Loss of Historical Data From Merging ACE Accounts Poses Issues, Customs Lawyer Says
Combining ACE accounts following a merger or acquisition may result in lost historical data, said Ted Murphy, a customs lawyer at Baker & McKenzie, in a blog post. While CBP's describes merging ACE accounts, it "is really more like the…
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'deleting' of an old account and the creation of a new sub-account that is unrelated to the old account (the old data is no longer accessible)," Murphy said. CBP told Murphy that this is meant to avoid unauthorized access. "While there certainly is an interest in maintaining the security of data in ACE accounts, it is difficult to discern the rationale for deleting historical import data for which the acquiring entity will, in most circumstances, bear liability on a going forward basis," Murphy said. It may make more sense for an acquirer to maintain the ACE account of the acquired company and instead cancel user accounts as needed, he said. "This advice may become especially important if CBP eventually eliminates the ability of companies to request historical [Importer Trade Activity (ITRAC)] data, as has been rumored with the ACE transition." CBP didn't comment.