| Title: | ACE REDESIGN NEWSLETTER 4 |
|---|---|
| Date: | 1997-05-29 |
| To: | abi |
| Links: | previous, next |
TO : ALL ABI BROKERS.
FROM : MARILYN MALLWITZ
SUBJECT : MIS- ACE REDESIGN NEWSLETTER 4
DATE : 05/29/97
TRADE COMPLIANCE/ACE REDESIGN
PROJECT NEWSLETTER FOR THE TRADE COMMUNITY
VOLUME I, ISSUE 4, MAY 26, 1997
THE FOUR TRACK DECLARATION PROCESS
BY BETSY DURANT
AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE TRADE COMPLIANCE REDESIGN AND
ACE IS A NEW DECLARATION PROCESS AND FORMAT. ENTRIES
OR DECLARATIONS IN ACS CONSISTED OF AUTOMATING PAPER
FORMS, SOME OF WHICH CONTAIN REDUNDANT DATA ELEMENTS
AND ALL OF WHICH REQUIRE UNIQUE PROCESSING. THE
BASIC PURPOSE OF A NEW IMPORT DECLARATION BEING
DEVELOPED FOR ACE IS A SINGLE, CONSISTENT SET OF
TRADE DATA FOR ALL CUSTOMS PURPOSES. THUS WE
ANTICIPATE THE SAME DECLARATION WILL BE USED FOR ALL
ENTRY TYPES, WITH PROCESSING AND PERHAPS DATA ELEMENT
ADJUSTMENTS MADE AS NEEDED BY THE TYPE OF PROCESSING
REQUIRED. THE IMPORT DECLARATION CURRENTLY CONSISTS
OF FOUR DECLARATION TRACKS TO REPRESENT DIFFERENT
FORMATS AND TIMINGS FOR SUBMITTING THIS DATA. THE
BASIC APPROACH OF THE PROCESS IS TO PROVIDE AN
ENVIRONMENT THAT ALLOWS TRADE PARTICIPANTS TO USE,
WITHOUT EXTENSIVE ALTERATION SOME OF THE PROCESSES
AND SYSTEMS THEY CURRENTLY HAVE IN PLACE. AT THE
SAME TIME, CUSTOMS WANTS TO PROMOTE NEW OPERATIONAL
PROCESSES THAT WILL BE MORE ATTRACTIVE BOTH TO THE
TRADE AND CUSTOMS.
COMMERCIAL DATA
EXCEPT IN TRACK 1, CUSTOMS WILL NOT ROUTINELY REQUIRE
SUBMISSION OF DETAILED COMMERCIAL INFORMATION OF THE
KIND GENERALLY INCLUDED IN COMMERCIAL INVOICES AND
PACKING LISTS. THE COMMERCIAL INFORMATION WILL ONLY
BE REQUIRED AS NECESSARY TO FULFILL SPECIFIC DATA
REQUIREMENTS OF OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, OR TO
SUPPORT SPECIFIC CUSTOMS' VERIFICATION ACTIVITIES
SUCH AS EXAMINATON OF CARGO AND DATA REVIEWS
FOLLOWING CARGO RELEASE. DATA REVIEWS INCLUDE A
VARIETY OF POST CARGO RELEASE ACTIVITIES, THE MOST
FREQUENT OF WHICH ARE THE KINDS OF REVIEWS CURRENTLY
ASSOCIATED WITH ENTRY SUMMARY.
TRACK 1: PAPER IMPORT DECLARATION
BECAUSE OF THE EXPENSE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF HANDLING
PAPER DECLARATIONS, SPECIAL PROCESSING RULES WILL BE
APPLIED TO PAPER DECLARATIONS. TO AVOID THESE COSTS,
CUSTOMS WILL REQUIRE PRESENTATION OF ALL INFORMATION
ENCOMPASSED BY THE IMPORT DECLARATION, PLUS ALL
RELEVANT COMMERCIAL DOCUMENTS AND PAYMENT OF
ESTIMATED DUTY TAXES AND FEES PRIOR TO RELEASE OF
CARGO. ESSENTIALLY ALL PAPER DECLARATIONS WILL BE "
LIVE" ENTRIES. THESE ENTRIES WILL BE CUSTOMS' LOWEST
PRIORITY.
