U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued CSMS 17-000729 noting an increase in trucks entering the United States at a land border where a transponder’s status is showing “Not Paid”, when in fact, the carrier has a valid annual or single user fee payment on file.
CBP advises, for the transponder to work, regardless of payment type, the license plate number and vehicle identification number (VIN) on file with the Decal/Transponder Online Procurement System (DTOPS) must match identically to the records in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). In almost 100% of the instances that DTOPS and ACE have researched, the problem at the border stems from a mismatch in the VIN number that was submitted by the carrier.
CBP is requesting if a driver reports a problem with his/her transponder at the border, the driver should verify the data in the DTOPS account matches the truck information stored in the ACE account, and both match what is on the truck registration. If the carrier finds a mismatch, he/she must determine which record is inaccurate compared to the vehicle registration.
If the mismatch, compared to the vehicle registration, is in DTOPS, the he/she should call the DTOPS Helpdesk for correction.
- decals@cbp.dhs.gov
- fax: (317) 290-3219
- call: (317) 298-1245
Mon.-Fri. 8am-4pm Eastern
If the mismatch, compared to the vehicle registration, is in ACE, the carrier should request a CBP work ticket be opened with the ACE Manifest team to have the incorrect conveyance record deleted from ACE, this applies for both EDI and Portal filers. If the carrier is using the ACE Portal, the carrier can remove the relationship to the incorrect VIN from their ACE portal account and search for the correct VIN. The search will bring the DTOPS record to them and they will then be able to add the conveyance to the account. The ability to remove the relationship does not remove the inaccurate record from ACE, just from the carriers account view; a work ticket should still be opened with ACE to delete the bad record.
As always, if you have any questions regarding the information presented here, please contact either your Livingston account manager or our US Regulatory Affairs group: usregaffairs@livingstonintl.com.