[Federal Register: October 24, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 204)]
[Notices]
[Page 61466-61468]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24oc05-73]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
Automated Commercial Environment (ACE): Creation of Non-Portal
Accounts for Importers; Automatic ACE Participation for C-TPAT Members
AGENCY: Customs and Border Protection; Department of Homeland Security.
ACTION: General notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the creation of Non-portal Accounts for
importers wishing to participate in the Automated Commercial
Environment (ACE) test, but not seeking the benefits that inure to
parties that establish Portal Accounts. This notice also announces that
all importers who are certified partners in the voluntary Customs-Trade
Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Program, and are not holders of
ACE Portal Accounts, are automatically established as ACE Non-portal
Accounts and are eligible to participate in the Periodic Monthly
Statement test. This Notice further announces that importers who are
not certified partners in C-TPAT may still become Non-portal Accounts
by accurately completing a Customs and Border Protection Form (CBP
Form) 5106 and then submitting that document to a customs broker who is
participating in ACE via a Portal Account. The broker will then submit
that information to CBP. Finally, the document states that any current
C-TPAT certified partners who are owners of Portal Accounts and are not
participating in Periodic Monthly Statement (PMS) may immediately
participate in PMS directly with CBP, or through a customs broker with
an ACE Portal Account, by providing to CBP those importer of record
numbers that are part of the Portal Account and that have been
previously designated to C-TPAT.
DATES: The provisions of this Notice are effective immediately.
ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this notice should be submitted to Mr.
Michael Maricich via e-mail at Michael.Maricich@dhs.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions regarding this Notice:
Mr. Michael Maricich via e-mail at Michael.Maricich@dhs.gov, or by
telephone at (703) 921-7520. Information is also available at the CBP
Web site, cbp.gov, regarding the procedures to follow in order to
establish the accounts described in this notice, such as the submission
of forms, information, etc.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 1, 2002, CBP published a General Notice in the Federal
Register (67 FR 21800) announcing a plan to conduct a National Customs
Automation Program (NCAP) test of the first phase of the Automated
Commercial Environment. In this notice, CBP stated that it planned to
select approximately forty importer accounts from the list of qualified
applicants for the initial deployment of this test. The test would
allow importers and authorized parties to access their customs data via
a web based Account Portal. In order to be eligible for participation,
an importer was required to become a member of the Customs-Trade
Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Program and had to have the
ability to connect to the internet. Each participant had to designate
one person as the account owner for the company's portal account
information, with that account owner being responsible for safeguarding
the company's portal account information, controlling all disclosures
of that information to authorized persons, authorizing user access to
the Account Portal and ensuring that access to the company's portal
account information by authorized persons is strictly controlled. Each
importer wishing to participate was required to fill out an application
and, while not expressly stated in the Notice, each applicant was also
required to agree to a set of terms and conditions.
On June 18, 2002, CBP extended the application period for those
desiring to be one of the initial importer participants by publishing a
second General Notice in the Federal Register (67 FR 41572). That
notice emphasized that applications to be an initial participant had to
be submitted to CBP prior to August 1, 2002. Applications would be
accepted after that date, but parties who so applied would be placed on
a waiting list and considered for participation pending expansion of
the technology.
On February 4, 2004, CBP published a General Notice in the Federal
Register (69 FR 5362) announcing the next step toward the full
electronic processing of commercial importations in ACE, with a focus
on identifying authorized importers and brokers to participate in the
test to implement the Periodic Monthly Statement (PMS) Process. Under
the test as described in this Notice, participating importers and their
designated brokers are allowed to deposit estimated duties and fees no
later than the 15th calendar day of the month following the month in
which the goods are either entered or released, whichever comes first.
(See section 383 of the Trade Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107-210, dated
August 6, 2002, which amended section 505(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930
(19 U.S.C. 1505(a)). Brokers are permitted to establish broker accounts
in the secure data portal in order to submit Periodic Monthly
Statements on behalf of their clients eligible to participate.
The February 4, 2004, General Notice further stated that
participants in this test would benefit by having access to operational
data through the ACE Secure Data Portal (``Portal''), enjoying the
capability of being able to interact electronically with CBP, and
making payments of duties and fees on a periodic monthly basis.
