CBP to test new features in trade system

Customs and Border Protection officials are looking for a few customs brokers willing to test-drive new capabilities in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system.ACE is intended to provide a secure, straightforward environment for the trade community, CBP and other agencies to exchange data.The National Customs Automation Program Test will focus on the entry summary, accounts and revenue capabilities in the automated system. The test will be conducted in January 2009, according to a .The new capabilities include the Automated Broker Interface, Census Warning Overrides and the issuing of certain U.S. customs forms via the ACE Web portal. Portal account management and Secure Data Portal reporting will also be tested.Volunteers must apply to participate in the testing by Oct. 27.ACE has been in development since 2001 to replace paper-based systems with automated processing for imports. Full deployment is projected by 2012.