In response to heavy push back from the trade, participating government agencies, and software providers, U.S. Customs & Border (CBP) recently announced that it will delay the start of mandatory ACE entry filing from November 1 of this year to February 28, 2016.
November 1 will instead mark the beginning of what Customs is calling a “transition period” for entry filers and participating government agencies. By extending the entry filing deadline, CBP is granting these groups the extra time needed to complete proper testing of the new system.
What this means
If you’re a self-filer
Along with being required to file all entries and entry summaries in ACE, self-filers must also be prepared to file electronic data for these agencies by February 28:
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA)
- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for Lacey Act transactions
If your broker files on your behalf
Importers who use a broker for entry filing should contact their broker now, well before the February 28 deadline, to discuss the broker’s ACE implementation timeline and help ensure a smoother transition to the new system.
If Mohawk is your broker
“We want our import clients to know that Mohawk continues to move forward and is on track with full implementation of ACE,” says Robert Stein, Vice President, Customs & Trade Compliance. “We will begin rolling out ACE Cargo Release internally this fall,” says Stein.
Despite the recently announced delays for entry filing, CBP seems firm in its resolve to fully deploy ACE on time. According to CBP’s website, “the transition period initiated on November 1, 2105 does not impact our December 2016 deadline for full implementation of the Single Window via ACE.”