U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a user guide on Receiving and Responding to CBP Forms 28 (Request for Information), 29 (Notice of Action), and 4647 (Notice to Mark/Notice to Re-Deliver) in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Secure Data Portal. According to CBP, ACE accounts electing to receive copies of these forms through the ACE Portal are not required to respond through the ACE Portal. Responses may be submitted to CBP through the ACE Portal or submitted to CBP at the port of entry where the entry summary is filed. ACE User guide available here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted five user guides dated February 2012 on merging Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) accounts, cross account access, managing user access, the business activity log, and initial account access.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted February 2012 user guides for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) on antidumping and countervailing duty cases and messages, blanket declaration records (e.g. importer certifying statement, NAFTA certificate of origin), and entry banks for BRASS, FAST, and Rail Line Release.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a February 2012 user guide on Post Summary Corrections (PSC) of entry summaries in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Importer-authorized ACE entry summary filers can submit a PSC for an existing ACE entry summary type 01 and 03 entry summary, which replaces the existing summary with a new version that will be processed through existing validations, including Census warnings. If a PSC is filed by someone other than the original filer, the original filer will not get a courtesy notice of liquidation via ABI (unless the filing occurs under NILS). Only the original entry filer or most recent PSC filer will be able to view the specific entry summary that was corrected. However, output records are split into "semi-private" (limited information, not the current owner) and "private/owner" information. Note that the filing of PSCs is considered 'customs business.' Post-Summary Corrections User Guide is available here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a CSMS message informing all ACE report users that all ACE reports are now up to date. On February 15, 2012, CBP had announced in CSMS #12-000047 that all Account Management, Authorized Data Extract, Entry Summary, Multi-Modal Manifest, Reference and Transactions reports were not updated. The CSMS further stated that reports should be up to date by February 16 and that a subsequent message would be issued once the data load was completed.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a CSMS message to all ACE report users that states that all Account Management, Authorized Data Extract, Entry Summary, Multi-Modal Manifest, Reference and Transactions reports were not updated last night. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is aware of the issue. The data load is continuing to run. At this time CBP anticipates reports to be up to date by February 16, 2012. A subsequent message will be issued once the data load is completed and reports are up to date. (CSMS #12-000047, dated 02/15/12)

Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for February 6 - February 10, 2012 in case they were missed last week.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted its draft agenda and 22 other documents for the upcoming Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) meeting on February 21, 2012, which include presentations, draft recommendations, and other documents on the role of the Broker, Simplified Entry, Bonds, the Global Supply Chain, and other topics.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted the following user guides for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE):

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted an updated version of its February 2012 "Trade Transformation" document, which includes a modified flow diagram of the Simplified Entry process in the air cargo environment from pre-departure to arrival. The diagram has removed the CBP messaging icons and descriptors and instead more fully describes CBP's interaction with and messaging to filers and carriers throughout the Simplified Entry (SE) process. The updated version also no longer lists the locations for current and planned Centers of Excellence and Expertise.