Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) has extended the deadline for mandatory filing of all electronic entries in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) program to February 28, 2016. However, WB Skinner is ensuring that our customers be prepared before that date, to avoid last-minute and holiday rush and confusion about the new program.
CBP has adjusted the schedule as follows:
- November 1, 2015: Beginning of a transition period to allow industry and government agencies more time to test and provide feedback on the new system.
- February 28, 2016: All filings must be entered in ACE. Filings will no longer be permitted in the legacy Automated Commercial System (ACS).
Extension of the deadline dates was requested by WB Skinner, among others, to ensure stakeholders’ readiness. However, all shippers are encouraged to make sure that their brokers are prepared for exclusive use of the ACE program as soon as possible. “We have been working with ACE since its inception, and are treating November 1 as the deadline for its use for our customers’ entries,” said Bill Skinner, WB Skinner President.
WB Skinner is already filing 95% percent of customers’ entries in ACE. Currently, the more restrictive part of the ACE program (Cargo Release) does not allow entries to be filed for FDA and other governmental agencies. However, the company is participating in testing of new systems that allow entry filing through ACE for FDA, Fish & Wildlife, USDA and others. “We are ensuring that we do as much as possible to file in ACE, while also participating in testing of the various new facets of ACE as they are made available to us,” Mr. Skinner said.
CBP automated systems electronically support the facilitation of importing and exporting goods. By the end of 2016, the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) will become the Single Window – the primary system through which the trade community will report imports and exports and the government will determine admissibility. The objective is to streamline and automate manual processes, eliminate paper, and allow the international trade community to more easily and efficiently comply with U.S. laws and regulations.
For more on ACE, see http://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated