6 December 2004

Periodic payment increases among importers in ACE

The following article is excerpted from the 6 December 2004 edition of “American Shipper”.

A program that allows importers to consolidate their duty and fee payments to the U.S. government is beginning to take off.

The Periodic Monthly Statement (PMS) was implemented by Customs and Border Protection as one of its initial releases in a new umbrella computer system, the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).

Under the program, importers and their designated customs brokers pay import duties and fees 15 calendar days after the end of the month in which the merchandise is entered or released, whichever comes first.

By July 15, six importers were paying their duties and fees to CBP through PMS. The agency recorded 127 importers in the program by Nov. 15. This accounted for $126.5 million in duties and fees on 27,777 import entries, CBP reported in recently released figures.

On Sept. 8, CBP opened the test to brokers in general to try to increase the importer pool in the program. CBP said the test phase of PMS was concluded successfully in October.
CBP plans to further promote the program to brokers through trade groups, such as the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America and the Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders, in the coming year. The goal is to have about 1,100 participants by spring 2005, CBP said.