Optimism Ahead of March 31 ACE Deadline, Though Hiccups Likely

After months of hand-wringing and multiple delays, the first ACE mandatory use date on March 31 looks set to go smoothly, said software developers and customs brokers the day before the transition. CBP’s phased implementation approach appears to have paid dividends, with March 31 marking no change at all for many filers who already file the required types of entries and entry summaries in ACE, they said.

“I’m hoping this will go the same way as Y2K,” said Celeste Catano of software developer Kewill. “Everyone has been working hard trying to get everything ready for tomorrow and tomorrow will be a non-event,” she said.

CBP announced in early February that it would require filing in ACE on March 31 of entry summary types 01, 03, 11, 23, 51 and 52 without PGA requirements, as well as both entries and entry summaries with only Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Lacey Act and/or National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data for the same entry types (see 1602080042). The latest weekly ACE submission rates from the CBP website (here) show 85 percent of all entry summaries are already filed in ACE as of March 26.

Software developer Integration Point feels “comfortable” with a day left before the first switchover, having been “testing steadily with our customers and CBP,” said Melissa Irmen, senior vice president-products and strategy at the company. The developer has recently been successfully filing APHIS Lacey Act and NHTSA entries with its clients, she said. Entry summaries for types 01, 03 and 11 have been available in ACE for a long time, and the other entry types required March 31 are relatively low-volume, said Irmen. “We’re optimistic about tomorrow.”

Though many filers will see little change on March 31, filers who are not yet up and running in ACE will see problems, said John Peterson of customs broker C.H. Powell. “For those of us who have been filing in ACE for some time, it should be business as usual,” he said. “For any filers out there that have not yet started transmitting in ACE, it will most likely be cataclysmic, perhaps rightfully so ,” said Peterson, noting widespread outreach to encourage ACE filing by CBP, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America and local broker associations.

It remains to be seen how CBP will handle filers that continue to file in the legacy Automated Commercial System after the deadline for entries and entry types required in ACE on March 31, said Tom Gould of Sandler Travis. CBP recently announced a transition plan that will subject filers that flout the deadline to “any enforcement actions available” (see 1603250048). But ACS “does not have any edits that will prevent filers from filing entries,” and CBP “has not yet decided what enforcement actions they will take,” said Gould. “I believe it will be a case-by-case analysis, over the next few days it will probably be simply a warning initially. As we move further into April Customs will likely look to some harsher enforcement for filers who flagrantly disregard the transition requirements.” CBP did not immediately comment.

There will also undoubtedly be some last minute issues for compliant filers as well that may require temporary filing in ACS, said Catano. “I think that CBP will be somewhat lenient for the first few days. If there are issues with filing in ACE then they will let filers send their entries in ACS so that cargo will not be slowed down at the border,” she said. “The filers will need to work with Customs and their Software vendors to make sure there is a plan to resolve the issue that is blocking their use of ACE.”

However, filers that need ACE support could find it more difficult to get help, said Gould. “I anticipate an eventful next few days or weeks,” he said. “The ACE support desk has a backlog of several weeks and I anticipate it will get longer as we move beyond tomorrow’s deadline. The ABI client repos and war room team are wonderful but I fear that they will be overloaded,” said Gould.

Looking ahead, the upcoming May 28 deadline may prove more troublesome than the relatively smooth transition expected March 31, said Irmen. On that date, ACE will be required for entries of types 01, 03, 11, 23, 51 and 52 when not paired with PGA data (other than Lacey Act and NHTSA), as well entries and entry summaries for foreign-trade zone entry type 06 absent the same PGA data. Though a significant increase from only a few months ago (see 1603150007), CBP’s March 26 adoption statistics show about 42 percent of cargo release filings are being submitted through ACE. May 28 will require “more preparation and more coordination from the trade perspective,” she said. Type 06 filings in particular, which include weekly entries, "still face open questions,” said Irmen. “But we’re two months away, give or take.”