CBP Working Toward ACE Data Download to Replace ITRAC; Planning Audit Survey Expansion

While the Automated Commercial Environment will at some point become the source of importer transaction information, importers should continue to rely on Importer Trade Activity (ITRAC) data for the time being, said Thomas Jesukiewicz, acting executive director of CBP's Regulatory Audit group during an event hosted by the American Conference Institute on Jan. 22. Eventually, through ACE "you'll be able to download your own data to be able to see" importer transaction history, he said.

With ACE set to become the required method of electronic data filing, it's not clear exactly when ACE will become the only source of the data, he said. "They're looking at how to download the data," said Jesukiewicz. Although some import data is already available through ACE, some consider it less accurate than ITRAC, said Baker & McKenzie lawyer Ted Murphy in a recent blog post (here).

CBP's Office of Regulatory Audit also plans to expand its use of audit surveys over the coming year, Jesukiewicz said. The audit surveys, which from a policy perspective aren't considered an audit, allows for some early back and forth between the government and importers of interest before a decision on whether a lengthy and expensive full audit is needed, he said. Instead, a group of import specialists, targeters and auditors will seek out more information via a questionnaire, a request for information (CF28), or an onsite visit to determine "how much validation effort or enforcement effort" is needed "depending on what comes up," he said. Because the surveys aren't considered actual audits, CBP won't be required to meet a number of government-required benchmarks, he said.

Coordinated through the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, the survey team will make a decision as to if a certain company poses an actual risk of non-compliance or if it should be removed from the "radar" because of such a low risk, he said. Now used by only a small number of audit teams, this year each of the field offices will begin use of audit surveys, with a focus on priority trade issues, such as dumping, classification and valuation, he said. If a full audit is deemed necessary following the survey, the audit timeframe is often faster due to the added focus from the surveys, he said. The agency began taking a closer look at this approach early last year (see 1501160011).