STATUS:
THIS DECLARATION OPTION WILL BE IMPLEMENTED LAST IN
THE TRADE COMPLIANCE REDESIGN AND ACE . IT REQUIRES
A REGULATORY CHANGE AND MUST ACCOMMODATE THE NEEDS OF
SMALL BUSINESS AND OCCASIONAL EXCEPTIONS. A JOINT
CUSTOMS/TRADE TEAM HAS JUST BEEN FORMED AND IS
BEGINNING WORK ON THE DETAILS OF TRACK 1 AND A
STRATEGY FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
TRACK 2: TWO-STEP ELECTRONIC IMPORT DECLARATION
ALTHOUGH THIS IS A NEW DECLARATION, THIS TRACK WILL
BE SIMILAR TO CURRENT ACS CARGO SELECTIVITY AND ENTRY
SUMMARY PROCESSING, BUT WITH A NUMBER OF
IMPROVEMENTS. TRACK 2 WILL:
INCREASE PARTICIPATION BY CARRIERS AND BILL
ISSUERS IN ELECTRONIC INTERFACES BY ENSURING
THAT PROCESSING OF AUTOMATED BILLS RECEIVES
HIGHER PRIORITY THAN PROCESSING OF PAPER BILLS;
STANDARDIZE, TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, DATA
REQUIREMENTS AT TIME OF RELEASE ACROSS ALL MODES
OF TRANSPORTATION;
REQUIRE RELEASE DATA TO BE USED AS A "TEMPLATE"
FOR COMPLETE ELECTRONIC IMPORT DECLARATION DATA,
WHICH WILL BE TRANSMITTED PRIOR TO PAYMENT;
ALLOW AUTOMATED FILERS OCCASIONAL (AND CLOSELY
MONITORED) OVERRIDES OF STANDARD DATA
VALIDATIONS, PROVIDED THAT BASIC DATA EDITS
REQUIRED FOR DATA BASE INTEGRITY ARE PASSED.
THIS GETS THE DATA INTO ACE WITHOUT CUSTOMS'
KEYING AND AVOIDS THE CURRENT "DEFAULT"
PROCEDURE OF NON-ABI ENTRY;
REQUIRE PAYMENT ON LOCAL DAILY STATEMENT, BUT
WILL RE-ENGINEER THE PROCESS FOR PLACING
DECLARATIONS ON STATEMENTS.
STATUS:
TRACK 2 PROCESSING IS A PLANNED FUNCTIONALITY IN THE
FIRST RELEASE OF ACE FOLLOWING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE NCAP PROTOTYPE (SEE TRACK 4 PROCESSING). THE
FULL DETAILS, POLICY, AND BUSINESS RULES SURROUNDING
TRACK 2 HAVE NOT BEEN COMPLETED. MUCH OF THE POST
RELEASE PORTION OF THE DECLARATION WILL ALREADY EXIST
AS PART OF TRACK 4. AMONG OPTIONS CUSTOMS IS
EXPLORING IS USING CURRENT MANIFEST SYSTEMS IN ACS
FOR EXTERNAL MESSAGING, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER CUSTOMS
DECIDES TO RE-ENGINEER INTERNAL MANIFEST PROCESSING,
AND TO WHAT EXTENT COMMERCIAL DATA MUST BE FILED
ELECTRONICALLY.
TRACK 3: ONE STEP ELECTRONIC PROCESSING
THIS TRACK DIFFERS FROM TRACK 2 IN THE FOLLOWING
RESPECTS:
FULL IMPORT DECLARATION DATA WILL BE SUBMITTED
PRIOR TO CARGO RELEASE PROCESSING;
AN OPTION FOR TRACK 3 FILERS WILL BE PERIODIC
FILING ON A NATIONAL STATEMENT AS PROVIDED IN
TRACK 4 IF PAID BY ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER.
STATUS:
SAME AS TRACK 2 EXCEPT THAT MUCH OF THE PERIODIC
PAYMENT PROCESSING WILL ALREADY BE IN PLACE FOR TRACK
4 PROCESSING. ONE POLICY ISSUE TO BE CONSIDERED IS
CUSTOMS ABILITY TO SEPARATE PAYMENT OPTIONS FROM
RELEASE MECHANISMS.
