by Commissioners also approve extending implementation date from 12 to 18 months
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has approved a Final Rule that would implement electronic filing of certificate information for regulated, imported consumer products and also to revise requirements for Certificates of Compliance.
A majority of commissioners also voted to approve a rule that would extend the implementation date from 12 to 18 months from the time it is published in the Federal Register. The CPSC said that it will take effect in 24 months for all consumer products imported into a foreign trade zone.
Inbound Logistics magazine defines a Certificate of Compliance as “a document that certifies that a product or system meets the requirements of a safety regulation or standard.” The publication said that the document is typically used in shipping and logistics “to ensure that products are safe for transport and meet the destination country’s requirements.”
It went on to note that Certificate of Compliance examples in logistics include documents such as a Safety Data Sheet, certifying that a product is safe to ship, and the Certificate of Origin, “which certifies that a product was made in a particular country.”
CPSC’s e-filing program applies to all imported consumer products that are subject to a mandatory safety standard including de minimus shipments below $800 that meet the requirements for the administrative exemption under the Tariff Act (19 U.S.C. 1321). These shipments are limited to an aggregate value less than $800 per day by a single importer.
Importers of regulated products requiring certification will be required to electronically file information that includes the following:
+ Identification of the finished product
+ The party certifying compliance
+ Each consumer product safety rule to which the finished product has been certified
+ The date and location where the finished product was manufactured
+ When and where the finished product was most recently tested for compliance
+ Contact information for the person maintaining test records
The CPSC noted that the new rule also will require private labelers to certify domestic products, unless the manufacturer certifies the product. It also aims to “align the agency’s existing certificate rule with other CPSC rules on testing and certification.”
Through this initiative, the agency said, “CPSC will drive greater efficiencies in product inspections and more effectively target high-risk products being imported into the United States.”
The e-filing rule also aims to reduce inspection frequency and hold times for compliant product importers with a goal of “rewarding firms with a record of compliance and enabling their imports to move more quickly.”
“The bipartisan passage of the e-filing rule is one of the most consequential steps CPSC will take to modernize our screening process at ports of entry,” said CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric. “Ensuring that imported products are safe for Americans, especially our kids, is a priority for the agency. E-filing will strengthen CPSC’s ability to target unsafe products and prevent them from coming into the country and into consumers’ homes.”
The CPSC said that the program was developed with industry testing and feedback through alpha and beta pilots conducted between 2016 and 2024.
The agency is inviting up to 2,000 additional importers to sign up for the e-filing voluntary stage to develop and test their systems before e-filing becomes mandatory.
