First time dealing with IEEPA tariffs – ACE portal still inactive, can my broker file without it?
I'm an accountant at a small importer firm, and I have zero experience with customs and brokerage. I've been tasked with handling IEEPA tariff refunds, so apologies in advance if these are stupid questions – please explain like I'm a toddler.
Here's where I'm stuck:
- I applied for an ACE Portal account on April 17 and still haven't heard back.
- I've tried calling support multiple times – no response.
- Our broker offered to handle everything for a commission of $125 per entry.
My main concern is: does the broker need our ACE Portal to be active in order to file on our behalf? Or can they submit the CAPE Declaration using their own portal access?
I'm sure preparing a CSV file and submitting it through the CAPE portal isn't that difficult, but our portal isn't active yet. I know CBP is overloaded right now and approvals are taking forever, but I'm afraid we're going to miss the deadline.
So my question is: Is there any way to submit a CAPE Declaration without an active ACE Portal? Or can our broker help us without needing our portal to be active?
Thanks in advance for any guidance.