July 23, 2016, marks the soon to be end of an era for the Automated Commercial System (ACS), the legacy platform system for communication to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which officially used replacement Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) as the sole communication portal for electronic entry and entry summary filings. CBP made the unprecedented decision to not keep the ACS as back up in the event ACE failed which has brought many concerns by industry stakeholders, particularly those at land border crossings.The complete changeover to ACE has not been without challenges. Multiple system failure errors have occurred since the deployment specifically related to quota entries, an untested portion of the system with live data. ACE technical staff have been quick to address issues and communicate resolution to the trade. While issues are addressed and under review, entry processing delays may occur based on the frequency of downtimes.Customs and Border Protection stated, “By the end of 2016, the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) will become the Single Window – the primary system through which the trade community will report imports and exports and the government will determine admissibility. Through ACE as the Single Window, manual processes will be streamlined and automated, paper will be eliminated, and the trade community will be able to more easily and efficiently comply with U.S. laws and regulations.”To read more about ACE, please follow this link to the CBP website here.