Contingency Plans in Place for July 23 ACE Deadline, CBP Says; ACS Filers To Get Rejects

CBP “has procedures in place to address system issues and communicate with users” in the event of ACE system slowdowns or outages beginning on July 23, “just as we’ve had with ACS,” which will no longer be available for most filing after that date, CBP said in an update to transition procedures for the upcoming deadline (here). “Port downtime or workaround procedures will be implemented as determined by the Office of Field Operations, and guidance to the trade community will be timely communicated via the Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS),” it said. “Filers should continue to work with the local port office regarding the movement of goods.”

CBP is “fully confident that we have a good plan of action in place to meet the upcoming July 23rd ACE transition milestone successfully,” an agency spokeswoman said. “As we have done in the past, CBP will closely monitor ACE system performance and will remain in close contact with the trade community as needed throughout the transition.” CBP recently met with representatives of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America to discuss the industry group’s call for the legacy Automated Commercial System (ACS) to remain online as a fallback after July 23, and enhance communication with the trade community on system issues (see 1607190032), an agency spokeswoman said, adding that “CBP appreciates NCBFAA’s valuable input.”

Entry types 02, 07, 12, 21, 22, 31, 32, 34 and 38 must be filed in ACE starting July 23, along with entries and entry summaries of types 06 and 23 that include quota merchandise (see 1605200034). Beginning on July 23, ACS will reject “all entry and entry summary submissions” for entry types required in ACE, which also include entry types 01, 03, 11, 23, 51 and 52 and non-quota 06 and 23. Filers will receive the reject message “4AP – USE ACE TO ADD/REPLACE ENTRY.” Filers that receive a reject message should ensure their software “has been properly coded to submit to ACE” and that the submission was sent through ACE. Questions about software should be directed to the software vendor, CBP said.

Technical issues during business hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time, should be addressed to the filer’s client representative, who will have access to the ACE Business Office war room, staffed July 22 through July 29 “to handle issues related to transactions mandated by ACE on July 23.” Outside of normal business hours, issues may be resolved by contacting the ACE help desk (phone: (866) 530-4172, email: ACE.Support@cbp.dhs.gov). For operational issues, filers should contact the corresponding port of entry or Center of Excellence and Expertise.

CBP’s update also includes new information specifically for quota filers. ACE will automatically allocate quota amounts once per day once ACE quota capabilities come online July 23, with U.S. Department of Agriculture import licenses automatically allocated in ACE “on a more frequent basis,” CBP said. Once allocated, filers will receive a “UC” message informing them of the final allocation. CBP will be able to manually allocate quotas when needed, it said, including for protests, corrections and adjustments, system issues and “various special cases that may occur.” Visa and eCERT in ACE will not require the filing of a quota entry type if there is no quota line on the entry, CBP said. On the other hand, NAFTA Tariff Preference Levels (TPLs) are considered quota and should be filed as entry type 02 or another quota entry type. Remote Location Filing (RLF) will be available for both quota and visa after July 23.