Congress seems unlikely to provide dedicated funding for new ACE development in upcoming appropriations legislation, according to industry officials. Still, CBP may be able to funnel operations and maintenance resources to ACE development, said one industry observer. While the end to funding for new programming isn't unexpected (see 1609140034), the shift is closer to becoming a reality as the Senate and House aim to pass final Department of Homeland Security appropriations legislation by late April, industry and congressional officials said recently.
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CBP provided a small update related to coming changes to drawback filing that were part of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (see 1603010043). In CBP's monthly drawback simplification newsletter (here), the agency said it "and members from the trade completed a two day in person meeting discussing all facets of the new TFTEA drawback law. The meeting went well and there was consensus on many issues." The drawback changes will take effect Feb. 24, 2018, and CBP plans to provide monthly updates through the newsletter (see 1701250037).
CBP is expected to soon announce the new deadline for ACE post-release capabilities, including drawback and reconciliation, said trade industry executives involved in ACE implementation. The mandatory use date, originally set for Jan. 14 (see 1612090030), will be announced in a Federal Register notice, said Fany Flores-Pastor, director-R&D compliance systems at Descartes. “I would say I anticipate seeing the notice in the next couple of weeks but that is just a guess,” Tom Gould of Sandler Travis recently said. “If we see a FR notice in 2 weeks it would be 6 weeks before implementation,” he said. A CBP spokeswoman on Feb. 9 said that no update was available on when the new deadline would be announced, but that CBP "will give a 30-day notice" before ACE filing is required.
CBP provided some information on drawback claims for when ACE becomes mandatory for electronic filers. "Drawback manufacturing claims for export to Canada (CA) or Mexico (MX) under NAFTA must be filed based on the ’lesser of’ either the duty paid in the United States or the duty paid in the NAFTA country," CBP said in a CSMS message (here). "In cases where the final product exported to CA/MX was manufactured from more than one imported part, ACE Drawback is designed to allow for multiple line input in the 43 record (Import Revenue Claimed). In the claim amount field, the 'lesser of' duty amount paid should be allocated across each line. An even allocation is not necessary, so long as the amount totals the lesser duty amount claimed." The agency said in another CSMS message (here) that all "substitution unused merchandise drawback claims containing exports of citrus to Canada must be filed separately." CBP hasn't released a new date for the deployment of drawback and other post-release functions in ACE after it was delayed last month (see 1701110039).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP provided some details on the coming changes to drawback filing as part of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (see 1603010043), in a new newsletter (here). The changes, which will take effect Feb. 24, 2018, were " long-sought over the past decade by both CBP and the trade," CBP said. The law strengthens "the drawback legal framework and CBP’s ability to more accurately and objectively administer drawback," it said. CBP is developing new regulations on the drawback overhaul (see 1606070040), which will also include a one-year grace period that will allow for claims to be filed either through the legacy or updated program. CBP said it plans to provide monthly updates through the newsletter.
CBP issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP will delay the changes to Post-Summary Corrections (see 1701060029) and the periodic monthly statements (see 1612090021) that were scheduled to take effect Jan. 14, it said in a notice (here). That notice and another (here) officially delay the major ACE deployments that were scheduled for Jan. 14. CBP previously announced the delay in the deployment (see 1701110039), which was to include liquidation, drawback, reconciliation, duty deferral, collections and statements (see 1612090030). The delay is based on an assessment of "stakeholder readiness for the mandatory transition of postrelease capabilities in ACE, including the modifications to the reconciliation test and the transition of reconciliation filings from [Automated Commercial System] to ACE," it said.
CBP postponed some major deployment plans for ACE originally set for Jan. 14, the agency said in a CSMS message (here). The scheduled deployment was to include liquidation, drawback, reconciliation, duty deferral, collections and statements (see 1612090030). "In consideration of stakeholder feedback and the complexity of the ongoing integration testing, CBP is providing additional time to prepare for the final core ACE deployment and ensure a smooth transition of liquidation, drawback, reconciliation, duty deferral, collections, statements and Automated Surety Interface capabilities in ACE," it said. "CBP will provide updated information and a new deployment date in the near future." Although it is postponing the ACE mandatory use date for drawback, most liquidation capabilities, reconciliation, duty deferral, collections, statements and the Automated Surety Interface, CBP will still move forward on Jan. 14 with posting notices of liquidation to its website as planned (see 1612090026).
The International Trade Commission on Jan. 1 posted the Preliminary Edition of the 2017 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (here). The new HTS implements a wide range of changes to the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System tariff nomenclature, which forms the basis for the HTS, that took effect at the beginning of 2017. This is the sixth and final part of International Trade Today's multipart summary, covering vehicles, precision instruments, manufactured articles and special tariff provisions under chapters 87-99. This part also includes a list of subheadings that were assigned the special program indicator (SPI) "NP" to denote eligibility for the Nepal Preference Program.