TRACK 4: ACCOUNT-BASED DECLARATION PROCESSING
TRACK 4 PROCESSING IS RESERVED FOR ONLY THE MOST
COMPLIANT COMPANIES WITH THE ELECTRONIC CAPABILITIES
REQUIRED FOR PARTICIPATION. TRACK 4 IS FULLY
ELECTRONIC FOR BOTH RELEASE, FOLLOWUP DECLARATION
DETAILS (INCLUDING COMMERCIAL DETAILS), AND PAYMENT.
IT INVOLVES PRE-IDENTIFICATION OF SELLERS, SHIPPERS,
AND COMMODITIES, WITH MINIMAL TRANSACTION DATA AT THE
TIME OF RELEASE, UNLESS A SPECIFIC SHIPMENT IS
TARGETED FOR CARGO EXAMINATION. FOR EXAMINATION,
FULL TRACK 2 COMMERCIAL DATA MUST BE FILED
ELECTRONICALLY. TRACK 4 IS ALWAYS AN "ENTRY," NOT AN
IMMEDIATE DELIVERY PERMIT. THE DATE OF RELEASE
ESTABLISHES THE DATE OF ENTRY. FOLLOWING RELEASE,
PERIODIC POST RELEASE (SUMMARY TYPE) DECLARATION DATA
WILL BE FILED. ALTHOUGH A STEADY STREAM OF DATA MAY
BE FILED THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD, THE DATA MAY BE
CORRECTED AND IS NOT CONSIDERED "FILED" UNTIL THE
10TH OF THE MONTH FOLLOWING THE MONTH OF RELEASE.
ALSO INCLUDED IN TRACK 4 IS PERIODIC PAYMENT ON A
NATIONAL STATEMENT VIA ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER.
ESTIMATED PAYMENTS WILL BE REQUIRED ON THE 15TH AND
30TH OF THE MONTH OF RELEASE, WITH THE BALANCE OWED
OR DUE BY THE 15TH OF THE FOLLOWING MONTH. BECAUSE
IT IS TIED TO COMPLIANCE, TRACK 4 IS EXPECTED TO BE
AVAILABLE FOR ALL OF AN ACCOUNT'S PRE-IDENTIFIED
COMMODITIES, EXCEPT THOSE SUBJECT TO ABSOLUTE QUOTA.
STATISTICALLY VALID RANDOM SAMPLES WILL PROVIDE
TARGETING FOR COMPLIANCE MEASUREMENT; WITH NARCOTICS
TARGETING, TECS CHECKS OF DRIVERS AND CONVEYANCES AS
NEEDED, AND CRITERIA BASED "LOOKOUTS" ALSO WILL BE
AVAILABLE. STRICT STANDARDS AND MEASURES FOR
CONTINUATION ON THE PROGRAM HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED, AND
FAILURE TO ADHERE TO THE COMPLIANCE LEVELS OR OTHER
REQUIREMENTS WILL RESULT IN INELIGIBILITY FOR FUTURE
PARTICIPATION.
STATUS:
THE FEATURES OF TRACK 4, THE ACCOUNT BASED
DECLARATION APPROACH, WILL BE TESTED IN THE NCAP
PROTOTYPE (NCAP/P) AT THE PORTS OF DETROIT, PORT
HURON, AND LAREDO. DETAILED REQUIREMENTS FOR
PARTICIPATION AND CONDITIONS FOR REMAINING A
PARTICIPANT IN THE PROTOTYPE ARE OUTLINED IN THE
FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE PUBLISHED MARCH 27, 1997
(ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE CUSTOMS ELECTRONIC BULLETIN
BOARD AND THE INTERNET). IN ADDITION TO TRACK 4
PROCESSING, ALSO INCLUDED ARE OTHER MOD ACT AND TRADE
COMPLIANCE REDESIGN FEATURES LIKE VIOLATION BILLING,
RECONCILIATION AND SOME ASPECTS OF REMOTE FILING.
