Technical problems force CBP to postpone e-manifest enforcement

Technical problems force CBP to postpone e-manifest enforcement    Truckers crossing into Washington, Arizona and North Dakota on Monday received 30 extra days before a mandatory requirement that they electronically file their cargo lists goes into effect after U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it will delay the compliance date, due to communication problems with its new computer system.
   CBP said it has developed a fix for a recurring problem with the message function that is preventing the Automated Commercial Environment from consistently communicating the status of electronic manifest submissions, so that truckers can verify if CBP has accepted the filing and can proceed to the border.
   Current rules require truck drivers to fax their manifests to the port of entry prior to arrival at the port of entry, or voluntarily file their documentation through an electronic data interchange system or secure Web portal at least one hour in advance. Status messages allow truckers to correct mistakes or fill in missing information so they are not turned away at the border.
   CBP is transitioning from a voluntary to mandatory e-manifest system. The change is being done to eliminate inefficient manual processing of paper documents at the border checkpoint so that officers can quickly preclear shipments that do not pose a security risk. All ports of entry in Washington and Arizona, and seven in North Dakota, were the first to make the switch in late January under a relaxed enforcement protocol designed to educate non-compliant truckers about the new requirement.
   The announcement delays the scheduled start of the next enforcement phase until April 26, at which time CBP will deny entry to carriers that arrive at the border without submitting or attempting to submit an e-manifest.
   'We're taking a phased approach to mandatory e-manifest enforcement so that initial problems can be corrected before the policy is in effect nationwide,' said Louis Samenfink, executive director of the Cargo Systems Program Office. 'We're committed to ensuring that all aspects of ACE work as they should, and are not going to take enforcement action against a carrier if CBP system problems are interfering with the successful submission of an e-manifest.'
   A problem with ACE software that communicates with the transmission line provider caused a glitch during CBP’s January launch of the mandatory e-manifest program in the three western states, Shippers’ NewsWire reported at the time. Carriers did not get messages back from CBP telling them they could move their trucks to the border. Communication between the ports of entry and the main processing center in Virginia was also slow, leading to delays of several hours to cross the border for some trucks.
   CBP said the new technical fix would be applied to ACE at all land ports of entry.