CBP will move the mandatory use date to Oct. 29 for several post-release processes in ACE, including reconciliation and drawback, according to a letter from CBP sent to Trade Support Network leadership and posted by CustomsNow (here). A CBP spokeswoman confirmed the contents of the letter and said the agency's website would be updated soon. The change follows a request from the Trade Support Network asking for more time to prepare for drawback and reconciliation in ACE (see 1608310049). "CBP is moving this date from October 1, 2016 to October 29, 2016 to allow additional time for our trade stakeholders to transition these capabilities to ACE," the letter said. "This adjustment affects the mandatory filing of liquidation, drawback, reconciliation, duty deferral, collections, statements, and automated surety interface," it said.
Drawback
A duty drawback is a refund by CBP of the duties, taxes, or fees paid on imported goods, which were imposed upon importation as prescribed in 19 U.S.C. 1313(d). More broadly, a drawback also includes the refund or remission of other excise taxes pursuant to other provisions of law.
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CBP posted an updated version of its ACE Entry Summary Business Rules and Process document, dated Sept. 1 (here). "The updated version of the document includes a rewritten Liquidation section, a revised and expanded Protest section, and minor edits to the Drawback section (more updates to this section will be coming soon)," CBP said in a CSMS message (here).
CBP received and is considering how to respond to a Trade Support Network leadership council request to allow for a grace period for drawback and reconciliation filing after deployment in ACE (see 1608310049), an agency spokeswoman said. "CBP is continually evaluating the readiness around this transition and is committed to ensuring that the transition does not disrupt the flow of commerce," she said. " A response will be provided to the trade community upon further assessment of these considerations." The TSN asked for a 60-day "grace period" during which filers could use the Automated Commercial System while testing ACE for drawback and reconciliation.
CBP should give the trade community a grace period of 60 days to file in the legacy Automated Commercial System after it deploys drawback and reconciliation in ACE on Oct. 1, the Trade Support Network leadership council said in a letter to the agency dated Aug. 26. Current plans to deactivate ACS for drawback and reconciliation at the same time CBP launches drawback and reconciliation in ACE do not leave enough time for testing and training, and the agency still hasn’t issued the required policies and regulations, it said.
CBP posted the two most recent versions of its ACE Entry Summary Business Process document (here). The most recent version (here), dated Aug. 26, includes a new section on drawback in preparation for the Oct. 1 deadline mandating ACE for electronic drawback filings (see 1608110026).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued a Federal Register notice (here) announcing its previously announced plans to require filing of electronic drawback claims in ACE on Oct. 1. As of that date, the legacy Automated Commercial System “will no longer be a CBP-authorized [electronic data interchange] system for purposes of processing” drawback claims, CBP said. The notice also announces the creation of new entry type 47 for all types of drawback, replacing entry types 41 through 46. CBP has previously said the importer will separately specify the type of drawback being claimed (see 1606070040). CBP is also “removing the reference to NAFTA from the name of the ACE filing code 08 for duty deferral,” it said. Liquidation is also set to be deployed in ACE on Oct. 1, and electronic reconciliation will be mandated in ACE on that date as well (see 1607070032). For now, reconciliation summaries must still be filed only in ACS, and CBP will publish “a subsequent Federal Register Notice in the future” when reconciliation “will be transitioned in ACE,” it said.
CBP’s Oct. 1 deadline for drawback in ACE will bring changes not only for electronic claims currently filed in the Automated Commercial System, but also for claims submitted manually, agency officials said during an Aug. 11 webinar. Electronic claims in ACE will be subject to a limit of 5,000 records, and supporting documentation will have to be uploaded in the document imaging system (DIS) within 24 hours for a claim to be considered complete, said Lena Torrence of CBP’s Commercial Operations, Revenue and Entry division. As CBP has previously announced (see 1606070040), current entry types 41 through 46 will be replaced with the single entry type 47, with the relevant provision of drawback laws cited on the claim, and all communication for electronic claims, including CBP Form 28s, through the ACE portal, she said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: