U.S. Customs and Border Protection has re-posted the following links on ACE e-Manifest: Ocean and Rail (M1), which was deployed on August 27, 2011: (1) Information Notice (here); (2) Web-Based Training (here); (3) In-Bond Authorization (here); and (4) Creating and Maintaining Entry Banks (here).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials recently stated that the agency is "on track" to fully deploy e-Manifest: Ocean and Rail (M1) at the end of January 2012. The agency has done a lot of testing and is ahead of schedule internally to meet this deadline. In addition, a group of three carriers is waiting for the go-ahead to send manifests in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), which can be set up in a three-week time frame.
The International Trade Data System has issued a draft report for trade comment by November 15, 2011, on the results of three pilot studies conducted to validate the business case for using e-commerce data, such as global product numbers/codes and electronic product catalogs, to improve product visibility at international borders. The report shows that the three product sets on which the pilots focused - toys, cut flowers, and meat and poultry1 -- all benefited from the use of such data and could save importers millions of dollars. The report also states that a new ACE PGA Message Set will be implemented in 2012 to pass e-commerce data to participating government agencies (PGAs).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials and COAC members discussed COAC's recommendations and CBP's next steps for the agency's Role of the Broker Project at the COAC meeting that was held on October 4 in El Paso, Texas. CBP also discussed its proposals for Simplified Entry, Summary and Financial Processing, including its plans for a Simplified Entry pilot before the end of 2011.
The CBP-NCBFAA "Role of the Broker-Broker Regulatory Revision Workgroup" has updated its proposed options for revising the role of licensed customs brokers and the Part 111 regulations. The Workgroup continues to propose a continuing education requirement to maintain an “active” broker's license1 and that Customs business be conducted within the U.S. Customs Territory. It is also proposing that broker status reports be submitted every six months via the ACE Portal, that a web-based exam application process be implemented, and that a review of the broker penalty regime occur. It is no longer proposing an apprenticeship prerequisite to licensing.
The CBP-Trade "Simplified Entry, Summary & Financial Workgroup" has updated its proposal for simplified trade processes, which will be discussed at the October 4, 2011 COAC meeting. The proposal lists 12 data elements for release under simplified entry, and discusses proposed qualifications for its initial pilot. Also included is more information on the Workgroup's proposal for simplified periodic summary and financial processes.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has made available previously recorded webinars on the role of the broker (09/16/11), CBP account management restructuring (09/14/11), ACE Post Summary Corrections (09/01/11), and simplified entry and financial processes (07/12/11). This is part of CBP's series of live webinars that are recorded and made available for subsequent on-demand viewing over the Internet. Presentation slides are also available for download.
According to CBP sources, the ACE Portal functionality enhancements that were part of M1 (e-Manifest: ocean and rail) included benefits for all ACE Portal users and were deployed on August 29 and September 6, 2011 as scheduled.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a CSMS message announcing the issuance of Harmonized System Update 1106. This update contains 1,642 Automated Broker Interface records and 371 harmonized tariff records.
Officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection state that the agency plans to add an enhancement by year’s end so that the original ACE entry summary filer will have visibility to the Post Summary Correction filing done by another party. In addition, officials state that a ‘quick fix’ to provide the original filer visibility via ACS can be used until then.