CBP Says Critical Fixes to ACE Entry Summary Issues Coming This Summer

May 31, 2012 by Tim Warren|Top News

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be working on important fixes to deployed ACE functionality this summer, CBP said in an update on planned ACE capabilities for the year. The major categories of fixes for trade capabilities include Reports, Forms and other Entry Summary-related issues, as well as Truck Manifest, said CBP.

Also listed as its planned ACE capabilities for 2012 (both completed, pending, and previously announced) are:

Completion of e-Manifest: Rail and Sea
- 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).
Simplified Entry, Phase 1 of Cargo Release
- Simplified Entry (SE) is the first phase of Cargo Release in ACE and will streamline the data required to obtain release of cargo. Nine brokers have been selected to participate in the pilot test of Simplified Entry for air cargo at selected ports. Participants must be ACE filers in order to fulfill the requirement that all SE’s will have ACE entry summaries filed against them. The pilot was scheduled to start this week. (See ITT's Online Archives 12021550 for summary of CBP's fact sheet on SE).
Document Image System
- CBP in April announced a pilot program for the Document Image System (DIS). DIS will allow the trade to submit imaged documents in XML format for ACE filed entry summaries. Two Participating Government Agencies (PGAs), the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Marine Fisheries Services, have volunteered to participate in the pilot. (See ITT's Online Archives 12041017 for summary of the DIS implementation guide).
Export Capabilities
- CBP plans to establish ACE as the single processing platform for all export manifest, commodity and export control transactions. On March 28 CBP began pilot testing the Automated Export Ocean Manifest using the DIS capability at specified ports. Pilot participants will not be required to present a paper CBP Form1302A and/or their paper Bills of Lading (BOLs). This pilot is an interim step to the full development of an electronic export manifest that will replace the current paper process. (See ITT's Online Archives 12052136 for summary of CBP Acting Commissioner David Aguilar pointing to the export capabilities as a priority for CBP).