CBP Discusses August 11, 2007 Deployment of ESAR A1 at ACE Exchange V Conference

This is Part II of a multi-part series of summaries on CBP's presentations at the ACE Exchange V conference and gives an overview of ESAR A1. See future issues of ITT for additional summaries.

ESAR A1 Will Provide Master Data and Enhanced Portal Account Capabilities

ESAR A1 will provide ACE master data¹ and enhanced portal account (account) capabilities, including additional account types, and electronic access to account-related master¹, reference², and transactional³ data through ACE accounts.

(According to CBP, a key aspect of A1 is the establishment of ACE as the lead system for master data¹ required by any CBP system. The creation and maintenance of master data¹ and related reference files² will originate in ACE and will be distributed to other CBP systems such as the Automated Commercial System (ACS).)

Benefits of ESAR A1

CBP states that the benefits of ESAR A1 include:

Cross account access - Only one ACE user ID and password will be needed to access multiple accounts. This will be available for all portal view account types and will allow an ACE portal user to choose from a previously established "account pick list" based on access privileges that have been granted to that user. The trade account owner would be responsible for setting up company to company and user level access, as well as the revocation of access and privileges.

Merged accounts - There will be a streamlined process for merging portal-view accounts within ACE. This applies in a situation when one firm acquires another or there is a corporate merger. The trade account owner of the acquiring company and/or the new company would need to assign access privileges to the users of the acquired company per their own policy.

PGA licenses, permits, and certificates - Participating Government Agencies (PGAs) will be able to add blanket licenses, permits, and certificates. CBP sources state that this benefit will allow both CBP and the importer/broker to see what is on file from the PGA (if anything). According to CBP, the following PGAs will be involved in the license, permit, and certificate aspect of A1 (to varying degrees):

• Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
• Agriculture Marketing Service
• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
• Office of Foreign Assets Control
• National Highway Transportation Safety Administration
• Maritime Administration
• Import Administration
• Fish and Wildlife Service
• Foreign Trade Zones Board
• Food Safety Inspection Service
• Federal Maritime Commission
• Federal Communications Commission
• Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

Broker management - A1 will provide information on initial broker exam applications, issuance of permits and licenses, and the collection of fees. A1 will allow brokers to:

1. access their license and permit data (view and change broker qualifiers, fee payment history, and triennial status report);
2. view permit waiver data (including dates and status); and
3. maintain an employee list (which satisfies the 19 CFR Part 111 requirement).

CBP Form 5106 - A1 will allow the trade to create and maintain CBP Form (CBPF) 5106 (Notification of Importer's Number or Notice of Change of Name or Address) information. Under A1, the trade will be able to electronically update existing CBPF 5106 data in the Importer/Consignee file in ACS. This automated process will eliminate the trade's submission of the paper CBPF 5106 and the manual intervention by CBP users to update this data in the system. (CBP notes that this functionality will not be available in A1 to update any existing entity record that has a surety bond associated with it.)

Account types under ESAR A1 - There will be increased opportunity to manage and maintain accounts through the ACE portal. A1 will contain enhancements to the existing types of accounts (importer, broker, carrier), as well as an expansion to additional account types, including:

• carrier - all modes
• cartman/lighterman
• commercial driver
• consignee
• facility operator - warehouse, foreign trade zone, etc.
• service provider - surety agent, service center, software vendor, etc.
• third party claimant

¹ Account master data includes names; importer of record number, SCAC, filer code; addresses; points of contact; surety bonds; and CBP program participation.

² Reference data includes port codes, FIRMS codes, country codes, HTS (tariff), and currency file.

³ CBP sources characterize transactional data as CBPF 7501 information.

(See ITT's Online Archives or 06/08/07 news, 07060805, for Part I (ACE deployment schedule) in this series of summaries.)

CBP's ACE Exchange presentation on ESAR available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/toolbox/about/modernization/ace/reports_briefings_events/ace_ex_conf/ace_exchange_four/ace_exchange_v/importer/ace_future.ctt/ace_future.ppt.

BP Note

According to CBP, ESAR will provide enhanced account management functions, a single source for master data¹, and an integrated account-based, financial, and entry summary processing system. CBP has divided ESAR into three releases (A1, A2, and A3).

(Trades sources have previously stated that entry preparers and filers will need to prepare for the substantial changes coming with ESAR A2 (which is tentatively scheduled for Fall 2008 or later), and that its byword should be "reautomate or perish" in light of the reautomation and, in some cases, redesign of the entry process which will occur with ESAR A2.)