CBP Deployed Final Section 321 $800 Aggregated Shipments Enhancement in ACE on August 12
Trade Update • Aug. 18
Key Points
- CBP deployed the final Section 321 $800 aggregated shipments enhancement in ACE on August 12, 2025.
- ACE now withholds de minimis shipments exceeding the $800 per person, per day threshold.
- Withheld shipments must be linked to a formal or informal entry type, or abandoned, exported, or returned.
- Enforcement applies to all modes except mail, with updated messaging and post-deployment support available for trade users.
U .S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deployed the third and final release of the Section 321 – Does Not Exceed $800 in Aggregated Shipments enhancement in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Production environment on August 12, 2025.
This deployment followed a successful rollout to the ACE Certification environment on June 26, 2025.
Refer to: Trade Information Notice Section 321 – Does Not Exceed $800 in Aggregated Shipments – Release 3.
Enhancement
The enhancement automated enforcement of the Section 321 administrative exemption, which allows for duty-free clearance of shipments valued at $800 or less per person per day. With this release, ACE:
Withheld release of de minimis shipments once the $800 threshold per consignee, per day, had been met.
Required withheld shipments to be linked to a formal (01) or informal (11) entry type, unless the filer chose to abandon, export, or return the shipment to sender.
Based threshold calculations on the consignee field and the actual date of arrival of the conveyance (measured from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. ET).
Applied the enforcement across all modes of transportation, except mail.
How Threshold Enforcement
If multiple shipments arrived for the same consignee on the same day, ACE processed them in the order manifested.
Once the aggregated value of Section 321 shipments exceeded $800, the most recent shipment was withheld from release.
All subsequent shipments for that consignee during that 24-hour period were also ineligible for de minimis clearance.
Cargo Release Messaging
When enforcement was triggered, ACE issued specific cargo release status notifications, such as:
Disposition code 34 – Entry Release Withheld – De Minimis Met
Air, Ocean, Rail: 4M – Withhold Entry Release – De Minimis Met
Truck: SN529 (threshold exceeded), SN530 (hold removed), 4J (hold placed), 4K (hold removed)
Resources
CBP is providing updated implementation guidance and support resources, including:
Technical Resources:
Updated ACE implementation guides (Cargo Release Status Notification, Air Import Manifest Appendix A, Ocean/Rail Appendix D, Truck Manifest)
Trade users were advised to contact their assigned Client Representative for technical questions, while questions related to cargo control and release could be directed to CREM@cbp.dhs.gov.
This final release completed the deployment of ACE’s automated enforcement of the Section 321 $800 de minimis threshold. Trade users were expected to ensure their systems and processes had been updated to handle withheld shipments and to review the CBP resources provided ahead of the rollout.
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