available, as well phone and email support. APHIS also plans to work with CBP to put out webinars and outreach material, he said.
The updated implementation guide will have “very few technical changes” and “no new forms or new added requirements,” Kamath said. Instead the update will mostly add frequently asked questions and other help documents to the guide. “It’s basically many more pages of taking what’s in technical words and converting it to lay terms,” he said. APHIS has also been going through its list of tariff schedule codes and flags to give filers more guidance on which component of APHIS -- for example, veterinary services for animal products or plant protection and quarantine for plants -- regulates a given commodity.
Using the PGA message set, APHIS will be able to link permit numbers with permits in its database so that the import inspector knows if there are issues before the shipment arrives, and can notify the importer. But, as noted by the agency previously, some paper will still be collected in the form of government-to-government documents like phytosanitary certificates, often issued by foreign countries on paper.
Long term, APHIS hopes it can translate its improved data collection into a more risk-based approach to inspections, Kamath said. The APHIS Core message set will let the agency do risk-based sampling, letting CBP know what high-risk shipments to target but letting through routine shipments from frequent and compliant importers. APHIS looks at the PGA message set as a way for everyone to spend less time on compliant trade, so it can take that time to focus on illegal shipments, Kamath said.