CPSC to Run Pilot on Electronic Filing of Certificates of Compliance in ACE

The Consumer Product Safety Commission will run a pilot to test electronic filing of certificates of compliance at entry before finalizing changes to its Part 1110 regulations, CPSC Commissioner Ann Marie Buerkle said. The agency is currently working with CBP to find volunteers to participate in the pilot, as well as to develop related software, according to a memo from her office. CPSC wants to have the pilot up and running by July 2015, but the timeline is dependent on CBP’s ability to accommodate the pilot, according to the memo.

During the pilot phase, CPSC will test electronic filing of certificate data through the Participating Government Agency Message Set (PGA Message Set) to inform its final rule and “align with the requirements of [CBP] in meeting the [single window] Executive Order deadline of December 2016,” said the memo. CPSC’s Small Business Ombudsman has been working to hold a meeting with “interested partners to discuss operational issues and coordinate on possible timeframe for implementation.” The agency’s intended start date of July 2015 is “incredibly aggressive,” and depends on CBP’s development of the Automated Commercial Environment and ability to support pilot projects, said the memo.

The pilot comes in response to a workshop held in September that drew broad participation from industry groups (see 14093003). Electronic filing of certificates of compliance, first proposed in May 2013 (see 13051018), has generated considerable controversy. The proposal would add burdensome new entry requirements, and could require customs brokers acting as importers of record to certify compliance of products they do not control, said several industry groups in comments filed on the proposed rule (see 13073014). The reaction triggered CPSC to postpone finalizing the rule in May (see 14050702). At the workshop, industry’s overall message to CPSC was to slow the rulemaking process down and engage with stakeholders, said the memo from Buerkle’s office.

Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the memo.