Pursuant to this Notice, an importer wishing to designate a broker to
make Periodic Monthly Statement payment on his behalf can do so only
after first establishing himself as an importer ACE Portal account by
meeting the basic criteria set forth in the Federal Register notices of
May 1, 2002 (67 FR 21800) plus two new additional requirements, i.e.,
having the ability to make periodic payment via ACH Credit or ACH Debit
and having the ability to file entry/entry summary via ABI (Automated
Broker Interface). Also, designated brokers wishing to participate in
this test and make Periodic Monthly Statement payment on behalf of
participating importers also had to establish individual broker ACE
Portal Accounts, also meeting those same requirements. In addition, in
order for customs brokers to apply, they had to provide names of the
initial forty-one importers participating in the test who had
designated or would designate them as the authorized broker.
On September 8, 2004, CBP published a General Notice in the Federal
Register (69 FR 54302), reminding the public that importers and their
designated brokers may still apply to establish ACE Portal accounts so
as to participate in the Periodic Monthly Statement Process. The Notice
again invited customs brokers to participate in the ACE Portal test
generally.
On February 1, 2005, CBP published a General Notice in the Federal
Register (70 FR 5199) modifying the eligibility
[[Page 61467]]
requirements for the establishment of an ACE portal account and
announced that applicants seeking to establish importer or broker
accounts so as to access the ACE Portal, or to participate in any test,
were no longer required to provide a statement certifying participation
in the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT).
On August 8, 2005, CBP published a General Notice in the Federal
Register (70 FR 45736) changing the time period allowed for the deposit
of the duties and fees from the 15th calendar day to the 15th working
day of the month following the month in which the goods are either
entered or released. That change was made in order to comply with the
provisions of section 2004 of the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical
Corrections Act of 2004, Public Law 108-429, which extended the time of
deposit of those estimated duties and fees. The document also advised
that entries containing Census errors are eligible to be placed on a
Periodic Daily Statement and designated for monthly payment. Finally,
the document described those situations where liquidated damages would
be imposed for failing to pay estimated duties in a timely manner.
On September 22, 2005, CBP published a General Notice in the
Federal Register (70 FR 55632) eliminating the requirement that
participants in the Periodic Monthly statement test provide a bond
rider covering the periodic payment of estimated duties and fees. The
Notice indicated that nonpayment or untimely payment of estimated
duties and fees may result in action by CBP to impose sanctions on the
delinquent importer of record or to allow the surety to terminate its
basic importation bond. If the bond principal is a participant in the
Periodic Monthly Statement test, sureties will be allowed, under
certain conditions, to terminate bonds with 3 business days notice to
the bond principal and CBP.
Description of Changes
Removal of Requirement for Participation in Periodic Monthly Statement
In order to encourage maximum participation, CBP will no longer
require that importers first establish ACE Portal Accounts in order to
deposit estimated duties and fees as part of Periodic Monthly Statement
(PMS). Previous releases of ACE involved testing the ability of
importers and authorized parties to access their CBP data via the
Portal, with a focus on defining and establishing the Importer Account
structure. Among other things, the requirement to establish an ACE
Portal Account was considered a benefit to participants because it
provides them with access to their operational data through the ACE
Portal.
CBP recognizes that some importers, while wishing to deposit
estimated duties and fees on a monthly basis, would prefer to designate
a broker to perform this role, and may choose not to access their data
via the Portal. As such, CBP has decided that in lieu of the
requirement to establish an importer ACE Portal account prior to
participation in periodic monthly payment, CBP will only require an
importer to establish a Non-portal Account.
Non-Portal Accounts
Through this Notice, CBP announces the establishment of Non-portal
Accounts in ACE. At this point during the ACE test, Non-portal Accounts
will only be afforded to importers.
Importers desiring to participate in ACE through Non-portal
Accounts will not be required to meet the application requirements
outlined to date, but will be required to provide information related
to identity (unless they are C-TPAT certified partners, automatically
becoming ACE Non-portal Accounts, as described later in this document).
Importers establishing Non-portal Accounts will be eligible to
participate in the Periodic Monthly Statement test and pay estimated
duties and fees on a monthly basis. In order to participate in the
Periodic Monthly Statement test consistent with the provisions of this
General Notice, a Non-portal Account importer must have its duty and
fee deposits guaranteed by a continuous basic importation bond.
