FWS Trims ACE Flags, Filing Requirements in Updated Implementation Guide
CBP posted its updated Fish and Wildlife Service ACE implementation guide to its website on Aug. 11. The updated FWS partner government agency (PGA) message set now includes only two FWS flags, with one indicating a commodity always requires clearance by FWS and the other covering commodities that are “likely to contain commodities” that require FWS declarations and may be disclaimed. The new message set also adds a new ACE input for designated port exception permits, as expected (see 1703010042).
For flag FW3, which covers commodities that always require FWS declarations, filers will be able to file mandatory FWS Form 3-177 in ACE, as well as “all appropriate optional date elements, and upload required images in the [Document Imaging System (DIS)] in lieu of filing in FWS eDecs or via paper,” the guide says. “After initial validation of the date, ACE will push the data and images to FWS eDecs for processing. The latter process presumes the filer has an eDecs filer account with their CBP filer identification number, it says. New disclaimer codes will cover situations in which the required documents were filed directly with FWS via paper or in the eDecs system.
On the other hand, for flag FW1, which covers commodities that are likely to contain commodities that require FWS declarations (i.e., that contain all animals or are likely to contain animals and animal products but that are in HTS subheadings that are not detailed enough for ACE to make a determination), filers may transmit the ACE PGA message set and file Form 3-177 and other documents in DIS. Alternatively, if the commodity does not contain animals that require FWS declarations and clearance, filers will be able to disclaim using code “E,” the guide says. “The burden of proof is on the importer to demonstrate that the goods described under these broad tariff codes do not require FWS declaration and clearance,” it says.
Other tariff codes will still require FWS declarations and clearance, so even if they aren’t flagged filers may still transmit the FWS PGA message set and upload required documents in DIS. Once again, “the burden of proof is on the importer to demonstrate that the goods described under these broad tariff codes do not require FWS declaration and clearance,” the guide says. “The absence of a tariff flag does not indicate the commodities are exempt from FWS declaration and clearance requirements. The importer, and any broker acting on their behalf, must check the supply chain of commodities to determine whether any of the products to be imported contain wildlife.”
The simplified system of flags comes after FWS suspended its ACE pilot in the face of concerns that its previous system of multiple flags, with some requiring answers to a series of questions and others requiring “certified disclaimers” (see 1609130042), was overly complicated (see 1611210004 and 1701190011). An updated FWS implementation guide is scheduled to be published by October 2017, reflecting recommendations set to be given by the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) at its Aug. 23 meeting, the COAC FWS working group said in a document posted ahead of the meeting. “The testing of FWS data submissions in ACE is tentatively scheduled to begin by December 2017,” the COAC document said. “The FWS pilot is tentatively scheduled to resume between March and April 2018.”