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CBP to Allow Voluntary ACE Filing for Shrimp and Abalone Until New PGA Data Mandatory

CBP will accept voluntary ACE filings for shrimp and abalone under the Seafood Import Monitoring Program beginning in October, as the mandatory filing deadline for these species approaches at year’s end, it said in a CSMS message. As announced by the National Marine Fisheries Service in April, shrimp and abalone will become subject to the PGA message set filing requirements for high-risk seafood on Dec. 31 (see 1804230037).

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Voluntary filing may begin Oct. 9, and runs until filing becomes mandatory Dec. 31, CBP said. Entries received under Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes for shrimp and abalone will receive a warning, but can still be accepted without SIMP data, CBP said. After Dec. 31, “entry filings without the data will be rejected,” it said. HTS codes applicable to shrimp and abalone will be updated with the NM8 flag, and the list of 3 alpha codes will be updated as well, CBP said. The updates will begin Oct. 9, and will be completed by Oct. 12 in both the ACE production and certification environments. A spreadsheet is available on the NMFS website listing HTS and 3 alpha codes for all products subject to SIMP, including shrimp and abalone.

Filing requirements for other types of seafood, including Atlantic cod; Pacific cod; blue crab; red king crab; dolphinfish (mahi mahi); grouper; red snapper; sea cucumber; shrimp; sharks; swordfish; and albacore, bigeye, bluefin, skipjack and yellowfin tuna, already took effect at the beginning of 2018 (see 1612080014), though NMFS allowed a grace period of over three months (see 1803190033). The addition of shrimp and abalone, which had been on hold, was mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018.