SAG: Acquiring Type 3

2.3.1. Obtaining Exporter “Site Certificate”

Certificate Type	Cost
ABN DSC [AO] – First AO DC – Additional AO	$187.00 $126.50
Type 3 [device]	$594.00
ABN DSC [standard]	$93.50
Costs above include GST

Any exporter wishing to obtain a “site certificate” for EDI with Customs must purchase their certificates from the Gatekeeper program managed by VeriSign Australia (site http://www.verisign.com.au on the web). Costs, accurate as at July 2015, are shown in the table at the right. These certificates are valid for two [2] years from date of issue and must be renewed and replaced in the software biannually.

The remainder of this topic provides instructions for obtaining and downloading the “site certificate” required to identify an exporter to Customs. And all actions done by an exporter in relation to their “site certificate”
must be done on the same computer using the same browser software!

Step 1: Obtain Authorised Officer ADN-DSC Certficate

Any site wishing to obtain a “Gatekeeper” Digital Certificate as required by Customs for EDI must first obtain an “Authorised Officer ABN-DSC” Digital Certificate [DC] that identifies the company's “Authorised Officer” [AO] for dealing with VeriSign Australia. Only the AO can obtain, or renew, other Digital Certificates for a company. Obtaining an “Authorised Officer ABN-DSC” DC involves the following four [4] steps:

Start with the online “enrolment” form by going to this web page:
http://www.verisign.com.au/gatekeeper/customs/abndsc-ao.shtml
Enter the company ABN, without dashes or spaces, then press the “ENROL” button.
Fill in the details for the person who will be the company's “Authorised Officer” and press the “SUBMIT” button.
The “Authorised Officer” must then go to an Australia Post “KeyPOST” office and undergo a “100 Point” identity check (allow 6 working days for processing of the information presented at Australia Post).
Receive an email notification that the “Authorised Officer ABN-DSC” Digital Certificate is available for download and download that certificate into the AO's web browser.

Be aware that Customs does not support the use of Microsoft Internet Explorer version 8 [MSIE8], or later, and both VeriSign and Customs have had special instructions for use of MSIE7. VeriSign recommends the use of Firefox as the browser used for enrolment and download of DCs as the simplest way to avoid these concerns (i.e. rather than MSIE8 or MSIE9 or later).

Until step 4 is complete (i.e. “Authorised Officer ABN-DSC” DC downloaded into the AO browser) no other type of DC may be obtained from VeriSign—they only deal with an “Authorised Officer”.

Step 2: Obtain Exporter “Site Certificate” for EDI

There are two possibilities for the type of Digital Certificate that can be used ICS. If, and only if, there is only one person who will use the Syscob EDI application then a “standard” Gatekeeper ABN DSC CA certificate (obtained by using the “ENROL” button on the Customs: ABN-DSC Digital Certificate - Standard page) can be used. However, in most cases an exporter will need to obtain a Gatekeeper Type 3 CA [device] DC so that more than one person may legally use a Syscob application to communicate with Customs. To obtain such a certificate follow these instructions:

Download a “Device Subscriber Agreement” from this web link:
https://gatekeeper.esign.com.au/repository/gk_device_sa.pdf
Fill in the “Device Subscriber Agreement” form, sign it and send it by facsimile to
(03) 9674 5574 (or mail it to VeriSign Australia at the address given in the agreement).
Use the Type 3 enrolment form which is accessed from this web page:
http://www.verisign.com.au/gatekeeper/customs/device/index.html
Enter the company ABN, without dashes or spaces, then press the “ENROL” button.
When filling in the enrolment form be careful not to confuse these two fields:
- “Delivery E-mail Address: (The certificate and renewal notices will be delivered to this address)” must be a person, usually the AO, at the company who will receive notices related to the Type 3 Digital Certificate.
- “E-mail Address: (The address assigned to your device or application)” must be the dedicated EDI email address used by Export-It that will be embedded in the Type 3 Digital Certificate. This is also the email address that Customs identifies as the company's “EDI Site” email address.
Double-check the information entered on the form (any error, especially in the fields mentioned above, can invalidate the certificate) and press the “SUBMIT” button.
Receive an email notification that the "Gatekeeper Type 3 CA" Digital Certificate is available for download and download the certificate into the AO's web browser.

Step 3: Download “Site Certificate” from VeriSign

Follow the instructions in this Syscob guide for exporting the downloaded “site certificate” to create a “.pfx” file that contains the “private key” for use at “local machine” access level:

How to Export a Digital Certificate (PDF, 240 Kb)
http://www.syscob.com.au/docs/How_to_Export_a_Digital_Certificate.pdf

Failure to follow the Syscob instructions could result in continuous confirmation dialogs (up to 8 per EDN) or even loss of the certificate “keyset” (making the certificate unusable)! Syscob also very strongly recommends that this certificate be exported at least twice per these instructions and saved in other locations (to permit restore if the AO's PC has a hardware or software fault).

NOTE: If Firefox is used as the AO browser then the exported “site certificate” will have a “.p12” extension. This file will need to be renamed to change from “.p12” to have a “.pfx” extension before it is importable by Syscob software.