Flow · Customer → CBP ACE → Broker

Every filing, end to end. In nine stations.

One shipment, one filing, one audit record. This page shows every component the data touches — from the merchant producing it, through the translation layer we build, into CBP's system, and back to the broker when something needs fixing. Audit-readable, compliance-readable, stakeholder-readable.

SCOPE US · Entry Summary · eBond OUR BUILD Translation · Audit · Dashboard EXTERNAL CBIT · CBP ACE · Customer stack
The Nine Stations

One payload. One round-trip.
One clearly-marked translation layer.

Amber marks the parts we build. Steel marks what already exists at Damon's side. Mint marks the government. The dashed arrow is the filing moving forward; the mint return-arrow is CBP's response; the red arrow is the reject-loop broker-corrections flow.

STATION 01 Customer Retail / e-commerce merchant EXTERNAL shipment data STATION 02 CBIT v0.1 API Damon's platform — already in place EXTERNAL · DAMON JSON payload STATION 03 Translation Layer CBIT JSON → CATAIR byte records 3 modules · REST API Pydantic v2 · idempotent ◆ OUR BUILD 80-byte records STATION 04 CATAIR Bytes Fixed-width: R10 · R11 R20 · R40 · R50 · R90 INDUSTRY STANDARD HTTPS + mTLS STATION 05 Transport HTTPS primary / IBM MQ fallback INFRASTRUCTURE to government STATION 06 CBP ACE / ABI US Customs receives, validates, accepts US GOVERNMENT MRN / status STATION 07 Response Path MRN · accept · hold · reject · error code CBP REPLY signed event STATION 08 Audit + Retention 7y SQLite + JSONL append-only, signed ◆ OUR BUILD render for broker STATION 09 Dashboard Holds · corrections · resubmissions ◆ OUR BUILD · PHASE 2 broker correction · resubmit
External Our build Government Return path Reject loop
STATION 01
Customer
Retail shop or e-commerce merchant produces the shipment data for each cross-border movement.
EXTERNAL
shipment data →
STATION 02
CBIT v0.1 API
Damon's existing platform ingests customer data. We don't replace it.
EXTERNAL · DAMON
JSON payload →
STATION 03
Translation Layer
Accepts CBIT JSON, maps each field to CATAIR records. Three modules, REST API, idempotent, Pydantic-validated.
◆ OUR BUILD
80-byte records →
STATION 04
CATAIR Bytes
Fixed-width 80-byte records for Entry Summary: R10, R11, R20, R40, R50, R90. Byte-exact per CBP spec.
INDUSTRY STANDARD
HTTPS + mTLS →
STATION 05
Transport
HTTPS primary, IBM MQ fallback. Mutual-TLS authenticated. CBP-issued certificate.
INFRASTRUCTURE
to government →
STATION 06
CBP ACE / ABI
US Customs receives and validates the filing against the official ruleset.
US GOVERNMENT
MRN / status ↩
STATION 07
Response Path
CBP returns an MRN on accept, or an error-code from Appendix-S on hold/reject.
CBP REPLY
signed event ↩
STATION 08
Audit + Retention
Every event stored append-only, SHA256-chained, SQLite + JSONL, 7-year retention.
◆ OUR BUILD
render for broker ↩
STATION 09
Dashboard
Broker-facing UI for holds, corrections, resubmissions. Phase 1: CBIT frontend. Phase 2: our own.
◆ OUR BUILD · PHASE 2
Scope Clarity

What we build.
What stays external. Who touches what.

A stakeholder-readable scope statement. Amber lists our deliverables. Steel lists the parts already in place or outside our perimeter. The third column names the three actors and their access surface.

◆ What We Build
Our deliverables
  • 01
    Translation LayerCBIT JSON → CATAIR byte-exact records
  • 02
    Three modulesEntry Summary Type 1 · Type 11 Informal · T-1 In-Bond
  • 03
    REST APIPOST /filings · idempotent · async
  • 04
    Audit log7y SQLite + JSONL · signed · replayable
  • 05
    DashboardPhase 2 · Lovable-style broker UI
External / In Place
What stays where it is
  • A
    CBIT v0.1 frontendDamon's existing platform — unchanged for v1
  • B
    CBP ACE / ABIUS government receiving system — we integrate, not replace
  • C
    Customer stackRetailer/merchant platforms — we never touch them
  • D
    mTLS certificateIssued by CBP · managed by Damon
  • E
    Filer codeDamon's existing CBP filer code, env-configured
Actors
Who touches what
  • I
    Customer (merchant)Read-only — their data goes in, no dashboard access
  • II
    Broker / OpsDashboard user — sees holds, files corrections, resubmits
  • III
    CBPReceiver — consumes filings, returns MRNs and holds
  • IV
    Damon (platform owner)CBIT admin — routes customers into the pipeline
Compliance Layer

Every byte. Seven years. Signed.

US Customs requires five years of importer records retention under 19 CFR 163. We write seven. Every event is append-only, SHA256-chained to the previous, and replayable byte-for-byte for any dispute or audit request.

T + 0s
Filing accepted
CBP ACE returns MRN. Event emitted by translation layer.
T + < 1s
Audit row written
SQLite row + JSONL append. SHA256 chained to previous event.
T + ... years
Retention guaranteed
7 years, append-only, tamper-evident. Restore-tested weekly.
On demand
Replay for disputes
Any filing reconstructable byte-for-byte on audit request.
US 19 CFR 163 · 5y minimum We do 7 years JSONL append-only SHA256 chained Restore-tested weekly GDPR-compliant storage
Failure Modes

When CBP says no — the loop.

Happy-path is one arrow. The real test of a filing system is what happens on a hold. Damon's requirement was clear: the hold has to travel back through the system, reach the broker, let them correct one specific field, and resubmit. Here's that loop.

STEP 01 · REJECT
CBP rejects filing
Response-Path returns an SV·R code plus the specific record and field that failed validation.
→
STEP 02 · MAP
Error resolved via Appendix-S
Our catalog maps the raw error code to a human-readable sentence: "HTS code invalid for country of origin."
→
STEP 03 · BROKER
Broker sees it in dashboard
Filing appears in "Needs Attention" with the exact field highlighted, original submission visible, and diff-ready input.
→
STEP 04 · CORRECT
One-field correction
Broker edits the single bad field. Everything else stays intact. Translation layer re-validates before resubmit.
→
STEP 05 · RESUBMIT
Filing accepted
Resubmission flows through the same pipeline. MRN issued. Both the original reject and the correction are preserved in audit.
Why this matters: A filing system that only works on the happy path is a filing system that breaks the first real day. This loop is what turns the translation layer from a demo into an operationally compliant component in Damon's stack.