eFiling Draft Final Rule submitted to the CPSC Commission

Vol. 1437 | 27 Nov 2024

On November 22, 2024, the Draft Final Rule for eFiling was submitted to the CPSC Commission for their review. The Commission is set to meet on December 18, 2024 to decide on the submitted draft.

Context:

The Commission is issuing a final rule to revise the requirements for certificates of compliance (GCC/CPC certificates) in 16 CFR part 1110. The Final Rule applies to importers, domestic manufacturers, and private labelers who are required to issue certificates for consumer products and substances regulated by CPSC that are imported for consumption or warehousing into the United States or are distributed in commerce in the United States

Final Rule Effective Date:

CPSC staff recommends a longer effective date than the proposed 120 days, recommending a 12-month effective date for all CPSC-regulated products and substances that require testing and certification, except for products and substances entered for consumption or warehousing from a foreign trade zone, for which staff recommend a 24-month effective date because additional systems work will be required.

Key Modifications:

• Disclaimer Messages - CPSC will not require importers to file a Disclaimer Message Set with CBP for products that do not require a certificate. Accordingly, a Disclaimer Message Set is not required when: (1) the imported product is not within CPSC’s jurisdiction; (2) the imported product is within CPSC’s jurisdiction, but no rule, ban, standard, or regulation requiring a certificate applies; (3) the imported product is a component of a consumer product that is not packaged, sold, or held for sale to, or for use by, consumers, but rather the part will be used in further assembly or manufacturing in the United States; or (4) the imported product is subject to an enforcement discretion and no certificate is required. Commission staff have updated the CPSC’s CATAIR accordingly.
• Certification step not required for API or CSV upload - Many commenters state that the additional manual certification in the Product Registry is a redundant requirement and an unnecessary burden when using API or a CSV template to upload data in bulk. Commenters contend that manual certification requires an individual to go back into the Product Registry and manually certify each certificate with no additional consumer protection. CPSC agrees with the commenters. CPSC will automate attestations for bulk certificate upload into the Product Registry via API or the CSV template and will not require individual attestation of certificates. Such attestation options will reduce the burden for industry, while also confirming for CPSC that importers are knowledgeable about the certificate information filed.
• Definition Clarifications:
  • Component part certificate – Clarifies that component part certificates are voluntary
  • Finished product certifier – For clarity, adds the statutory requirement that a finished product certifier must be a manufacturer, importer, or private labeler.
  • Finished product - Removes the phrase “replacement parts” and clarifies the three requirements that define a “finished product”: (1) the product is imported for consumption or warehousing, or distributed in commerce; (2) the product is subject to a consumer product safety rule under the CPSA, or similar rule, ban, standard, or regulation under any other law enforced by the Commission; and (3) the product is packaged, sold, or held for sale to, or use by, consumers

For questions, please contact Andrew Loveland (andrew.loveland@intertek.com) and Harini Ramaswamy (harini.ramaswamy@intertek.com).