CBP pushes back ACE deadline for post-release functions

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it has postponed the mandatory date for all importers to file certain post-release documents in the Automated Commercial Environment to give all stakeholders more time to prepare their software for the switch.

   U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Thursday announced it is pushing back the mandatory date for all importers to file certain post-release documents in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the agency’s enterprise system for monitoring and processing international shipments and communicating with importers and exporters, as well as other government agencies with clearance authority over goods.

   The remaining trade functions that have yet to fully transition to ACE are reconciliation, liquidation, duty deferral, drawback, collections, statements and the Automated Surety Interface. CBP said the deadline for all traders to file such forms in the new automated system has been pushed back from Oct. 29 to January 2017 to give all stakeholders more time to prepare their software for the switch from the legacy Automated Commercial Environment.
   An executive order from President Obama requires all agencies with oversight of trade issues to conduct business in the International Trade Data System (ITDS), a single channel for routing documentation to agencies without redundant filing, by the end of the year. The ITDS platform is ACE.
   Tom Gould, senior director of customs and international trade for the consulting arm of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, said CBP will technically be in compliance with the executive order.
   “The question is, does the old system have to be turned off or just that the new system be ready, but not everyone be required to use it?” he said. By pushing off the deadline for turning off the Automated Commercial System and making ACE available to use, CBP is meeting the letter of the mandate.