Reminder Census's Data Entry Center (DEC) Program Ends March 31, 2005
In its January 2005 AES Newsletter, Census included a letter that was sent to all Data Entry Center (DEC) participants (non-vessel operating common carriers, express air couriers, other carriers or port authorities) reminding them that the DEC program ends on March 31, 2005.
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(Census notes that this letter serves as a follow up to its October 13, 2004 letter regarding the termination of the DEC program as well as its written notification to terminate the agreement between the DECs and Census as required by the signed Export Initiative Agreement. See ITT's Online Archives or 12/06/04 news, 04120610, for previous BP summary of Census' October 2004 letter.)
Census states that effective April 1, 2005, former DEC participants must either (1) become an authorized agent with a written authorization or power of attorney from the U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI) in order to file or key information received on paper Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) into the Automated Export System (AES) mainframe or AESDirect or (2) become a certified service center in order to transmit AES information to the AES mainframe.
Census also states that former DECs that are filing export information using AESDirect will have their account automatically switched to an authorized agent on April 1, 2005.
Authorized agents. Census states that as an authorized agent, a company will be responsible for the resolution of all edit failures, as well as for complying with all regulatory requirements and associated penalties pertaining to the filing of these shipments.
Certified service centers. As a certified service center, a company is responsible for transmitting AES information from all external customers to the AES mainframe and to transmit AES generated responses from the AES mainframe back to all external customers. The service center will be responsible for creating AES software and certifying the software with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Service centers are also responsible for distributing the software to all external customers and each external customer would be required to test individually with Census. This newly created software must stand alone and may not be integrated with existing AESDirect or AESPcLink functions.
Instructions for former DECs filing directly into the AES mainframe. According to Census, on or after April 1, 2005, former DECs that are filing export information directly into the AES mainframe as either an authorized agent or certified service center with a DEC indicator set to 'Y' will receive compliance alerts from CBP. Census sources note that in order to avoid receiving such compliance alerts, former DECs should make sure their DEC indicator is set to 'N.'
(Census had previously stated that that DEC indicators would be turned off as of April 1, 2005. Census sources now clarify that although DEC indicators will be turned off for those filing via AESDirect, Census is not able to turn off the DEC indicators for those filing directly into the AES mainframe.)
AES will accept corrections to DEC shipments until March 1, 2006. Census encourages transition from the DEC program prior to April 1, 2005. Census states that AES will continue to accept corrections to DEC shipments until March 1, 2006.
DECs interested in becoming authorized agents/certified service centers should contact Census. If a DEC decides to become an authorized agent or certified service center prior to April 1, 2005, it should contact Census at ftddec@census.gov to have its DEC status changed.
DECs should inform clients if they decide not to become an authorized agent/certified service center. Census sources state that if a DEC decides not to become an authorized agent or a certified service center, it should inform its clients that they will be required to file themselves or find an authorize agent to file on their behalf.
Census notes that information for exporters that want to file themselves (rather than utilizing an authorized agent of certified service center) via AESDirect, Census' free Internet-based system for filing SED information in AES, can be found at www.aesdirect.gov.
Census contact - Data Collection and Coordination Branch (301) 763-2259
January 2005 AES Newsletter, including DEC notification letter, available at http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/aesnewsletter012005.pdf.