CBP Planning to Deploy PGA Message Set by Summer

CBP hopes to deploy its Partner Government Agency (PGA) message set in the "spring-summer timeframe," said Brenda Smith, acting director of the ACE business office while speaking at the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) meeting on Dec. 4. "We see that very close on the horizon, she said.

"The next big thing that has been built, but hasn't been deployed yet -- needs a little more work -- is the [PGA] message set." CBP wants to provide some flexibility for data submission, as the agency has identified over 100 data elements that are required by various government agencies at the border, though most agencies only require 10-15 of those elements said Smith.

Immediate Reprogramming Not Expected

The planned deployment for the PGA Message Set won't mean the need for reprogramming and electronic filing for items now submitted on paper "at the drop of a hat," said Timothy Skud, deputy assistant secretary of Tax, Trade and Tariff Policy in the Department of the Treasury. "The PGA message set is a compendium of what we think that the other agencies need to have added to the ABI filing, the entry filing, so that they can meet their data needs." Certainly not all agencies will be ready to go right away and right now only one agency has done the regulatory hurdles and would be ready once CBP is ready to go, said Skud. After that, CBP will start going through the agencies "one by one," he said.

CBP has been working in a test mode for Cargo Release/Simplified Entry in a number of efforts, such as the document image system, and a number of other agencies and industry members have started trying out the various features. That testing makes the sure the information involved, "legal framework around being able to accept documents electronically" and technological functionality are sufficient for a more widespread deployment, said Smith.

Smith reiterated the agency's move to a "more" agile approach, allowing for smaller and more frequent updates to ACE's capabilities. Smith said CBP believes it can complete "the core functionality of ACE in one system in approximately three years." The agency has the most confidence in making progress for items planned for deployment within the next 12 months, she said. Among the goals within that year time frame are exports, cargo release/Simplified Entry with the PGA message set, and an automated correction and deletion function, said Smith. CBP will also begin programming for entry summary edits within the next year, she said.