Bluffing About Your Import Compliance?
Are you willing to go “all in” with your Customs compliance rating? Unless you’re holding royal flush it most likely isn’t the best idea. Every importer is rated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the level of compliance exhibited by their import practices. This is routinely updated by U.S. Customs and can be accessed through an online Portal known as ACE.
If your rating is too low, Customs may see this as a red flag and decide to play a little game of Texas Hold’em with your shipments. When this happens you’ll be forced to fold, show your cards and possibly anti up. Gambling (in moderation) can be fun, but when it comes to your compliance choose to play on-line where the stakes are low.
ACE is another CBP acronym for Automated Commercial Environment. This web-based information system is a great way to track entries, duty payments and compliance ratings. Signing up is simple and training can be done online. The best part about ACE is that it is free. No buy-in required!
Once you have your ACE log-in and password you can view your standing with Customs in the “Reports” section of the ACE Portal. Importers should continually monitor and review their rating (similar to watching a credit report) because it will move up and down as CBP conducts exams and reviews. CBP refreshes the compliance data on the 20th of every month.