CBP Issues "ACE Trade Account Owner" June 2008 Update
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued the June 2008 Automated Commercial Environment Trade Account Owner (TAO) monthly update as an attachment to an ACE Portal Accounts CSMS message.
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The following are highlights of the ACE TAO update:
Certain Ocean/Rail M1 CAMIR-Intermodal and X.12 Transaction Sets are Drafts
Certain transaction sets for ACE release M1 (e-Manifest: Ocean and Rail for advance cargo information purposes) which are currently posted to CBP's Web site are in draft form and subject to revision. These draft transaction sets, CAMIR (Amendment 11) and X12 transaction sets (005040), may contain new codes or data qualifiers, are to be considered within the context of 'draft', and must not be used in any data sets currently being sent to CBP via the Sea or Rail AMS applications.
The draft transaction sets are there for information purposes and no programming/coding or redesign decisions should be made based on the draft versions; CBP will publish final versions at a future date.
(See ITT's Online 06/30/08 news, 08063000, for previous BP summary, with additional details.)
ACE Secure Data Portal Accounts for Ocean & Rail Carriers to Have New Features
Although ACE Portal Accounts are not mandatory for ocean and rail carriers, by opting to establish a Portal Account the trade can take advantage of the following new features that will soon1 be available in ACE with the deployment of A2.1/M1 Ocean and Rail e-Manifest:
Validation of trade partner authorization to use custodial bonds: only carriers that choose to obtain an ACE Portal account will be able to use this feature to protect themselves from unauthorized use of their bonds.
Maintenance of conveyance (vessel) information: ocean carriers will have the ability to access and maintain conveyance (vessel) information via their ACE Portal Account. Only carriers that choose to obtain an ACE Portal account will be able to add and update their vessel information 24 x 7 from any internet access.
Access to the UN/LOC code reference file: this is useful information that is not currently available to everyone. Once the ACE Portal account is established, this information will be readily accessible from the account.
Access to ad hoc reports.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 06/11/08 news, 08061110, for BP summary of fact sheets on ACE account benefits, including ocean and rail carrier accounts.)
1Trade testing of M1 is scheduled to begin no sooner than September 2008. M1 is scheduled for deployment in October 2008. ESAR A2.1 (M1 Reference Data) will track the M1 schedule and is scheduled to be implemented before or with M1. (See ITT's Online Archives or 06/12/08 news, 08061205, for BP summary on M1 trade testing, deployment, etc.)
New Contact Information for its Technology Support Center, Etc.
Effective immediately and through July 29, 2008, outside callers (including trade and participating government agencies), will be advised that the Technology Support Center (previously known as the ACE Help Desk) has a new toll-free number, 1-866-530-4172, and will be asked to dial that number in the future.
In addition, internal CBP callers that dial the 703-921-6000 number will be advised to dial the new toll-free number, 1-800-927-8729. During this period, the calls will be automatically redirected with no interruption in service. Effective July 29, 2008, anyone calling the 703-921-6000 number will not be automatically redirected and will be asked to hang up and dial the new number.
Any issue reported by e-mail should be sent to the CBP.Technology.Support@DHS.gov mailbox. E-mails are given a lower priority than phone calls, so any critical issues should be brought to the attention of the Technology Support Center via phone.
Once an email is received, it will be reviewed for all appropriate information before a problem ticket is created. If pertinent information is missing from the e-mail, the Technology Support Center will contact the e-mail sender for additional information. CBP notes that response time may be delayed. If the point of contact does not respond within 48 hours, the ticket that was created in response to a specific email inquiry will be closed.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 06/02/08 and 05/30/08 news, 08060255 1 and 08053050 3, for previous BP summaries on the updated contact information.)
Deployment Schedule for "Ad Hoc" Capabilities for ACE Reports
On June 2, 2008, CBP deployed ad hoc reporting capabilities that enable advanced customization of reports. The functionality that was delivered on June 2nd is the first of two phases.
The first phase provided edit capabilities for trade and CBP users for Account Revenue, Account Profile, Broker Permits and Employees and Bond reports.
Phase two, to be deployed later this year, will allow users to "edit" and modify Account Management and Transactions reports. In addition, certain users will have "create" capability thus allowing them to create new reports from scratch. The edit capability will allow users to further customize a standard report by selecting data fields, known as "objects," from the entire universe of data currently available. Collectively, these features will provide additional data objects, greater customization, and improved reporting performance.
(See the June 2008 TAO update for ad hoc report tips and ad hoc report features for Java 1.4 or 1.5 versus Java 1.6 or 6.)
(See ITT's Online Archives or 06/04/08 news, 08060405, for BP summary announcing this deployment.)
Enhancements to ACE Account Report "Designed for Brokers"
The following Account Revenue report enhancements have been made to improve performance:
AR 007 Periodic Statement Quickview - Broker and AR 007 Periodic Statement Quickview - Importer no longer returns data for all statements. Whether the user runs the quickviews from the "Reports" tab in the ACE Secure Data Portal or from the "Statements" tab, the results display open statements only.
A "PMS Date" range replaced the current "Periodic Monthly Statement Date" prompt when running the AR 007 Periodic Statement Detail report. Users can enter the same date in both the beginning and ending date fields to view results for one monthly statement.
(AR 007 has been referred to as the "revenue report designed for brokers.")
(See ITT's Online Archives or 06/17/08 news, 08061730, for previous BP summary on these enhancements being deployed.)
CBP's Annual Trade Symposium Scheduled for October 29 - 31
CBP's Annual Trade Symposium is scheduled for October 29 - 31, 2008 at the JW Marriott, Washington, D.C. CBP previously stated that further information regarding registration procedures and symposium details will become available within approximately 8 weeks of the event.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 06/23/08 news, 08062335 1, for previous BP summary announcing these dates.)
TAO June 2008 update available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/docs/17122_1004847298/June_2008_TAO_V4.pdf
CSMS 08-000114 (dated 07/09/08) available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17122&page=&srch_argv=&srchtype=&btype=&sortby=&sby