In a Federal Register notice published on February 3, 2014, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a general notice announcing the modification of the National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) concerning the ACE Cargo Release Test to include shipments in the ocean and rail modes of transportation.
The notice explains that, “The expansion of ACE Cargo Release filing capabilities for ocean and rail modes of transportation will allow for automated corrections and cancellations, split shipments, partial shipments, entry on cargo which has been moved by in-bond from the first U.S. port of unlading, entry for a full manifested bill quantity, and entries requiring Partner Government Agency (PGA) information, if the specified entries are covered in the Implementation Guidelines.”
The following twelve data elements will need to be submitted in lieu of CBP Form 3461:
- Importer of Record Number
- Buyer name and address
- Buyer Employer Identification Number (consignee number)
- Seller name and address
- Manufacturer/supplier name and address
- HTS 10-digit number
- Country of origin
- Bill of lading/house air waybill number
- Bill of lading issuer code
- Entry number
- Entry type
- Estimated shipment value
Eligibility requirements include following:
- Must be Self-filing importer or broker who has the ability to file ACE Entry Summaries certified for cargo release
- Must have evinced the intent to file entry summaries in ACE
- Must use software that has completed Automated Broker Interface (ABI) certification testing for ACE and offers simplified entry message set prior to transmitting data under the test
The ACE Cargo release test is open to all eligible parties regardless of Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) status.
The Federal Register notice including further information on how to participate can be accessed herehttps://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/02/03/2014-02218/modification-of-national-customs-automation-program-ncap-test-concerning-automated-commercial
