CBP Releases ACAS Interim Rule, Will Phase in Enforcement
Inbound aircraft will be required to file the advance data established under the Air Cargo Advance Screening program starting June 12, CBP said in an interim final rule. The rule was in the works for several years, during which the ACAS program was piloted on a voluntary basis. The final rule allows for a yearlong phased implementation. CBP and the Transportation Security Administration will use the data for earlier risk assessments, it said. CBP seeks comments on the rule by Aug. 13
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All inbound aircraft with commercial cargo aboard will be required to file the ACAS data "as early as practicable, but no later than prior to loading of the cargo on the aircraft," CBP said. "The ACAS data will be used to determine whether the cargo is high-risk and may result in the issuance of an ACAS referral or a [Do Not Load (DNL)] instruction. Any ACAS referral must be resolved prior to departure of the aircraft. Any cargo that is issued a DNL instruction must not be loaded onto aircraft and requires immediate adherence to the protocols and directions from law enforcement authorities."
Eligible filers include: an importer or its Customs brokers as identified by its Automated Broker Interface filer codes; a Container Freight Station/deconsolidator as identified by Facilities Information and Resources
Management System code; an Express Consignment Carrier Facility as identified by its FIRMS code; or, an air carrier as identified by its carrier International Air Transport Association code, that arranged to have the inbound air carrier transport the cargo to the U.S.
The mandatory ACAS data elements are:
- Air waybill number
- Shipper name and address
- Consignee name and adderess
- Cargo description
- Total quantity based on the smallest external packing unit
- Total weight of cargo.
The new regulation also adds the master air waybill number as conditional data elemetn that was not required in the ACAS pilot, it said. "This data element will provide the location of the high-risk cargo and will allow CBP to associate the cargo with an ACAS submission." CBP will also require a flight departure message "to enable CBP to determine the timeliness of ACAS submissions," the agency said. The FDM is "necessary for the proper enforcement of the ACAS program" and "will provide CBP with the liftoff date and time from each foreign airport for a flight en route to the" U.S.
CBP plans to "show restraint" in enforcing the new requirements, it said. That restraint will continue for a year "so long as inbound air carriers and other eligible ACAS filers are making significant progress toward compliance and are making a good faith effort to comply with the rule to the extent of their current ability," it said.