Ultimately, it is CBP's intention to permit the filing of single
transaction bonds for those importers wishing to participate in the
payment of estimated duties in the Periodic Monthly Statement test.
However, at this stage in the test development, in order to ensure that
all Non-portal Account participants receive some fiscal scrutiny,
continuous bonds will be required.
In order to participate as a Non-portal Account, a party must
submit to its customs broker a CBP Form 5106, Notification of
Importer's Number or Notice of Change of Name or Address, with accurate
information. Brokers with Portal Accounts are eligible to establish
Non-portal Accounts on behalf of their clients. Brokers who accept CBP
Form 5106 information from a client and submit that information to CBP
in order to establish a Non-portal Account on behalf of that client
should exercise due diligence to ensure that all information provided
by the client that is used in the processing of merchandise is
accurate. Under the procedures for establishing Non-portal Accounts for
the test, the broker shall be obligated to maintain an accurately
completed power of attorney on file on behalf of that importer. The
broker will be required to exercise responsible supervision and control
over customs business as required by the provisions of title 19, United
States Code, section 1641.
Upon completion of the aforementioned requirements, holders of Non-
portal Accounts may participate in Periodic Monthly Statement via a
broker with a Portal Account.
Automatic Participation in ACE for C-TPAT Certified Partners
All importer certified partners in the voluntary Customs Trade
Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) who do not have portal accounts
are automatically considered to be ACE Non-portal Accounts eligible to
participate in the Periodic Monthly Statement test. C-TPAT is an
initiative between business and government to protect global commerce
from terrorism. Importers applying to participate in C-TPAT, among
other things, are required to be active U.S. importers or non-resident
Canadian importers into the United States, have a business office
staffed in the United States or Canada and have active U.S. importer of
record ID(s) in any of the following formats: (1) U.S. Social Security
Number; (2) U.S. Internal Revenue Service assigned ID(s); or (3) CBP
assigned Importer ID.
Accordingly, inasmuch as this information is provided to CBP in the
application process, C-TPAT certified partners automatically designated
as Non-portal Accounts are not required to follow the Non-portal
Account process described earlier in this Notice. Also, brokers with C-
TPAT clients will not be required to submit the completed CBP Form
5106. Necessary powers of attorney must be maintained. In order to
apply for PMS participation, the C-TPAT Non-portal Account must use a
broker with an ACE Portal Account to designate to CBP the Non-portal
Account as a C-TPAT certified partner and provide CBP with the importer
of record IDs that have been previously designated to C-TPAT.
C-TPAT importers are encouraged to apply to become ACE Portal
Accounts as described in the May 1, 2002, and February 4, 2004, Federal
Register Notices described earlier.
[[Page 61468]]
C-TPAT Portal Accounts Currently Not Participating in Periodic Monthly
Statement
C-TPAT certified partners who hold ACE Portal Accounts and are not
taking advantage of Periodic Monthly Statement estimated duty and fee
payments may do so directly with CBP, or through a customs broker with
an ACE Portal Account, by providing to CBP those U.S. importer of
record IDs that are part of the Portal Account and have been previously
designated to C-TPAT. No further participation requirements need be
met.
Previous Notices and Suspension of Regulations
All requirements and aspects of the ACE test discussed in previous
notices are hereby incorporated by reference into this notice and
continue to be applicable, unless changed by this notice. Examples of
such requirements and aspects are the rules regarding misconduct under
the test and the required evaluation of the test (both of which are
detailed in the notices published at 67 FR 21800 and 69 FR 5362).
During the testing of the Periodic Monthly Statement process, CBP
is suspending provisions in Parts 24, 141, 142, and 143 of the CBP
Regulations (Title 19 Code of Federal Regulations) pertaining to
financial, accounting, entry procedures, and deposit of estimated
duties and fees. Absent any specified alternate procedure, the current
regulations apply.
All of the terms of the test and criteria for participation
therein, as announced in the previous notices identified above,
continue to be applicable unless changed by this notice.
Dated: October 19, 2005.
Robert C. Bonner,
Commissioner, Customs and Border Protection.
[FR Doc. 05-21165 Filed 10-21-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-06-P