U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on Aug. 31 the long-anticipated delay to full implementation of the Automated Commercial Environment, or ACE, its new computer platform.
This short respite comes as a welcome relief to anyone following this issue. While Customs is close to being ready for full implementation, the headaches are even greater for external stakeholders. Companies should not let up on their implementation efforts, however, and should strive to meet the new ACE timeline.
Nov. 1, 2015: ACE is “allowed and encouraged” for electronic filing of entries and entry summaries for consumption, anti-dumping, informal, and defense and government entries.
Feb. 28, 2016: Useof ACE becomes mandatory in lieu of the old system (ACS), plus for all Food and Drug Administration, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) (Lacey Act) data.
July 2016: Afterthe final rules are published, ACE is required for Automated Manifest System, APHIS Core, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Centers for Disease Control, Defense Contract Management Agency, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, Drug Enforcement Agency, International Trade Administration Enforcement and Compliance, Environmental Protection Agency, Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service, National Marine Fisheries Service and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau data. Fish & Wildlife will also come on board if the update of its regulations has been timely accomplished.
December 2016: The deadline for full implementation of the “Single Window via ACE” system remains, meaning all agencies and all users must by this time be able to report or process all required data for their imports and exports.
To be clear, the decision to delay full implementation occurred at the White House with the concurrence of the Border Interagency Executive Council, so this was not Customs simply backing off. And it was obvious that full implementation by November would have doomed it to fail. No matter how diligently everyone worked, there was not enough time to program, test, release and test some more and have the system work without massive downtime and delays once fully implemented.
While the deadline to file through ACE has been extended, companies would do well to keep the “pedal to the metal” and get their interfaces with the new system worked out now. While the main goal of ACE is to allow a single window through which all data needed by any government agency to release a shipment would be provided, there are significant downsides lurking.
Besides the obvious significant costs and massive operational changes this new system portends for even the most compliant business operation, companies should keep in mind the fact all the data is coming through one information portal now means any agency with jurisdiction over your goods will be able to check its electronic records to measure compliance with the relevant applicable laws and regulations. This means it will be considerably easier for agencies to initiate enforcement actions — civil and potentially criminal.
Customs brokers and freight forwarders are already sharing best practices and tips to generate reports among themselves. They are worried their importers and exporters will be able to identify their mistakes far more easily than ever before.
Have you set up an ACE account? How are you planning to interface with your service providers? What methods are you planning to use to review and verify the filings made on your behalf?
While no one is suggesting intentional wrongdoing on the part of anyone, if data is miskeyed at time of import or export filing, it will be far easier to identify. Many of the agencies signing on to ACE have never before received electronic data. It does not take a genius to figure out those agencies will access that electronic data and want to analyze and use it to their advantage.
Every agency participating in ACE has spent lots of staff time and agency funds to join the process. You know they want a return on their investment. Are you prepare to minimize your exposure to those agencies? If not, there is still time to get ready, but the window is getting ever smaller.
Susan Kohn Ross is an international trade attorney with Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp in Los Angeles. Contact her at [email protected].
This is from the 16 September 2015 edition of The Journal of Commerce and is available at:
http://www.joc.com/regulation-policy/customs-regulations/us-customs-regulations/shippers-advised-move-ace-despite-deadline-extension_20150916.html#sthash.ag1SyEpw.dpuf