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Apparel | Newsletter |
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Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) |
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August 23, 2004 After lengthy development and testing, the ACE program has now opened for general admission. Brokers and importers may apply for and receive ACE accounts, under which they may receive benefits such as Periodic Monthly Statements (PMS) and access to their Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) records import/export history (which includes Customs' calculated compliance rates). Additional information is available at CBP's ACE and Automated Systems page. The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is the next advancement in Customs' modernization of electronic filing of entries. The ACE is intended to replace the current Automated Broker Interface (ABI), and will provide dramatic new functionality to brokers and importers alike, such as the Periodic Monthly Statement (PMS) accounting. The program testing (with 41 test accounts from major US importers) has been reported as successful, and, therefore, Customs has now opened the doors for importers and brokers to participate in the current ACE release. Under Periodic Monthly Statements (PMS), to be rolled out in mid-August, payments for duties and fees will be assessed on a monthly basis instead of on a per-entry basis. By default, PMS invoices are to be generated by the 11 th for activity of the previous calendar month. Earlier statement dates can be elected. Payments on those statements are thereafter due on the 15 th day of the month (or previous workday if the 15 th falls on a weekend or federal holiday). Importers and brokers will have the option of receiving national statements or a port-specific statement for their entries. For brokers, the statements may contain entry duty liability for multiple importers. Requirement of Membership Internet access and C-TPAT membership are prerequisites for the application to ACE. By C-TPAT membership, Customs considers having a signed MOU sufficient (i.e., an importer/broker is not required to have been certified as a C-TPAT member). Currently, the requirement for making use of the PMS features includes (1) the ability to make periodic payments via ACH Credit, or ACH debit, and (2) the ability to file entry information via the ABI. Thus, an ACE importer will be required to use a Customs Broker meeting these minimum requirements in order to participate in PMS. The information requirements are spelled out in found on the CBP website. ACE Benefits to Importers ACE will allow an importer to easily access all of its import/export data from an easy to use browser-based interface. The importer will be able to separately monitor the current import/export activity for each of its various Customs brokers, and for each broker, the importer may access and monitor assigned Customs compliance rates. Under Customs' "reasonable care" compliance standard, the import has the obligation to actually monitor and review its import/export transactions. Importers often tend to rely on their various distributed customs brokers for the management of import/export data. However, the exchange of information from broker to importer is often slow because it generally takes place via paper copies of the entry summaries, on an entry-by-entry-basis. The ACE interface returns control of the importer's import data to the importer. The electronic portal makes ACH data available both via either (1) the traditional entry-by-entry basis or (2) via 67 pre-programmed reports of ACH activity (including 5 quick view reports). These are designed to assist importers and brokers in better managing import transactions and better understanding the supply-chain. ACE makes it far easier for companies to take an active hand in managing their Customs affairs (freeing the brokers to do what they do best -- processing entries). For large public companies, ACE will increase management control and accountability over import/export compliance and financial liability, as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. For importers, the simplified ability to issue a single monthly statement is of great benefit, as it reduces the administrative hassles of providing per-entry payments to the various ports. Under ACE, the importer has the option of either issuing a monthly national check, or issuing individual monthly checks to each of the ports. ACE Benefits to Brokers ACE benefits brokers by providing an internet-based platform containing all of an importer's account information, as handled by the particular transacting broker. Brokers will also be able to monitor their Customs-assigned compliance rates for each of their importers, but will not have access to information transacted by any other of the importer's Customs brokers. Under the current filing system, payment on entries is due within 10 days of filing the entry. As a result of this short time period, brokers frequently tender duties before their importers can process payment checks. Under the ACE Periodic Monthly Statements, the importer is billed once a month for its aggregate monthly liability for duties and fees. The maximum period of payment deferral under this system thereby increases to 45 days. This longer turn-around time is expected to greatly assist brokers in better managing their operational cash-flow. The Significant Activity Log (SAL) is a new feature in the current release 2 of ACE. The SAL tracks all communication and significant activities between CBP and the account. It makes collaboration between account managers, import specialists, and the importer easier and more productive than sending notices, faxes, or telephone calls. The SAL provides a permanent record for all authorized personnel in CBP. Thus, for brokers it ensures receipt of vital CBP communications and stores these documents electronically for later recall. Later ACE Releases will Offer Additional Functionality The ACE portal is not complete yet, and will require at least another 10 years of work towards completion. By 2005, Customs plans to implement an electronic manifesting system for trucks. By 2006, Customs hopes to implement a monthly revolving account, much like a credit card account. By 2010, the portal is slated to include the integration of post-release information, Foreign Trade Zones, Customs Bonded Warehouses, sureties, cartmen, carriers, protest filings, drawback, and enhanced document management features. If you have any questions on any of the issues raised in this newsletter, please contact George R. Tuttle, III at (415) 288-0428 or via email at geo@tuttlelaw.com. George R. Tuttle, III is an attorney with the Law Offices of George R. Tuttle in San Francisco. The information in this article is general in nature and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to create an attorney-client relationship with respect to any event or occurrence, and may not be considered as such. Copyright © 2005 by Tuttle Law Offices. All rights reserved. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our offices or by others, we do not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and are not responsible for any errors, omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of such information.
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