The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is implementing a pilot program to test an electronic filing system that mandates importers to electronically submit five data elements for imported consumer products. “This new program will help CPSC enhance surveillance of imported goods and allow them to accurately identify noncompliant and unsafe consumer products before distribution in the US,” a SGS press release informed. The new pilot program will be conducted jointly with US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) and CPSC is currently seeking volunteer participants. The agency has scheduled the test program to begin in the summer of 2016, and will run for approximately six months. Importers are required to electronically file the five data elements via the Partner Government Agency message set. “This will facilitate electronic data collection, processing, sharing, and reviewing of import data and will provide companies a single point for submitting import-related information,” SGS added in the press release. The new system requires importers to provide; identification of the finished product; each consumer product safety rule to which the finished product has been certified and name and contact information of the testing entity. It also includes providing information on the place where the finished product was manufactured, produced, or assembled and a check box indicating that a required certificate currently exists for the finished product. Under the current system, certificates of compliance and product safety are made available to the CPSC by placing paper certificates inside shipping containers or providing electronic certificates through an online system or via email. The new pilot program will assess two options for the electronic filing of the certificate data, either by filing all certificate data at the time of the products entry to the US or by filing a reference to certificate data stored in a registry maintained by the CPSC. “The electronically filed information will be available to CPSC for validation and risk assessment,” the press release informed.
