U.S. Customs moves back compliance deadline

Freight forwarders were relieved to learn yesterday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would be delaying its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) implementation.

The change in schedule was in response to concerns of industry readiness for the transition, say CBP spokesmen.

CBP had originally set November 1 as the mandatory date for electronic filing of all cargo release and entry summaries including those requiring participating government agency data sets.

While CBP is still encouraging shippers to file entries into ACE as early as possible,  the new deadline has now been set for February 28, 2016.

“This is good news as several functionality issues still exist requiring more testing and resolution,” says Brandon Fried, the executive director of the Airforwarders Association, (AfA).

He added that the AfA holds a seat on the CBP Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC).

“We look forward to sharing our member’s questions and concerns with CBP regarding ACE implementation of other trade issues,” says Fried.

Working in close coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, the Border Interagency Executive Council, and the White House, CBP has been actively tracking and assessing stakeholder readiness for the mandatory filing of all electronic entry and entry summaries in ACE.

“While significant capabilities have been deployed to date, concerns about stakeholder readiness have necessitated a reassessment of our current timelines,” say spokesmen. “We appreciate the input from the trade community and have adjusted the mandatory transition to ACE for electronic entry and entry.”