FCC To Waive Import Declaration Requirements During ACE Transition

October 20, 2015 |Other U.S.

The Federal Communications Commission will temporarily waive its Form 740 certification requirements for radio frequency (RF) devices imported after CBP's Automated Commercial Environment becomes mandatory for FCC entries on July 1, it said in an order issued Oct. 19 (here). The waiver, which will remain in effect until Dec. 31, 2016, allows time for the FCC to consider its proposal to eliminate importer declaration requirements entirely (see 1508110024), without imposing “significant burdens” on importers that would otherwise be forced to file on paper once ACE is required, the FCC said. Given the complexity of the FCC rulemaking, it’s possible the commission will be “unable to reach and publish a final determination” by July 1, when CBP will no longer accept electronic filing of FCC Form 740 via its legacy Automated Commercial System, it said.

According to the order, the lack of any current capability in ACE for filing Form 740 electronically would mean that, in the absence of an order, the FCC would receive approximately 20,000 such forms each week beginning on July 1, with the same number of forms submitted to CBP. The upcoming elimination of hybrid filing by CBP would amplify the burden, requiring all entry documentation on paper when a paper Form 740 is submitted, said the FCC. CBP has said it will still allow hybrid submissions for PGAs whose regulations require submission of supplemental information via paper only (see 1509020015).

The waiver is also necessary to allow importers and customs brokers time to transition to any new RF device certification system, even one that reduces burdens, said the FCC. The import community “needs to have some degree of guidance now, to know whether its members should begin making the necessary preparations for compliance with a paper-based regime in July, or whether they can continue using their existing processes with some assurance that, in the event the rule making remains unresolved, they will not be expected to make a flash cut to a paper filing process come July,” said the order.