CBP Clarifies ACE In-Bond Authorization Functionality in ACE Portal

May 31, 2012 by Tim Warren|Customs

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a clarification for M1 carriers using the in-bond authorization functionality in ACE. T

The CSMS message is (here). The clarification says:

If the bond owner authorizes no partners, then anyone can obligate the bond. No Standard Carrier Alphanumeric Codes (SCAC) or filer codes are present in the in-bond authorization file in the ACE Portal.
If the bond owner authorizes self as partner, then only the SCAC of the bond owner is listed in the in-bond authorization file in the ACE Portal. The bond owner can obligate the bond; all other partners are blocked from using the bond even if they show in the ACE Portal as authorized partners.
If the bond owner authorizes others as partners, then only the bond owner and the partners listed in the in-bond authorization file in the ACE Portal can obligate the bond. The bond owner must first remove themselves from the ACE Portal as a user of the bond if they previously added their SCAC as an authorized partner. Note: The bond owner can always obligate their own bond.

CBP reminded truck carriers not to use the in-bond authorization functionality. The ACE Truck application has not been enhanced at this time to function with the new “In-bond Authorization” file in ACE M1 and therefore for ACE Truck created in-bonds the system may accept an in-bond shipment in ACE truck but will not issue the movement authorized message, said CBP. This could result in a truck or shipment being delayed at the border until the issue is resolved. If the trade uses the QP functionality there should be no issues as all QP in-bonds use the ACE M1 “In-bond Authorization” function and therefore if the in-bond is accepted the movement authorized message will be generated as normal.

The full document (here) provides instructions on how to create and maintain a carrier in-bond authorization, grant additional port access to an existing authorized partner, edit date parameters for authorized partners, remove ports from an authorized partner, and remove authorized partners from an account in ACE.CBP also updated an Information Notice on M1 to reflect the clarification (here).

CBP said in March ACE will be the only CBP-approved electronic data interchange (EDI) through which rail and sea manifests and ABI inbonds for these modes may be transmitted. The cutoff date for Automated Manifest System (AMS) rail and sea transmissions is September 29, 2012. (See ITT's Online Archives 12032821 for the FR announcement. (FR Pub 03/29/12).