U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted revised versions of previously issued ACE ABI CATAIR1 documents. CBP has also posted a new ACE ABI CATAIR appendix and a 2009 version of its Change Record.
CBP has posted a notice providing details on the trade's ability to receive refund checks, resulting from overpayment of customs duties, taxes, and fees, electronically through Automated Clearinghouse (ACH). An ACH question and answer notice was also posted. (Notice and Q&A, dated 02/04/09, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/automated/automated_systems/ach/)
According to The Congressional Record, on February 9, 2009, the Senate is expected to continue its consideration of H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Economic Stimulus Bill) and vote on a motion to invoke cloture (i.e., end debate) on a Collins/Nelson substitute amendment. If cloture is invoked, the Senate is expected to vote on the substitute amendment on February 10, 2009. If the amendment is agreed to, the Senate is then expected to proceed to a vote on the passage of H.R. 1, as amended by the Senate. (Congressional Records, dated 02/06/09 and 02/07/09, available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r111:@FIELD(FLD003d)@FIELD(DDATE20090206) and http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r111:@FIELD(FLD003d)@FIELD(DDATE20090207)
CBP has posted an updated version of its fact sheet on the benefits of ACE for sureties. The list of benefits has been updated to state that sureties can run a custom bond report as well as created customized reports and to state that sureties can query a bond by "Bond Number," "Bond Activity Code," or "Bond Status." The additional information section has also been updated to state that additional information is alsoavailable on the ACE training and Reference Guides pages on www.cbp.gov/modernization. (Fact sheet, dated 02/03/09, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/fact_sheets/trade/ace_factsheets/ace_overview/sureties_fact_sheet.xml)
CBP has posted Amendment 32 to the Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) document. According to CBP, the CATAIR has been amended as follows:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently posted to its Web site a frequently asked question (FAQ) document regarding its interim final rule that amended 19 CFR effective January 26, 2009, to require Security Filing (SF) information from importers and additional information from carriers (10+2) for vessel (maritime) cargo before it is brought into the U.S.
CBP has issued a CSMS message on the implementation of the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) for goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after February 1, 2009. Importers and brokers may file claims for preferential tariff treatment on goods that originate under the PTPA. These claims may be made at the time of entry summary by placing the SPI "PE" on the CBP Form 7501 as a prefix to the HTS item number for each line on which preferential treatment is claimed. The programming updates to the ACS allowing for automated processing have not yet been completed. Therefore, until further notice, importers claiming preference under the PTPA should file manual entries or file ABI entries at release with manual entry summaries. (See ITT's Online Archives or 02/02/09 news, 09020210, for BP summary of Proclamation 8341, which amended the HTS to implement the PTPA, etc.)(CSMS 09-000070, dated 01/30/09, available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17456&page=&srch_argv=09-000070&srchtype=all&btype=&sortby=&sby)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a CSMS message announcing that beginning on February 3, 2009, its Revenue Division will post information about continuous bonds scheduled to be rendered insufficient to the surety's Business Activity Log (BAL) in ACE, as part of a test process that will last at least 45 days.
CBP has issued a CSMS message stating that the ACE Certification Environment will be unavailable beginning 7:00 p.m. EST on January 29, 2009 through 6:00 a.m. EST on February 2, 2009. CBP later issued a CSMS message extending the unavailability of the ACE Certification Environment an additional day. The ACE Certification Environment is now projected to be available at 6:00 a.m. EST on February 3, 2009. (CSMS 09-000062, issued 01/28/09, available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17448&page=&srch_argv=&srchtype=&btype=&sortby=&sby; CSMS 09-000071, dated 01/30/09, available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17457&page=&srch_argv=&srchtype=&btype=&sortby=&sby)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a notice announcing the extension of the contingency plan to allow conveyances that normally pay annual user fees to be cleared by CBP without a per crossing/arrival payment until February 28, 2009 (from January 31, 2009).