CPSC Working with CBP on Electronic Filing of Compliance Certs, but Format Still Isn't Settled
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has been working with CBP for “quite some time” on electronic filing of CPSC product compliance certificates with entry documents, a commission official told us. The form that electronic filing will take, however, has yet to be decided, she said. “In terms of the actual framework, when the rule actually does go out for comment, we’re hoping to gain comment from the trade community on what is the best way.”
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Electronic filing of compliance certificates could take the form of either document imaging or data elements, the official said. CPSC is aware of COAC’s trade efficiency survey from last year, which showed overwhelming support for the electronic format, and the use of data elements in particular, she said.
The official also anticipates feedback from software developers in response to the electronic filing proposal. “There are preferred methods, versus is the technology ready,” she said. “It’s not completely laid out, and the reason for going out for comment is to hopefully glean that kind of information.”
Electronic filing of compliance certificates for imported consumer products is one of the components of a draft proposed rule to amend Part 1110 of CPSC’s regulations. The commission was originally set for a Jan. 16 vote to approve the proposal, but the vote was delayed to run analyses on the burden of General Certificates of Conformity for certain products. (See ITT’s Online Archives 13011004 for a preview of the draft proposal, and 13013123 for summary of comments by another CPSC official on the reasons for the delay.)