Treasury Dept. Issues Spring Regulatory Agenda for CBP with New ACE Proposal

The Treasury Department published its spring 2016 regulatory agenda for CBP (here), which mentions a new proposed rulemaking to eliminate "hybrid" customs filings. The proposal (here) includes "new regulations that will require filers submitting entry or entry summary data electronically in ACE also to file associated [International Trade Data System] Agency data electronically in ACE, subject to limited exceptions," it said. "This rule will make each discrete entry or entry summary more uniform, as each transaction will be filed entirely in electronic format or entirely in paper format. This will enhance the ability of the U.S. Government to enforce the legal requirements pertaining to those transactions."

The agency hopes to issue the proposal in July, it said. CBP previously floated plans to no longer allow for filings that use a combination of electronic and paper filings (see 1510090017). That proposal, which wasn't an official proposed rulemaking, provoked concerns within industry (see 1511100030). Since then, CBP revised its ACE transition plans without much mention of the hybrid filing proposal. According to a Feb. 8 business processes document (here), "once ACE use is fully mandated for all entries and [Partner Government Agency] filings, CBP is proposing to eliminate this option in favor of fully electronic or fully paper filings, with limited exceptions where hybrid submissions will still be accepted."

The agenda lists Treasury's CBP rulemakings that are pending at the proposed, interim final, final, and completed stages, as well as rulemakings that are long-term actions. The agenda lists the regulation title; past regulation(s), if any; the timeframe for the next regulatory action(s), if any; a brief description of the regulation; and a contact party name and telephone number. The Department of Homeland Security also issued its spring 2016 regulatory agenda for CBP (see 1605190046).

Agenda Highlights

Highlights of Treasury's CBP rulemakings are below. New items are marked with an asterisk (*).