[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 94 (Wednesday, May 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27632-27635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-9350]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection


Automated Commercial Environment (ACE): Terms and Conditions for 
Account Access of the ACE Secure Data Portal

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: General notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth a revision of the terms and conditions 
that must be followed as a condition for access to the Automated 
Commercial

[[Page 27633]]

Environment (ACE) Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal). These terms and 
conditions supersede and replace the Terms and Conditions documents 
previously signed and submitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) by ACE Portal Account Owners. The previous Terms and Conditions 
documents were not published in any public document but were provided 
to ACE Portal Account applicants after their acceptance into the test. 
For those ACE Portal Accounts already on file with CBP with the proper 
Account Owner listed, no further action is required by the ACE Portal 
Account Owner. The principal changes to the terms and conditions 
include a revised definition of ``Account Owner'' to permit either an 
individual or a legal entity to serve in this capacity, new 
requirements relating to providing notice to CBP when there has been a 
material change in the status of the Account and/or Account Owner, and 
explanatory provisions as to how the information from a particular 
account may be accessed through the ACE Portal when that account is 
transferred to a new owner. These terms and conditions do not affect 
participants in ACE who have not established Portal Accounts but who do 
participate via less formal Non-portal Accounts.

EFFECTIVE DATES: The terms and conditions set forth in this document 
must be followed as a condition for access to the ACE Portal effective 
immediately.

ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this notice should be submitted to 
Michael Maricich via e-mail at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Operational aspects for importers and 
brokers: Ruthanne Kenneally (202) 863-6064. Operational aspects for 
carriers: James Swanson at [email protected]. Systems or 
automation aspects: Michael Maricich at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On May 1, 2002, the former U.S. Customs Service, now U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection (CBP), published a General Notice in the Federal 
Register (67 FR 21800) announcing a plan to conduct a National Customs 
Automation Program (NCAP) test of the first phase of the Automated 
Commercial Environment (ACE). The test was described as the first step 
toward the full electronic processing of commercial importations with a 
focus on defining and establishing an importer's account structure. 
This General Notice announced that importers and authorized parties 
would be allowed to access their customs data via a web-based Account 
Portal.
    The notice set forth eligibility criteria for companies interested 
in establishing accounts (commonly known as Portal Accounts) accessible 
through the ACE Portal, and limited participants in the ACE test to 
importers already participating in the Customs Trade Partnership 
Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Program who had access to the Internet. Upon 
an applicant's selection into the test, Customs would require 
additional information for inclusion in the account profile.
    Certain subsequent notices eliminated the requirement of 
participation in the C-TPAT Program (see, e.g., General Notice 
published in the Federal Register on February 1, 2005 (70 FR 5199)) and 
expanded the universe of eligible participants in the ACE test and the 
types of ACE Portal Accounts, while establishing guidelines for account 
management, as described below.
    On February 4, 2004, CBP published two General Notices in the 
Federal Register, which established the ACE Truck Carrier Accounts and 
opened the application period for authorized importers and their 
designated brokers to participate in the NCAP test to implement the 
Periodic Monthly Statement (PMS) process (see 69 FR 5360 and 69 FR 
5362, respectively). Brokers were invited to establish Broker Accounts 
in ACE in order to participate in the NCAP test to implement PMS.
    In both February 4, 2004, General Notices, CBP advised participants 
that they could designate only one person as the Account Owner for the 
company's ACE Portal account. The Account Owner was identified as the 
party responsible for safeguarding the company's ACE Portal account 
information, controlling all disclosures of that information to 
authorized persons, authorizing user access to the ACE Portal account 
information, and ensuring the strict control of access by authorized 
persons to the ACE Portal information.
    On September 8, 2004, CBP published a General Notice in the Federal 
Register (69 FR 54302) inviting customs brokers to participate in the 
ACE Portal test generally and informing interested parties that once 
they had been notified by CBP that their request to participate in the 
ACE Portal test had been accepted, they would be asked to sign and 
submit a Terms and Conditions document. CBP subsequently contacted 
those participants and asked them to also sign and submit a Power of 
Attorney form and an Additional Account/Account Owner Information form.

