(a) Description. Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) credit is an optional payment method that allows a payer to transmit statement processing payments (see §24.25) or deferred tax payments (see §24.4) or bill payments (see §24.3) electronically, through its financial institution, directly to the CBP account maintained by the Department of the Treasury.

(b) Enrollment procedure. A payer interested in enrolling in the ACH credit program must indicate such interest by providing the following information to the National Finance Center, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Administration, Revenue Division, 6650 Telecom Drive, Suite 100, Indianapolis, IN 46278: Payer name and address; payer contact name(s); payer telephone number(s) and facsimile number; payer identification number (importer number or Social Security number or CBP assigned number); and 3-digit filer code.

(c) Routing and format instructions. Following receipt of the enrollment information, the National Finance Center will provide the payer with specific ACH credit routing and format instructions and will advise the payer that the following information must be provided to its financial institution when originating its payments: Company name; company contact person name and telephone number; company identification number (coded Internal Revenue Service employer identification number or DUNS number or CBP assigned number); company payment description; effective date; receiving company name; transaction code; CBP transit routing number and CBP account number; payment amount; payer identifier (importer number or Social Security number or CBP assigned number or filer code if the payer is a broker who is the importer of record); document number (daily statement number, entry or warehouse withdrawal number for a deferred tax payment, or bill number); payment type code; settlement date; and document payment amount.

(d) Prenotification procedure. Before effecting any payments of funds through the ACH credit process, the payer must follow a prenotification procedure, involving a non-funds message transmission through its financial institution to the CBP account, in order to validate the routing instructions. When the routing instructions are validated, the National Finance Center will notify the payer that the prenotification transaction has been accepted and that payments may be originated on or after the tenth calendar day following the prenotification acceptance date.

(e) Payment origination procedures—(1) General. Once the payer has received authorization to begin originating ACH credit payments under paragraph (d) of this section, the payer, through its financial institution, must originate each payment transaction to the CBP account no later than one business day prior to the payment due date. The payer's account will be charged by the financial institution on the settlement date identified in the transaction. The payer is responsible for following the routing and format instructions provided by CBP and for ensuring the accuracy of the information when originating each payment. Improperly formatted or erroneous information provided by the payer will delay the prompt posting of the payment to the receivable.

(2) Procedures for daily statement filers. The procedures set forth in §24.25(c) for ABI filers using statement processing remain applicable when payment is effected through ACH credit. However, when the ABI filer is a customs broker who is not the importer of record and thus is not responsible for the payment, the ABI filer must provide the statement number and statement amount to the importer of record at least one business day prior to the due date so that the importer of record can originate the payment.

(f) Date of collection. The date that the ACH credit payment transaction is received by CBP shall be the collection date which equates to the settlement date. The appropriate daily statement or entry or warehouse withdrawal or bill shall be identified as paid as of that collection date.

(g) Removal from the ACH credit program. If a payer repeatedly provides improperly formatted or erroneous information when originating ACH credit payments, the National Finance Center may advise the payer in writing to refrain from using ACH credit and to submit its payments by bank draft or check pursuant to §24.1 or, in the case of daily statement payments, to use the ACH debit payment method under §24.25.

[T.D. 98-51, 63 FR 29125, May 28, 1998, as amended by CBP Dec. 12-21, 77 FR 73308, Dec. 10, 2012]