3550-063A Automated Clearinghouse for Payment of ABI Daily Statement (ACH)

Published CBP guidance; operative status and applicability must be assessed from the retained publisher edition.

CUSTOMS DIRECTIVE
ORIGINATING OFFICE: FO:TP DISTRIBUTION: S-01
CUSTOMS DIRECTIVE NO. 3550-063A
DATE: MAY 1, 2001
SUPERSEDES: 3550-063, 1/19/93
REVIEW DATE: MAY 2003
SUBJECT: AUTOMATED CLEARINGHOUSE FOR PAYMENT OF ABI DAILY
STATEMENT (ACH)
1 PURPOSE. To establish a uniform, national policy for effecting payment of
duties, taxes, and fees via Automated Clearinghouse (ACH).
2 POLICY. It is the policy of the U.S. Customs Service that entry summaries and
entry/entry summaries paid via ACH will be processed in essentially the same manner
at all l ocations.
3 AUTHORITIES/REFERENCES. 19 CFR 10; 24.1(a)(8); 24.25; 113.62; 142.12;
and 142.15 141.101.
4 RESPONSIBILITIES.
4.1 Directors, Field Operations, are responsible for ensuring that the provisi ons of
this Directive are carried out effectively and uniformly throughout their areas of
responsibility.
4.2 Port Directors are responsible for ensuring that the provisi ons of this
Directive are followed and uniformly applied. They are also responsible for the
dissemination of the contents of this Directive to personnel within their j urisdicti on.
5 PROCEDURES.
5.1 GENERAL
5.1.1 U.S. Customs offices should encourage non-sanctioned ABI brokers and
importers who file entry summaries on statements to pay these individual ABI
statements via ACH. Instead of paying duties with a check, firms that utilize ACH can
electronically authorize the transfer of funds through debit or credit ACH no sooner than
the second business day following the accepted payment date. This process requires
no collection input by the cashier.
5.1.2 If a filer chooses to use ACH, he can include entry/entry summaries for
quota-class and other special classes of merchandise, except for entry/entry summaries
covering release of seized merchandise. Check or cash cannot be accepted for
payment on ABI statements containing entries for quota-class merchandise. If a filer
chooses to use statement processing for entries of quota-class merchandise and other

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special classes of merchandise, he should also use statement processing as a normal
course of business for the largest possible portion of his eligible non-special class
entries.
5.1.3 ACH payors/participants must ensure that adequate funds are available in their
respective bank accounts when electronically authorizing Customs to charge their
account for the amount of the ABI statement being paid.
5.2 ENTRY/ENTRY SUMMARIES
5.2.1 SUBMISSION. Entry/entry summaries (live entries), including those for quota
and other special classes of merchandise (19 CFR 142.13(b)), will be presented to the
Entry Divisi on (or other designated office) prior to release of the merchandise and after
the filer time-stamps the record copy of the entry summary (CF 7501). No check will be
attached and no collection copy or statisti cal copy of the CF 7501 is required. Payment
will be subsequently made via ACH within 10 working days after the date of release, or
date of presentation for quota class merchandise. Block 2 of the CF 7501 must show
an ABI status indicator of "ABI/A/L." Please note: the filer i s responsible for noting the
status code indicator on the CF 7501. ABI entry/entry summaries are given priority at
all stages of processing. Therefore, it is essential that they be noted with the
appropriate status indicator. All entry/entry summaries will be transmitted in
color-coded folders from the time of presentation to the completion of review and
processing. Census statisti cal reporting for ABI entry/entry summaries is accomplished
via automated interface.
5.2.2 IMPORT SPECIALIST OR ENTRY SPECIALIST REVIEW. ABI/A/L entry/entry
summaries are to be processed immediately upon receipt. The appropriate import
specialist or entry specialist will review the entry/entry summary in accordance with
established procedures.
5.2.3 QUOTA/VISA PROCESSING. If the entry/entry summary includes quota
merchandise, it must be processed through the quota system in ACS via function
code QSUP according to established procedures. Quota status cannot be granted on
prefiled entry/entry summaries.
5.2.4 CARGO SELECTIVITY
5.2.4.1 The entry/entry summary will be forwarded for cargo selectivity processing.
Established procedures of examination and release of cargo remain unchanged.
5.2.4.2 After release of the cargo by Customs, the entry/entry summary package will
not be returned to the filer f or r e-submission with the ABI Statement. If the reviewing
Import Specialist did not indicate that the entry summary was to be returned to him/her
after Quota processing and release procedures, the entry/entry summary will be