Non-Portal Accounts

    CBP has also enabled certain parties to participate in any ACE test 
without establishing ACE Portal accounts. On October 24, 2005, CBP 
published a General Notice in the Federal Register (70 FR 61466) 
announcing that importers, whether or not C-TPAT certified, could 
become ACE non-portal accounts and participate in the PMS test, under 
certain conditions. Additionally, on March 29, 2006, CBP published 
another General Notice in the Federal Register (71 FR 15756) announcing 
that truck carriers who do not have ACE Truck Carrier Accounts may use 
third parties to transmit truck manifest information on their behalf 
electronically in the ACE Truck Manifest system, via EDI messaging. 
Parties choosing to participate in any ACE test without an ACE Portal 
account, such as those identified here and any others that CBP may 
identify in the future, are not bound by the Terms and Conditions 
described below.

Terms and Conditions Document

    The purpose of the Terms and Conditions document that participants 
were asked to sign was to set forth the obligations and 
responsibilities of those parties accessing an ACE Portal account on 
behalf of an Account. An ACE Portal account, as employed in that 
document, referred to a party who had volunteered to participate in any 
ACE test and had an ACE Portal account. Presently, ACE Portal accounts 
may be established by any of the following business categories meeting 
the below listed eligibility requirements:
    1. Importer:
     Possesses one or more Importer of Record (``IR'') numbers; 
and
     Has access to the Internet (see 67 FR 21800, May 1, 2002)
    2. Broker:
     Possesses the ability to make periodic payment via ACH 
Credit or ACH Debit;
     Possesses the ability to file entry/entry summary via ABI 
(Automated Broker Interface); and
     Has access to the Internet (see 69 FR 5362, February 4, 
2004)
    3. Carrier:
     Possesses a Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC); and
     Has access to the Internet (see 69 FR 5360, February 4, 
2004)
    To date, CBP has required that the Account Owner sign and submit 
the Terms and Conditions document prior to accessing the ACE Portal. If 
the Terms and Conditions document was not

[[Page 27634]]

signed and submitted to CBP, CBP would deny access to the ACE Portal 
for the Account Owner. The trade community has provided numerous 
comments to CBP describing the burdens imposed by the requirement that 
the Account Owner sign and submit the Terms and Conditions document 
prior to accessing the ACE Portal. In response, CBP is publishing the 
terms and conditions governing ACE Portal access in this Federal 
Register Notice (FRN). The publication of the terms and conditions in 
this FRN replaces the requirement that the Account Owner sign and 
submit a Terms and Conditions document to CBP.

Changes in Policy

    Any Terms and Conditions document previously signed and submitted 
by any Account Owner is null and void, having been superseded and 
replaced by the Terms and Conditions set forth in this FRN. Any present 
ACE Portal account with a Terms and Conditions document already on file 
with CBP will not be required to change the designation of its Account 
Owners unless the Account would prefer to designate a new Account 
Owner, consistent with the definition of Account Owner that is set 
forth below. If the Account chooses to change its Account Owner 
designation, the Account will be required to sign and submit to CBP an 
Account Owner Designation/Authorization form.
    The Terms and Conditions set forth in this FRN will appear on the 
introductory screen for the ACE Portal. Any party seeking access to the 
ACE Portal will be required to accept those Terms and Conditions as set 
forth on the screen and in this FRN. As ACE expands and includes other 
portal account types beyond the importer, broker and carrier ACE Portal 
accounts that exist today, further modifications to the Terms and 
Conditions may occur.

New Definition of Account Owner

    With the publication of this FRN, CBP is also amending the 
requirements set forth in the General Notices published on February 4, 
2004 (and referenced above) pertaining to the designation of the 
``Account Owner.'' Specifically, those notices limited the participants 
to the designation of only one person as the Account Owner who would be 
responsible for the company's portal account information. The Terms and 
Conditions documents presently on file with CBP define the Account 
Owner as ``any individual identified and authorized by the Account to 
serve as the representative of the Account relating to the 
administration of access to the Account's information through the ACE 
Portal.''
    Upon review, CBP is revising the definition of ``Account Owner.'' 
This revised definition of the Account Owner supersedes and replaces 
any former definition for the Account Owner. Whereas the former 
definition of Account Owner referred to a person or individual, CBP has 
now determined that a more appropriate definition for the Account Owner 
includes any ``legal entity'' identified and authorized by the Account 
to serve as the representative of that Account relating to the 
administration of access to the Account's information through the ACE 
Portal. Accordingly, the Account may also choose to designate itself to 
be its own Account Owner.
    The revisions of the Terms and Conditions set forth in this FRN 
include additional requirements, specifically those which require 
notice to CBP when there has been a material change in the status of 
the Account and/or Account Owner, as well as access to historical 
information in the event of the transfer of control of an IR number, 
filer code, or SCAC.

