Various trade committees and associations have submitted formal letters to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) expressing concerns with the November 1, 2015 mandate to use ACE as the system for cargo release and associated entry summaries.
At this time CBP is not relenting in its target date and the trade community cannot slow down its preparations to meet that deadline.
CBP reports an increase in the number of filers utilizing ACE, yet in June only 14 percent of filers transmitted for ACE Cargo Release, and only 50 percent of filers transmitted to ACE for Entry Summary. Schenker is filing both and our clients can be assured that we are prepared to meet the deadline.
Entry Summary – For many months, Schenker has been filing 100 percent of eligible entry summaries via ACE. CBP will deploy the remaining entry types on October 31, 2015 and we are prepared to begin transmitting those entries when CBP can accept them.
ACE Cargo Release – We are activity expanding our filing at all branches in order to file as many entries as possible in ACE Cargo Release. On August 9th CBP deployed the functionality to process remote location filing (RLF) entries for ACE Cargo Release, and we are now taking advantage of this ability to increase our volume of ACE activity for release.
Parner Government Agencies (PGAs) – CBP and the PGAs have issued a pilot schedule to begin on August 19th and proceed in a phased approach through September 24th. Only four agencies are beginning in Phase I, and only in a few ports. The other ports of entry and other PGAs will begin taking entries throughout the four phases of implementation. Schenker is currently preparing for the implementation of filing entries with PGA data.
Document Imaging System (DIS) – Many agencies will begin to electronically receive data from the CBP entry, replacing forms previously collected by the regulating agency. Many agencies will still have a requirement to collect some forms or certifications, requiring filers to scan and upload documents to the ACE Document Imaging System (DIS). Schenker has begun utilizing ABI for the submission of such documents, replacing the email method of submission to DIS.
As an early participant in the various ACE capabilities, Schenker’s approach to implement functionalities as CBP has deployed them has provided the foundation for the final push towards the November 1, 2015 mandated date. If you have any questions about how these developments impact your customs entries and processes, please contact your local Schenker brokerage office.
