What is the Periodic Monthly Statement?
Your company can realize significant cost savings with PMS! The Periodic Monthly Statement (PMS) process is a feature of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the new automated system for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) currently under development. By using PMS processing, importers may deposit duties on the 15th business day of the month following the month in which the goods are released. This means merchandise released on the first to the last day of the month can be scheduled for duty payment on the following month’s Periodic Monthly Statement. This eliminates the need to process duty payments on a transaction-by-transaction basis. Customs does not assess any interest charges for payments made via PMS!
Example:
If your shipment is released on August 1, 2007, duties would normally be due in 10 business days on August 15, 2007. Under PMS, your duty payment would not be due until the 15th business day of September which is September 24, 2007. You have just gained a float of 40 days! Let’s say your shipment is released on August 31, 2007. Duties would normally be due on September 17, 2007, ten business days after the release. With PMS, your duty due date is September 24, 2007, one week later.
PMS streamlines duty statement processing while also positively impacting your cash flow. You can have a once-a-month, interest-free duty payment. With PMS, Customs has effectively extended your payment terms. This gives your company flexibility in managing the working capital required for duty payments.
How to Get Started with the Periodic Monthly Statement
The first step to paying your duties via Periodic Monthly Statements is to set up an ACH account with Customs. This is a very simple process. Simply fill out Customs’ ACH Application and submit it to Customs – you can do this via e-mail, fax, or regular mail. Customs will send you an ACH payer unit number in about 2 weeks. Once your ACH account is established, Shapiro can apply for PMS processing on your behalf. The PMS application takes about 3 business days to process. There is no charge for this service for Shapiro customers!
Once approved for PMS processing, Shapiro can switch you over very easily. Entries currently in the pipeline will work their way through in about 2-3 weeks until all files are processed with PMS.
You will receive preliminary periodic daily statements 10 business days after the release of the shipment. This will give you the individual entry numbers and amounts due for each entry. The following day you will receive a final periodic daily statement letting you know the entry summaries were accepted by Customs. Some importers opt to receive only the final periodic daily statement instead of the preliminary and final periodic daily statements. It is your choice.
On the 11th business day of the month following the month of release, you will receive a preliminary periodic monthly statement. This will list the periodic daily statements to be paid on the monthly statement. You should use the preliminary periodic monthly statement to ensure you have sufficient funds in your account for the payment date on the 15th business day of the month. Once the PMS statement is paid on the 15th business day of the month, you will receive a final periodic monthly statement.
We can direct each type of statement to whomever you’d like. It can be via e-mail or fax, whichever the person would prefer. Also, Shapiro customers can view their PMS statements at a glance through Shapiro’s website. You sign on to Shapiro 360°, our online tracking and Purchase order management system, click on reports, and the PMS statement is listed as one of the reports. The report can be copied into an Excel spreadsheet so that you can format the information as you like.
For more information on PMS or if you have any questions, please contact us.
