CSMS Message: 07-000048

THE OFFICE OF REGULATIONS AND RULINGS HAS ADOPTED A NEW SYSTEM FOR THE
INTERNAL TRACKING OF RULINGS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL COMMODITY SPECIALIST
DIVISION (NCS) AND BY HEADQUARTERS, OFFICE OF REGULATIONS AND RULINGS,
EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 2006. THE SYSTEM IS CALLED REGULATIONS AND RULINGS
TRACKING SYSTEM (RRTS). IT HAS REPLACED THE LEGAL CASE INVENTORY
SYSTEM. RRTS FUNCTIONS BY CREATING A UNIQUE NUMBER FOR EACH RULING
THAT IS ISSUED. IT IS A UNIFIED SYSTEM, WHICH ISSUES CASE NUMBERS
CONSECUTIVELY, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE CASE IS ISSUED BY NCS OR HQ.
AS A RESULT, SINCE THE NUMERICAL PORTION OF THE RULING NUMBER WILL NO
LONGER BE A BASIS TO DISTINGUISH NCS RULINGS FROM HQ RULINGS, IT WAS
DECIDED TO PLACE AN ALPHA CODE IN FRONT OF THE SIX DIGIT NUMERICAL CODE
FOR THE RULINGS. FOR RULINGS ISSUED BY THE NCS DIVISION, THE ALPHA CODE
THE ALPHA CODE IS N. FOR HQ RULINGS, THE ALPHA CODE IS H.

IT HAS COME TO OUR ATTENTION THAT THE FIELD IN ABI FOR SETTING FORTH THE
RULING NUMBER IS TOO SMALL TO ACCOMMODATE ALL SEVEN DIGITS OF THE RULING
NUMBER. ACCORDINGLY, FOR THE PRESENT, THE ABI FILER SHOULD DROP THE
ALPHA CODE AND ENTER ONLY THE NUMERICAL PORTION OF THE RULING NUMBER.
CBP HQ WILL PURSUE APPROPRIATE SYSTEM CHANGES TO ALLOW THE FULL RULING
NUMBER TO BE ENTERED.