Terms and Conditions

I. Overview

    This document sets forth the obligations and responsibilities that 
must be followed as a condition for access to the Automated Commercial 
Environment (``ACE'') Secure Data Portal (hereinafter, ``ACE Portal'').
    Information contained in ACE and accessed through the ACE Portal 
includes confidential commercial or financial information that pertains 
to the Account. Information in ACE is, generally, protected under the 
provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), the 
Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a), and the Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. 
1905). No private party will be permitted access to information 
pertaining to an account absent the authorization of the Account. No 
governmental agency outside of the Department of Homeland Security will 
be permitted access to information that pertains to an account, unless 
the access is otherwise authorized by law (e.g., Freedom of Information 
Act, Privacy Act, Trade Secrets Act, etc.).
    Information accessed through the ACE Portal that derives from 
another Agency of the United States Government is subject to the 
``Third Party Rule,'' which separately requires the approval of that 
other agency before the information may be disseminated beyond the 
Account Owner and any Account User.
    CBP reserves the right to monitor access to the ACE Portal. CBP 
also reserves the right to disapprove any authorization of access to 
the ACE Portal for reasons pertaining to the security of ACE, mission 
of CBP, or National Security. The fact that one participates in the ACE 
test is not confidential.

II. Account

    The term ``Account'' as employed in this document refers to a 
business entity that has volunteered to participate in an ACE test. The 
Account may designate only one Account Owner for the Account.

III. Account Roles

    The Account Owner is any individual or other legal entity 
identified and authorized by the Account to serve as the representative 
of the Account and is responsible for the administration of access to 
the Account's information through the ACE Portal.
    If the Account chooses to designate a legal entity other than an 
individual as the Account Owner, the Account Owner must also designate 
an individual as the single point of contact for the Account. In all 
cases, there must be a single individual who is responsible for the 
administration of access to the Account's information through the ACE 
Portal.
    A Proxy Account Owner is any individual identified and authorized 
by either the Account or the Account Owner to access information that 
pertains to the Account through the ACE Portal. The authority of the 
Proxy Account Owner includes the designation of other Account Users, 
but may be limited by the Account Owner. In no case may a Proxy Account 
Owner designate other Proxy Account Owners.
    An Account User is any individual identified and authorized by the 
Account Owner or Proxy Account Owner to access information that 
pertains to the Account through the ACE Portal.

IV. Responsibilities

A. The Account

    1. The Account must separately authorize the Account Owner to 
exercise any and all authority, apparent or otherwise, to fulfill the 
enumerated responsibilities contained herein and in any applicable 
Federal Register Notice, including the authority to access and control 
information associated with newly acquired IR number(s), SCAC(s), and/
or filer code(s).
    2. The Account must complete and submit to CBP the Account Owner 
Designation/Authorization form, located on the CBP website (http://

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www.cbp.gov) as proof of designation of the Account Owner. This 
document must be signed by both the Account and the Account Owner and 
submitted to the Account Administrator. In cases in which the Account 
Owner is an entity, the form must be signed by the single point of 
contact of the Account.

B. Account Owner

    1. The Account Owner, as the representative of the Account with 
respect to all information submitted by or on behalf of the Account, is 
responsible for safeguarding Account information, authorizing user 
access to the ACE Portal account information, controlling all 
disclosures of that information, enforcing ACE Portal access 
limitations, and ensuring the strict control of access by authorized 
persons to the ACE Portal information.
    2. The Account Owner assumes liability for any disclosure of 
Account information or unauthorized access to the ACE Portal and holds 
CBP, its officers, agents, and employees harmless from the release of 
any such information.
    3. The Account Owner administers and controls all Proxy Account 
Owners and Account User access, including the designation and 
limitation of access, to the ACE Portal. The Account Owner is 
authorized to grant full or limited access to information relating to 
the Account (including information protected by the Trade Secrets Act 
or Privacy Act), through the ACE Portal.
    4. The Account Owner, if not an individual, shall designate an 
individual as the single point of contact for the Account relating to 
the administration of access to the Account's information through the 
ACE Portal.

