CBP relaxes data requirement in electronic mail entry test for importers

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will temporarily accept electronic informal entries for international mail shipments that arrive without complete electronic Partner Government Agency (PGA) data, softening a requirement that had blocked filers from using the new mail entry pathway. The modification of the Entry Type 13 Test takes effect on October 22, 2026 and is set out in a general notice published in the Federal Register of Thursday, October 22, 2026 (91 FR 66707).

The test itself was announced on June 24, 2026 (91 FR 38007) and began operating on September 22, 2026. Entry type 13, the Informal Mail Entry, is available in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) for international mail shipments valued at $2,500 or less, including shipments that would previously have been eligible for the de minimis duty exemption, sent to the United States through the international postal network. It provides an alternative to the interim informal mail process laid down in 19 CFR 145.12(b) and lets filers submit informal entry for qualified shipments electronically.

The measure sits on top of a broader regulatory shift. On June 24, 2026, CBP published an interim final rule (91 FR 37801) implementing an indefinite suspension of the de minimis administrative exemption under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C) for merchandise arriving through the international postal network; the suspension took effect that same day and the rest of the rule applied from July 24, 2026. Merchandise subject to PGA requirements, to duties under Chapter 98 or Chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, or claiming duty-free treatment under Chapter 98 or a free trade agreement, was excluded from the postal informal entry process under 19 CFR 145.12(a)(2)(v)–(vi).

What the modification changes

Until now, participants with shipments subject to PGA data requirements could transmit that data electronically in ACE alongside their entry type 13 filing, but a complete electronic PGA submission was expected. CBP is now modifying the test to also temporarily accept an entry type 13 that is not accompanied by complete electronic PGA data, so that filers can begin using the new entry type while they work to ensure they can submit all required PGA data electronically.

The agency said it will announce the conclusion of this temporary acceptance in a future notice published in the Federal Register. No end date is given in the document.

Who files and what data is required

• The importer of record must file the entry type 13 data required by CBP electronically in ACE; that is the owner or purchaser of the mailed merchandise, or a licensed broker properly appointed by the owner, purchaser or consignee acting as importer of record.
• Merchandise subject to duties under Chapter 98 or Chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, or for which duty-free treatment is claimed under Chapter 98 or a free trade agreement, must transmit the additional data those requirements mandate.
• PGA data may still be transmitted electronically in ACE with the entry type 13 filing where available.
• Detailed procedures are in the original test notice (91 FR 38007) and in the CBP and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) guidelines for ACE.

A parallel reprieve until January 2027

The same issue of the Federal Register carries a companion final rule from CBP, issued under 19 CFR Part 145 and RIN 1685–AA45, that pushes the compliance date for 19 CFR 145.12(a)(2)(v) and (vi) from October 22, 2026 to January 20, 2027 (91 FR 66638). The agency argued that importers, brokers and logistics providers in the international postal network need more time to update internal systems, write policies and procedures for data submission, and build the technological infrastructure required, and warned that refusing extra time could disrupt the flow of postal shipments destined to Americans.

CBP invoked the good cause exception of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), because a comment period would have run past the existing deadline. The rule was signed by Susan S. Thomas, Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Trade, under authority delegated by Commissioner Rodney S. Scott. Questions on the test notice go to Christopher Mabelitini, Director of the Intellectual Property Rights & E-Commerce Division in the Office of Trade.

The two documents together give e-commerce importers, postal operators and carriers a workable runway: the entry pathway stays open even when PGA data is incomplete, and the formal-entry mandate for the hardest categories of mail shipments slips three months. For an industry that moves millions of low-value parcels a day, the practical effect is that shipments keep flowing while systems catch up.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 203, 22 October 2026, Notices, p. 66707 (official reference: FR Doc. 2026–21570; 91 FR 66707).