[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 19, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 19CFR24.26]

[Page 378-379]
 
                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES
 
  CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES CUSTOMS SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
 
PART 24--CUSTOMS FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 24.26  Automated Clearinghouse credit.

    (a) Description. Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) credit is an optional 
payment method that allows a payer to transmit statement processing 
payments (see Sec. 24.25) or deferred tax payments (see Sec. 24.4) or 
bill payments (see Sec. 24.3) electronically, through its financial 
institution, directly to the Customs account maintained by the 
Department of the Treasury.
    (b) Enrollment procedure. A payer interested in enrolling in the ACH 
credit program must indicate such interest by providing the following 
information to the Financial Management Services Center, U.S. Customs 
Service, 6026 Lakeside Boulevard, Indianapolis, Indiana 46278: Payer 
name and address; payer contact name(s); payer telephone number(s) and 
facsimile number; payer identification number (importer number or Social 
Security number or Customs assigned number); and 3-digit filer code.
    (c) Routing and format instructions. Following receipt of the 
enrollment information, the Financial Management Services Center will 
provide the payer with specific ACH credit routing and format 
instructions and will advise the payer that the following information 
must be provided to its financial institution when originating its 
payments: Company name; company contact person name and telephone 
number; company identification number (coded Internal Revenue Service 
employer identification number or DUNS number or Customs assigned 
number); company payment description; effective date; receiving company 
name; transaction code; Customs transit routing number and Customs 
account number; payment amount; payer identifier (importer number or 
Social Security number or Customs assigned number or filer code if the 
payer is a broker who is the importer of record); document number (daily 
statement number, entry or warehouse withdrawal number for a deferred 
tax payment, or bill number); payment type code; settlement date; and 
document payment amount.
    (d) Prenotification procedure. Before effecting any payments of 
funds through the ACH credit process, the payer must follow a 
prenotification procedure, involving a non-funds message transmission 
through its financial institution to the Customs account, in order to 
validate the routing instructions. When the routing instructions are 
validated, the Financial Management Services Center will notify the 
payer that the prenotification transaction has been accepted and that 
payments may be originated on or after the tenth calendar day following 
the prenotification acceptance date.
    (e) Payment origination procedures. (1) General. Once the payer has 
received authorization to begin originating ACH credit payments under 
paragraph (d) of this section, the payer, through its financial 
institution, must originate each payment transaction to the Customs 
account no later than one business day prior to the payment due date. 
The payer's account will be charged by the financial institution on the 
settlement date identified in the transaction. The payer is responsible 
for following the routing and format instructions provided by Customs 
and for ensuring the accuracy of the information when originating each 
payment. Improperly formatted or erroneous information provided by the 
payer will delay the prompt posting of the payment to the receivable.
    (2) Procedures for daily statement filers. The procedures set forth 
in Sec. 24.25(c) for ABI filers using statement processing remain 
applicable when payment is effected through ACH credit. However, when 
the ABI filer is a customs broker who is not the importer of record and 
thus is not responsible for the payment, the ABI filer must provide the 
statement number and statement amount to the importer of record at least 
one business day prior to the due date so that the importer of record 
can originate the payment.
    (f) Date of collection. The date that the ACH credit payment 
transaction is received by Customs shall be the collection date which 
equates to the settlement date. The appropriate daily

[[Page 379]]

statement or entry or warehouse withdrawal or bill shall be identified 
as paid as of that collection date.
    (g) Removal from the ACH credit program. If a payer repeatedly 
provides improperly formatted or erroneous information when originating 
ACH credit payments, the Financial Management Services Center may advise 
the payer in writing to refrain from using ACH credit and to submit its 
payments by bank draft or check pursuant to Sec. 24.1 or, in the case of 
daily statement payments, to use the ACH debit payment method under 
Sec. 24.25.

[T.D. 98-51, 63 FR 29125, May 28, 1998]