In March 2016 electronic filing of import data using the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) became mandatory for NHTSA and APHIS Lacey shipments. Multiple partner government agencies (PGAs) are adding electronic data submission requirements in Summer 2016, including the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
Understanding FSIS
FSIS is the public health regulatory agency responsible for ensuring that domestic and imported meat, poultry, and processed egg products are safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged. FSIS ensures that meat, poultry, and egg products imported to the United States originate from eligible countries and are produced under standards equivalent to U.S. inspection standards.
FSIS reporting requirements
FSIS form 9540-1 (Import Inspection Application and Report) is being converted to an electronic message set. Additionally, FSIS requires that all imported shipments of meat, poultry and egg products be properly certified by the exporting foreign country (Official Foreign Inspection Certificate, which will remain a paper submission in most cases).
Under ACE, FSIS requires data elements (message set), dependent on the commodity, and depending on whether electronic certification (government to government eCert) is applicable. At this time, eCert countries include Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands. FSIS receives Foreign Inspection Certification electronically for these countries. For imports from e-cert countries, the foreign inspection certificate number would be entered in ACE, and automatically populate specific lot information contained on the certificate. For non-eCert countries, lot information will need to be transmitted within the entry transaction directly from the Foreign Inspection Certificate. Work with your customs broker to understand how to provide this information to your broker, and how they will report the information under ACE.
Note that the requirement for a paper copy of the Foreign Inspection Certificate for non-e-cert countries remains the same.
Managing your FSIS compliance under ACE
Remember that, should you fail to provide the proper data elements at time of import, your shipments will be delayed, and/or possibly refused entry. Shipments which fail to report for import inspection may be marked “Failure to Present” and may face a recall. And keep in mind that as the importer of record, providing necessary data and ensuring your carrier reports for inspection is your responsibility.
Thus it’s critical that you work with your broker to understand and manage your responsibilities to ensure continued compliance and avoid delays and penalties.
The customs experts at Livingston can help
If you’re unsure of your responsibilities or if your broker isn’t prepared for ACE, Livingston can help. Our people and our systems are fully ACE-ready and we’re available to help you establish and maintain ACE-compliant procedures.