U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted its monthly Automated Commercial Environment Updates for December 2011. With this update, CBP lists new statistics on the growing number of ACE Secure Data Portal trade user accounts and the growing size of revenue collected via Periodic Monthly Statement (PMS). The number of approved entities authorized to file ACE entry summaries using the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) has also grown to 54 entities, with more than 710,959 ACE entry summaries having been filed since functionality was introduced in April 2009.
Cox Communications agreed to follow three cable peers and sell AWS spectrum licenses to Verizon Wireless. Also like the carrier is doing with Bright House Networks, Comcast and Time Warner Cable (CD Dec 5 p5), Verizon Wireless and Cox will promote and market each other’s service. The agreements take off the table another chunk of AWS spectrum and come at a per-MHz/POP price that appears lower than what Verizon Wireless agreed to pay the SpectrumCo members for their AWS licenses. Foes of industry consolidation said the deals are beginning to raise competition concerns.
This is a reminder that for continuous and single transaction bonds presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection on or after January 1, 2012, only the new CBP Form 301 (with additional activity codes) and the new CBP Form 301A (addendum) with an expiration date of 03/31/2014 will be accepted. CBP will no longer accept the old 301 forms with an expiration date of 12/31/2010.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Agricultural Marketing Service officials state that the new fee for softwood lumber imports of $0.35 per thousand board feet will not be electronically collected by CBP using the Automated Broker Interface, as the agency has not programmed ABI for its collection. Instead, the fee, which affects imports on or after January 1, 2012, will be submitted by importers directly to the Softwood Lumber Board, on a quarterly basis. The Board is planning to issue instructions on the fee's quarterly submission in early January 2012.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted an updated version of its spreadsheet of ACE ESAR A2.2 (Initial Entry Types) programming issues.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a fact sheet inviting importers to take part in the many advantages of establishing an ACE portal account. Benefits of an importer ACE portal account include access to numerous reports, improved communications with CBP and a consolidated management approach facilitated by the tracking of import activity in a single, comprehensive, account based view.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a fact sheet inviting sureties to create and maintain a free Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Secure Data Portal account and utilize the numerous ACE reports that are available. CBP states that a surety with a portal account can view and update their account data, including company information (e.g., physical address, mailing address, service of process address and points of contact). The Trade Account Owner (TAO) for the surety account type will also be able to create and maintain a current listing of their corporate surety powers of attorney (CSPOA).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a fact sheet inviting customs brokers to create and maintain a free Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Secure Data Portal account and utilize the numerous ACE reports that are available. CBP states that an ACE portal account provides brokers with the ability to obtain monthly statements, make payments on behalf of their ACE and non-ACE clients, communicate with CBP, and track import activity in a single, comprehensive, account-based view.
The Court of International Trade has ruled in U.S. v. Inner Beauty Int'l (USA) Ltd., that Inner Beauty must pay a civil penalty of $39,549 for filing documents falsely stating that the country of origin of certain entries of women's undergarments was Hong Kong, instead of China. The CIT found Inner Beauty made an inadvertent error and was culpable for negligence because at the time of the entries, such merchandise was subject to an import quota.
Officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection now state that the planned ACE enhancement to provide the original ACE entry summary filer with visibility to the Post Summary Correction done by another party is "on hold," as resources are being directed to e-Manifest: Rail and Ocean (M1) programming needs.