U.S. Customs reminds private sector about monthly duty payment system

U.S. Customs reminds private sector about monthly duty payment system    One month after announcing the official launch of a three-month pilot test of the new automated periodic monthly payment system, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued another news release stating the account-based system had begun.
   The new system is one of the key modules being developed as part of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE); a multimillion-dollar effort to modernize the computers used to conduct customs transactions and communicate with the trade community. Under the system in place for more than 200 years, importers pay duties after each entry of goods.
   There are 41 major importers who have qualified to participate in each of the early trials of different ACE functions. In the case of the periodic payment system, only 34 of the eligible importers and 17 brokers are participating in the test.