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scheduled for l iquidation via function ALQL. Filers may be advised to submit a
photocopy of the first page of the 7501 with their ABI Statement.
5.3 PROCESSING ABI STATEMENT PAID VIA ACH
5.3.1 The ABI preliminary statement for payment via ACH is generated through ACS.
The statement is available to the ABI filer the morning of the scheduled payment date
established by the filer. It is the responsibility of the filer to ensure that the ABI/ACH
payment authorization is submitted via ABI no later than 10 worki ng days after the
earliest date of entry or release of the scheduled entry summaries, or date of
presentation for quota class merchandise.
5.3.2 SUBMISSION
5.3.2.1 All follow-up paper-required entry summaries that are being submitted on an
ABI statement with payment via ACH must be presented within 10 worki ng days from
the date of entry or release. These entry summaries must have an ABI indicator of
"ABI/A” in block 2 of the CF 7501. No check will be submitted and no collection copy or
statisti cal copy of the CF 7501 is required. No collection or summary processing action
is required.
5.3.2.2 The preliminary statement for payment via ACH, clearly labeled by the filer as
"ACH", will be prese nted to the Entry Division by the filer along with the associated
entry summaries and entry/entry summaries in the order shown on the statement. The
filer will time-stamp the statement only (not the entry summaries) upon submission to
Customs. It is essential that the statement is time-stamped upon submission in order to
establish the date of presentation for purposes of determining timeliness.
5.3.2.3 No ACS input is required by Customs personnel when the preliminary
statement is presented. Upon acceptance of the electronic ACH payment authorization
by Customs, the final statement will be automatically generated and the statement and
all underlying entry summaries will be identified as paid in ACS after end-of-day
processing. ACH payors/participants are encouraged to authorize payment on the day
the preliminary statement and entry summaries are submitted.
5.3.2.4 Payment authorizations MUST be submitted for statements with zero duties
due.
5.3.2.5 The individual entry summaries will be automatically updated in ACS to reflect
the appropriate payment amounts for duties, taxes or fees. There is no requirement to
retain the final statement (list of entries, statement totals and list of deletions) in the
collection document file for that processing day. The preliminary ACH statement may
also be discarded.

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5.3.2.6 The Entry Division will sort entry summaries and entry/entry summaries
submitted with the statement (the Customs copy of the preliminary or final may be used
for this purpose) for Census warnings, team review and bypass entries resulting from
Entry Summary Selectivity. Please note: The indicators for Census warning, team
review and bypass are printed on the Customs copy of the statement. Status indicators
will be annotated on the record copy of the CF 7501 in accordance with instructions
from Headquarters (Office of Field Operations, Trade Programs).
5.3.3 REVIEW OF NON-BYPASSED ENTRY SUMMARIES. Non-bypassed entry
summaries will be reviewed for various entry summary selectivity criteria per
instructions from Headquarters (Office of Field Operations, Trade Programs).
5.3.4 CENSUS STATISTICAL REPORTING. The Census Entry Summary Report
(A01) must be attached to each ABI Statement entry summary paid via ACH that
contains Census warning. This report is automatically generated at the time the
preliminary statement is generated. If necessary, this report can be requested through
remote print. These summaries must be forwarded to the appropriate reviewer in
accordance with instructions from Headquarters (OFO, TP) on review of non-bypassed
entry summaries.
5.3.5 BYPASS. All statement entry summaries designated for bypass liquidation
during entry summary selectivity should be batched for l iquidation using the Daily
Statement Report-Doc/Batch (AO4). This report is automatically generated. If
necessary, this report may be requested through the remote print function. Ports with
large volumes of bypass liquidated entry summaries on the A04 report may prefer to
assign new document filing locations, via function code DOCU, rather than using the
batch file locations on the A04 report to place liquidated entry summaries in a batch
location.
5.3.6 DELETIONS
5.3.6.1 GENERAL
5.3.6.1.1 Deletions can be performed by the filer using the ABI “HP” transaction or by
Customs using the DSAC function code. Customs will perform deletions only in cases
where the filer is unable to do so. The Entry Division will be responsible for the deletion
of entry summaries from statements. Entry summaries that are deleted by the filer
should be “lined through” on the preliminary statement prior to submission of the
preliminary statement to Customs.
5.3.6.1.2 Deletions should be requested in accordance with locally established
procedures. Customs should delete the entry summaries from the statement as soon
as possible so that the importer of record or the broker acting as agent may initiate
payment action. The system will not accept payment if the amounts do not exactly