EXCEPT FOR ABSOLUTE QUOTA MERCHANDISE, ENTRY TYPE
MERCHANDISE AND REMOTE RESTRICTIONS ARE DUE TO
INFRASTRUCTURE AND SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITIES
RATHER THAN TO POLICY. THE PROTOTYPE IS BEING
CAREFULLY MEASURED AND EVALUATED WITH THE TRADE FOR
FEASIBILITY, TIMING OF DATA RECEIPT, AND A NUMBER OF
RELATED ISSUES. CUSTOMS WILL SHARE THE DETAILS OF
THE EVALUATION PLAN WHEN IT IS COMPLETE. CRITERIA
FOR EXPANSION ARE BEING EXPLORED BUT HAVE NOT YET
BEEN DEFINED. ASSUMING TRACK 4 PROCESSING WORKS IN
THE PROTOTYPE, THE TRADE COMPLIANCE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS WILL OFFER TRACK 4 PROCESSING IN THE RAIL
ENVIRONMENT.
CUSTOMS HOPES TO HAVE A FINAL POLICY ON THE USE OF
TRACK 4 SHORTLY AFTER THE PROTOTYPE EVALUATION IS
COMPLETED.
TRADE COMPLIANCE REDESIGN/ACE DISPLAY AT HQ
THE TRADE COMPLIANCE REDESIGN/ACE BOOTH WILL BE SET
UP IN THE LOBBY OF CUSTOMS' HEADQUARTERS IN EARLY
JUNE. PLEASE PLAN TO VISIT THE DISPLAY AND WATCH THE
MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION IF YOU ARE IN THE WASHINGTON,
D.C. AREA IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
TRADE COMMUNITY INTERFACE
SUSAN MASKELL REPRESENTED THE TRADE COMPLIANCE
REDESIGN/ACE DEVELOPMENT TEAM AT THE EASTERN BORDER
TRANSPORTATION GROUP, MAY 13, 1997 IN ALEXANDRIA,
VIRGINIA.
SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE TRADE COMPLIANCE REDESIGN/ACE
DEVELOPMENT TEAM GAVE PRESENTATIONS ON VARIOUS
ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT AT THE TRADE COMPLIANCE
REDESIGN MEETING HELD AT THE WESTIN HOTEL, HOUSTON,
TEXAS, MAY 28-29, 1997.
EILEEN KASTAVA AND KATHY KORMOS WILL BRIEF ATTENDEES
ABOUT NCAP AT THE NATIONAL BORDER CARGO RELEASE
CONFERENCE IN TUCSON, ARIZONA, JUNE 24-26, 1997.
ACCOUNT MANAGER POSITIONS
THE SELECTEES FOR THE 25 NEW ACCOUNT MANAGER
POSITIONS ARE:
NAME PORT AREA
HARDY, VIRGINIA BOSTON 1
KREUZER, BOB BUFFALO 1
COULTHARD, KATHY BALTIMORE 1
CHAMBERS, ANGELA BUFFALO 1
LOCK, HEDI NASHVILLE 1
WHITTENBERG, CYNTHIABRUNSWICK 1
DAVIS, DATHRENAL DETROIT 1
WHALEN, CATHERINE ATLANTA 1
BRENGLE, MIKE BALTIMORE 1
SPILMAN, PAUL CHAMPLAIN 1
GOLDMAN, JILL NEW YORK 1
MACKINTOSH, MARY NEWARK 1
HENRY, CHERYL CHAMPLAIN 1
PERRY, RAYMOND NEW ORLEANS 2
BILLESCAS, RUBEN MCALLEN 2
ERNST, ED NEW ORLEANS 2
COONS, KIMRA ST. LOUIS 2
CASLER, JIM HOUSTON 2
BRENER, DAVE TUCSON 3
DAVIDSON, DON SEATTLE 3
REES, TEDDY SEATTLE 3
HAGEY, MICHAEL SEATTLE 3
LABARTH, JOHN PHOENIX 3
MAZIQUE, ED LAX 3
BOWERS, LORI SEATTLE 3
PLEASE JOIN US IN CONGRATULATING THE ABOVE LISTED
PERSONNEL ON THEIR NEW POSITIONS.