Cargo Systems Messaging Service

CSMS #49358330 - Drawback Transition to the Centers of Excellence and Expertise-Update to Claim Processing

Effective September 14, 2021, drawback claims transmitted in ACE will be routed to the Center of Excellence and Expertise (Center) based on the claimant’s current industry sector account alignment. If a claimant is aligned with a Center based on their importer of record filing of import entry summaries, this will be the same Center alignment for their drawback claims. A claimant will only be assigned to one Center, regardless of filing drawback campaigns across multiple industries.

Filing Drawback Claims on/after September 14, 2021
The trade should continue to transmit claims to any of the four drawback office port locations as provided in the CBP and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR). Claims will be routed internally by CBP based on the claimant’s designated Center alignment.

If a claimant is not aligned with a Center, the claimant’s assignment will be determined at the drawback office where the claim was transmitted. Drawback filers that have access to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal may run the ACE ES-001 report to identify the team codes on their claims. The chart below indicates the Center and industry alignment with corresponding team codes. Customs brokers that are filing claims using their importer of record number will not be aligned with a Center.

Privilege Applications, General Ruling Requests, Correspondence
If a claimant is aware of their Center account alignment, they should submit all new requests to that Center’s drawback email attribute. If a claimant is not aware of their Center account alignment, or is a new filer, they should submit their requests to the drawback email attribute that best aligns with their industry.

Privilege and ruling applications submitted prior to September 14, 2021, will remain at the physical drawback office location where they were initially filed and will be processed by that office. Additional documentation regarding these requests should be sent to the current processing drawback office.

Paper Claims
Paper ACS claims will remain at the physical drawback office location where they were initially filed and will be processed by the local drawback office. Additional documentation regarding these requests should be sent to the current processing drawback office.

Electronic Claims
Core and TFTEA claims filed prior to September 14, 2021, will be processed by the drawback office where they were initially filed. Additional documentation regarding these requests should be sent to the current processing drawback office.

The Drawback supervisor contact information has been posted to the Center directory on CBP.gov using this link: Centers of Excellence and Expertise Directory | U.S. Customs and Border Protection (cbp.gov).

Questions concerning the transition should be directed to CEE@cbp.dhs.gov.

Questions regarding drawback policy or ACE technical issues should be directed to OTDRAWBACK@cbp.dhs.gov

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