C. All Parties

    The Account Owner, Proxy Account Owner, and any Account Users are 
responsible for ensuring the accuracy and confidentiality of any 
information they submit through the ACE Portal to CBP, and are also 
responsible for complying with the record-keeping requirements in 
accordance with law including, but not limited to, 19 U.S.C. 1508 and 
1509.

V. Failure To Access the Portal

    The failure of an Account Owner to access the ACE Portal for a 
period of ninety (90) days, consecutively, will result in the 
termination of access to the ACE Portal. Access may be restored by 
calling the Help Desk or by following the ``forgot your password'' 
prompt found on the ACE Portal log-in page.
    The failure of a Proxy Account Owner or an Account User to access 
the ACE Portal for a period of ninety (90) days, consecutively, will 
result in the termination of access to the ACE Portal for the Proxy 
Account Owner or Account User. Access may only be restored upon re-
authorization by the Account Owner.

VI. Change in the Status of the Account or Account Owner

A. Change in the Status of the Account

    1. The Account must provide notice to CBP as soon as practicable, 
relating to a material change to the status or condition of the 
Account, such as a transfer of IR number(s), SCAC(s), or filer 
codes(s). Any transfer of control of an IR number, SCAC or filer code, 
will require notification to the CBP assigned Account Manager or the 
ACE Portal Administrator by the acquiring and acquired parties. Until 
such notification, CBP will not alter access to the Portal. Some 
material changes will also require re-application. For example, any 
reorganization of an Account resulting in the creation of a new company 
and a new IR number, SCAC or filer code, will require re-application; 
this does not include the addition of a subsidiary. In the event of a 
division or spin-off from an Account, the Account will retain access to 
the ACE Portal, and the new business entity formed from the division or 
spin-off must apply for access.
    2. In the event of a material change in the status of the Account, 
such as the transfer of IR number(s), SCAC(s), or filer codes(s), CBP 
will require a brief summary of the change, signed by both the 
acquiring and acquired parties, including, but not limited to, the 
following information:
    a. Company names;
    b. IR numbers acquired, transferred, sold, or divested;
    c. Party transferring the IR number, filer code, and/or SCAC;
    d. Party acquiring the IR number, filer code, and/or SCAC;
    e. Address changes; and
    f. Effective date of information control.
    3. When the CBP assigned Account Manager or ACE Portal 
Administrator is notified of the transfer of IR number(s), SCAC(s) or 
filer code(s), ACE Portal access will be denied for the acquired 
company unless the acquiring company authorizes access to the acquired 
company.

B. Change in the Status of the Account Owner

    1. The Account must provide notice to CBP, as soon as practicable, 
relating to a material change in the status of the Account Owner. A 
material change includes the resignation of the Account Owner. The 
Account must designate a new Account Owner to act on behalf of the 
Account after notifying CBP of the change. At such time that a new 
Account Owner is designated for the Account, the Account must submit a 
new Account Owner Designation/Authorization form to the CBP assigned 
Account Manager or Portal Administrator.
    2. If the Account Owner is not an individual, the Account Owner 
must provide notice to CBP, as soon as practicable, relating to a 
material change to the status of the single point of contact. At such 
time that a new single point of contact is designated for the Account 
Owner, the Account Owner must submit a new Account Owner Designation/
Authorization form to the CBP assigned Account Manager or Portal 
Administrator.

VII. Access to Historical Information

    In the event of a transfer of control of an IR number, filer code, 
and/or SCAC, the acquiring company will obtain access to historical 
information associated with that IR number, filer code, and/or SCAC. In 
the event that the acquired company also requires access to the 
historical information associated with the transfer of control of an IR 
number, filer code, and/or SCAC, the acquired company's access to that 
information may be obtained by either downloading the historical 
information prior to the date of sale or the transfer of control of an 
IR number, filer code, and/or SCAC, or by making a Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA) request to CBP of a download of that information 
after the sale or the transfer of control of an IR number, filer code, 
and/or SCAC. In the alternative, the acquired company may request to be 
made a user on the acquiring company's Account.

    Dated: May 9, 2007.
Jayson P. Ahern,
Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations.
[FR Doc. E7-9350 Filed 5-15-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P