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match the amount on the preliminary statement.
5.3.6.2 QUOTA ENTRY/ENTRY SUMMARIES IN "QUOTA ACCEPTED" STATUS
5.3.6.2.1 Quota entry/entry summaries in "quota accepted" status cannot be deleted
from the preliminary statement by the filer using the ABI “HP” transaction. The filer
must request Customs to perform the deletion. Quota entry/entry summaries in "quota
rejected or non quota condition" status can be deleted from the preliminary statement
by the filer using the ABI “HP” transaction.
5.3.6.2.2 Customs cannot delete quota entry/entry summaries in "quota accepted"
status from the preliminary statement using the DSAC function code without first
removing the "quota accepted" status. This can be accomplished using the function
code QSCO. Once the "quota accepted" status has been removed, the quota
entry/entry summary can then be deleted from the preliminary statement using DSAC.
The quota entry/entry summary can then be paid either by a single payment, returned
to the filer f or correction, or placed on a future statement. If a quota entry/entry
summary must be returned to the filer f or correction, the entry/entry summary should
not be placed in rejected status. The filer cannot place the entry summary on a future
statement if any online entry summary or collection function has been performed
against the ABI entry/entry summary.
5.3.6.3 QUOTA ENTRY/ENTRY SUMMARIES IN “QUOTA HELD” STATUS
5.3.6.3.1 Quota entry/entry summaries in "quota held" status must be paid by single
payment and should not be placed on statement. If quota has been input prior to the
“quota held” status, the quota must first be deleted in order to delete the entry summary
from the statement. After removal from statement, quota should be re-input. (The filer
should be informed that the deletion/re-input of quota may achieve a different place in
the “quota hold” line.)
5.4 LATE PAYMENT OR NON-PAYMENT OF ENTRY SUMMARIES AND
ENTRY/ENTRY SUMMARIES PAID VIA ACH
5.4.1 The Customs copy of the preliminary or final statement should be examined for
the late filing indicator. Any entry summary with the late filing indicator should be
reviewed to determine timeliness. If it is determined that the entry summary is late, a
demand for liquidated damages for late filing of entry summary must be initiated.
5.4.2 If the ACH payment is not authorized and summaries are not submitted by the
scheduled payment date, a claim for l iquidated damages for f ailure to file entry
summary (No-File) shall be initiated against each entry summary covered by that
statement number. If the entire statement is filed late, a late statement penalty may be
filed against the broker.

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5.4.3 If the summaries are submitted by the scheduled payment date but the ACH
payment is not authorized and the filer has advised Customs that payment will not be
made, the established procedures outlined for entry summaries submitted without
payment should be followed. Please note: If only certain summaries listed on the
statement will not be paid, those summaries should be deleted from the statement by
the filer and processed according to established procedures, and the filer should
authorize the ACH payment for the balance of the statement. Customs will not delete
entry summaries from a statement unless the filer i s unable to do so.
5.4.4 If after the ACH debit payment is authorized and the summaries are submitted
by the scheduled payment date, but the clearinghouse bank is unable to satisfy the
ABI/ACH payment authorizations of a particular ACH payor on the initial attempt, the
procedures for ACH defaulted payments should be followed.
5.4.5 If after the ACH payment is authorized and the summaries are submitted by
the scheduled payment date, the ACH processor notifies Customs of a defaulted
payment (debit voucher), the Accounting Services Division (ASD) will initiate the
established procedures regarding ACH defaulted payments.
5.4.6 If the ABI/A entry summaries are submitted by the scheduled payment date but
the ACH payment authorization is submitted after the scheduled payment date, a claim
for l iquidated damages for l ate payment of duties should be generated. However, if
both the entry summaries are not filed AND the payment is not authorized, then claims
for l iquidated damages for f ailure to file entry summaries should be initiated (i.e., no file
liquidated damages).
5.5 PORT DIRECTOR. As per 19 CFR 141.101, 19 CFR 132.11a, and 19 CFR
24.25, a Port Director may elect to disallow the filing of entry/entry summaries on ABI
statement for f ilers who have failed repeatedly to make timely payment as required
through the statement processing method. If, after contacting the Customs
Management Center (CMC), a Port Director elects to disallow the filing of entry/entry
summaries on ABI statement, the Port Director shall notify the filer's Customs ABI client
representative of the action taken.
6 MEASUREMENT.
6.1 Number of entry summaries scheduled for ACH payment appearing on the B08
report (Late Report: These Entry Releases Have No Follow-Up Summaries) that remain
unresolved after 14 days.
6.2 Number of entry summaries scheduled for ACH payment appearing on the B07
report (ACS List of Unpaid Entries Report) that remain unresolved after 14 days.

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Assistant Commissioner
Office of Field Operations