CBP Says ACE Business Office Now Processing RLF Applications

February 27, 2012 by Marie Rapport|Customs and Ports

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a notice stating that effective January 30, 2012, the Office of International Trade/Trade Policy and Programs is no longer processing Remote Location Filing applications. This process has been transitioned to the client representatives within the ACE Business Office. The client representatives will be responsible for determining the filer’s ability to transmit via the Electronic Invoice Program (EIP), determine RLF eligibility, and convey results, once the filer has demonstrated it meets certain thresholds.

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The RLF thresholds that must be met are:

Possess a valid national permit as required by 19 CFR 111.19(f) (this requirement does not apply to individuals filing as importer of record for their own transactions). For more information about obtaining a national permit, see here.
Be operational on the Automated Broker Interface (ABI).
Be operational on EIP for 60 days prior to transmitting an RLF entry.
Be operational on Automated Clearing House (ACH), or any other CBP approved method of electronic payment for 30 days prior to transmitting a RLF entry. ACH is the method that must be used for EIP/RLF summary payment.
In addition, RLF transactions must be secured by a continuous bond.

CBP states that this new process will streamline the RLF testing process and reduce processing time. Questions, comments and/or concerns regarding this message should be directed to the filer's CBP client representative or remote.filing@dhs.gov.

Additional information can be found online here.

(CSMS #12-000054, dated 02/24/12)