CBP Updates CATAIR Chapters for Expansion of Cargo Release Test to Ocean and Rail

December 4, 2013 by Brian Feito|Top News

CBP posted documents related to phase two of its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Cargo Release test. Scheduled to begin on Jan. 4 as part of ACE Deployment B, phase two will expand the Cargo Release test to the ocean and rail environments. CBP posted updates to two ACE Automated Broker Interface (ABI) CATAIR chapters related to the test. The agency in November expanded eligibility for the pilot, which was formerly known as Simplified Entry, by no longer requiring customs brokers and importer self-filers have Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) status (see 13110115).

In phase two of the Cargo Release test, CBP will still only allow type 01 and type 11 entries. But CBP will expand the pilot, which currently allows only entries filed in the air environment, into the ocean and rail modes of transportation as well. Other rules for phase two of the Cargo Release test include:

The filing of entries on unassembled or disassembled entities will not be supported.
If the port of entry is different from the port of unlading, no release will be issued unless an In-Bond is found to be associated with the bill of lading in the CBP system.
If an In-Bond number is provided in the entry submission, the Planned Port of Entry must also be provided.
When the ACE Cargo Release (SE) transaction is used the corresponding entry summary must be filed in ACE
Entries that require additional PGA data will not be accepted unless the specific PGA filing is one that CBP has announced it's supporting with the SE transaction data set.

Specific changes to CATAIR include adding a record to allow reporting data elements like election of entry dates, location of goods, preferred CEZS location, conveyance name, voyage/flight/trip manifest number, and general order if the cargo has been placed in general order. CBP is also adding a record to allow reporting of container or equipment data, as well as a data element to allow reporting of foreign-trade zone status.

CBP said the ACE Certification environment is available immediately for trade members to begin testing based on the new transaction sets. Trade members using the transaction sets from Deployment A should be able to continue testing without issue, CBP said.

For the Cargo Release pilot, CBP said it will soon publish a Federal Register notice on the details of enhanced functionality. CBP has previously said (here) other enhancements include the processing of partial quantities with in-bonds, extension of the Cargo Release data roll out, completion of the cancellation process from ACE Entry Summary to ACE Cargo release, and a single accept/reject message for Cargo Release entries.