Industry Updates

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will be implementing electronic filing of Certificates of Compliance with Customs and Border Protection for regulated consumer products. This will improve the CPSCs ability to perform risk assessments. Products that are subject to a CPSC rule, ban, standard or regulation are required to be tested and certified and will also be required to file certificates electronically with CBP. The eFiling initiative does not change the applicable consumer product safety requirements, but rather creates a process by which the product certificate is filed with CPSC and CBP. Current projections estimate implementation in 2025.

The requirement to certify products and the data required is not new, as the certification started in 2007. However, the eFiling method of providing it to the government is new.

The CPSC Product Registry is a secure online application where importers can establish Business Accounts to manage their product certificate data. If a product certificate is stored in the Product Registry, it can be referenced when the product is imported, eliminating the need to re-enter some data. The CPSC recommends that importers that repeatedly import the same product utilize the Product Registry then provide their brokers with the required certificate identifiers only (Certifier ID, Product ID, Version ID). If a product is not registered, the full data message set will need to be provided by the importer to the broker for inclusion in the customs declaration.

If the product does not require a Certificate of Compliance, as determined by the importer of record, it can be disclaimed on the customs declaration. If it does apply, the required data elements will need to be provided.

There are over 2,500 HTS codes that currently flag in the testing phase for possible CPSC reporting in Customs entries. For a complete list, please reference eFiling Document Library | CPSC.gov.

The following are examples of products that flag for possible CPSC requirements:

• Paints
• Power Mowers
• Toys
• Magnets
• Furniture
• Vinyl Plastic Film
• ATVs and other off-road vehicles
• Children’s Products:
  
  • – Art Sets
  • – Toys
  • – Pacifiers and Rattles
  • – Backpacks and School Supplies
  • Clothing:
  • – Sleepwear
  • – Outerwear
  • – Infant articles
  • Imitation Jewelry
  • Cribs
  • Other Durable Furniture
  • Safety Gates
• Fireworks
• Liquid Nicotine
• Drywall
• Mattresses
• Bicycle Helmets
• Hair Dryers
• Bicycles and other electric-powered cycles
• Baby Carriages
• Lighters
• Rugs
• Wearing Apparel

When eFiling certificates, importers must provide seven data elements to complete a Certificate of Compliance:

• Product ID
  Identification of the finished product
• Citation Codes
  Each consumer product safety rule to which the finished product has been certified
• Manufactured Date
  Date when the finished product was manufactured
• Manufactured Location
  Place where the finished product was manufactured, produced or assembled; including the name, full address and contact information of the manufacturing party
• Product Test Date
  Date when the finished product was most recently tested for compliance
• Test Lab
  Party(ies) used for testing a certificate per 16 CFR Part 110, including name, full address and contact information of testing entity
• Point of Contact
  Contact information for the party maintaining records of test results, including name, full address and contact information

Resources:

CPSC Regulatory Robot guidance for importers Safer Products Start Here! | CPSC.gov designed to guide importers through potential requirements for their products.

General Certificate of Conformity | CPSC.gov  General Certificate of Conformity FAQs and elements.

Import Resources | CPSC.gov provides Import resources, including efiling eFiling – CPSC’s Modern Approach for Filing Certificate Data | CPSC.gov 

eFiling Quick Start Guide (cpsc.gov)

Federal Register : Certificates of Compliance