CSMS Message: 07-000132

THE PURPOSE OF THIS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE IS TO PROVIDE CLARIFICATION
TO THE TRADE CONCERNING THE TRANSMISSION AND PROCESSING OF ELECTRONIC
ENTRIES AND INVOICES.

REMOTE LOCATION FILING (RLF) PERMITS AN ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANT TO ELECT
TO FILE ELECTRONICALLY A FORMAL OR INFORMAL CONSUMPTION ENTRY (ENTRY
TYPES 01 AND 11) TO CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (CBP) FROM A REMOTE
LOCATION WITHIN THE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES OTHER THAN
THE PORT OF ENTRY. ELECTRONIC INVOICE PROCESSING (EIP) IS A SYSTEM
THAT ALLOWS A FILER TO SUBMIT THE INVOICE AND ENTRY ELECTRONICALLY
WITHIN THEIR LOCAL DISTRICT. IT HAS COME TO OUR ATTENTION THAT
SOME FILERS ARE SUBMITTING PAPER DOCUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF THESE
ELECTRONIC ENTRIES.

FILERS ARE REMINDED THAT ELECTRONIC ENTRIES MUST BE TRANSMITTED
AND PROCESSED IN A COMPLETELY ELECTRONIC ENVIRONMENT.

DOCUMENTATION SUCH AS LICENSES, PERMITS, CERTIFICATES, ETC., WHICH ARE
REQUIRED AT RELEASE OR SUMMARY MUST BE TRANSMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO
CBP. CBP PERSONNEL SHOULD REVIEW AND PROCESS THE ENTRIES USING ONLY
THE ELECTRONIC INFORMATION TRANSMITTED BY THE FILER. INCOMPLETE
ELECTRONIC INVOICES OR LACK OF RELATED DOCUMENTATION WILL RESULT IN
THE ENTRY BEING REJECTED BACK TO THE FILER.

ENTRIES THAT REQUIRE ORIGINAL PAPER DOCUMENTATION TO BE PRESENTED TO
CBP AS A CONDITION OF RELEASE OF THE CARGO (LICENSE, PERMIT, CERTIFI-
CATE, ETC.) DO NOT QUALIFY FOR EIP/RLF AND SHOULD NOT BE TRANSMITTED
TO CBP. PORTS SHOULD NOT ACCEPT FAXED COPIES OF REQUIRED ORIGINAL
PAPER DOCUMENTS, OR OVERNIGHTED ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.

AN ELECTRONIC FEATURE FILERS MAY OPT TO USE WITHIN THE ELECTRONIC
ENVIRONMENT IS INVOICE BY REQUEST (INVREQ). THIS FEATURE ALLOWS FILERS
TO TRANSMIT "INVREQ" TO DECLARE THE INTENT TO PROVIDE AN ELECTRONIC
INVOICE WHEN REQUESTED BY CBP. NOTE: THIS FEATURE CANNOT BE USED FOR
ENTRIES OF CARGO CROSSING THE BORDER INTO THE UNITED STATES BY TRUCK.

IF AT RELEASE AN ENTRY RECEIVES A PROVISIONAL CARGO SELECTIVITY STATUS
OF "PAPERLESS", THE FILER WILL RECEIVE THE RELEASE MESSAGE AND NO
INVOICE WILL BE REQUIRED AT THAT TIME. AN ENTRY SELECTED FOR DOCUMENT
REVIEW, EXAMINATION, OR A PAPERLESS RELEASE OVERRIDDEN-TO-INTESIVE
AT TIME OF CARGO PROCESSING WILL GENERATE THE "ELECTRONIC INVOICE
REQUIRED" MESSAGE, AND THE FILER MUST ELECTRONICALLY TRANSMIT ALL OF
ASSOCIATED INVOICES WITHIN TWO DAYS. IF A FILER TRANSMITS AN
ELECTRONIC ENTRY THAT REQUIRES AN ORIGINAL PAPER DOCUMENT (LICENSE,
PERMIT, CERTIFICATE, ETC.), A CBP OFFICER WILL CONTACT THE FILER WHO
TRANSMITTED THE ENTRY STATING THAT THE ENTRY CANNOT BE RELEASED DUE TO
THE PAPER REQUIREMENT. THE FILER WILL THEN HAVE TO FILE THE ENTRY IN
PAPER PROVIDED THEY HAVE A LOCAL PERMIT WITHIN THAT DISTRICT, OR HIRE
A SUBAGENT TO FILE THE ENTRY ON THEIR BEHALF.

AT TIME OF ENTRY SUMMARY PROCESSING, IF AN ENTRY RECEIVES A "BY-PASSED"
STATUS, ABI WILL GENERATE A "PAPERLESS-FILER RETAIN RECORDS" MESSAGE
AND NO INVOICE WILL BE REQUIRED AT THAT TIME. AN ENTRY DESIGNATED
"TEAM REVIEW" AT TIME OF SUMMARY WILL AUTOMATICALLY GENERATE AN
"ACCEPTED-RECORDS REQUIRED" OR ANOTHER NON-PAPERLESS MESSAGE TO
THE FILER. THIS IS CBP'S REQUEST TO THE FILER FOR ALL OF THE
ASSOCIATED INVOICES TO BE TRANSMITTED ELECTRONICALLY. FILERS
HAVE TWO DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE "ACCEPTED-RECORDS REQUIRED"
MESSAGE TO TRANSMIT ELECTRONICALLY THE INVOICES TO CBP. FAILURE TO
TIMELY AND ELECTRONICALLY TRANSMIT THE REQUESTED INVOICES MAY RESULT
IN A LIQUIDATED DAMAGE CASE FOR A NO-FILE OR LATE-FILED ENTRY.

IF PRIOR TO LIQUIDATION, AN IMPORT SPECIALIST, ENTRY SPECIALIST, OR
OTHER CBP PERSONNEL REVIEWS AN ENTRY IN WHICH THE FILER USED "INVREQ",
A REQUEST FOR THE ASSOCIATED INVOICES MAY BE MADE SUBSEQUENT TO THE
RELEASE OR SUMMARY ACCEPTANCE. THIS REQUEST WILL BE MADE
ELECTRONICALLY THROUGH ABI VIA THE "US" MESSAGE. IN THIS WAY AN
ELECTRONIC MESSAGE IS SENT TO THE FILER REQUESTING THAT THE INVOICES
BE TRANSMITTED TO CBP ELECTRONICALLY. FILERS HAVE UP TO THIRTY DAYS
FROM RECEIPT OF THE ELECTRONIC REQUEST TO TRANSMIT ALL OF THE
ASSOCIATED ELECTRONIC INVOICES. THIS SAME PROCESS WILL BE FOLLOWED
IF THE ELECTRONIC INVOICE IS REQUIRED TO PROCESS A RECONCILIATION
ENTRY AND/OR A PROTEST OR DRAWBACK CLAIM.

QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS MESSAGE SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO MS. MARLA
BIANCHETTA (202) 344-2693.