FCC Moving Toward End of Form 740 Requirements; Compliance Requirements Would Remain

The Federal Communications Commission will consider at its July 13 meeting permanently ending the Form 740 requirements for importing radio frequency devices, the agency said (here). "This requirement has become increasingly outdated and burdensome in light of current importation and marketing practices, the information otherwise collected by CBP itself, and the wealth of information available online," the FCC said. "The Order would also modify Commission rules to clarify the compliance requirements related to imported devices and to provide additional flexibility in certain cases." The FCC order needs approval by the agency and could still be modified. If approved, it would go into effect following publication in the Federal Register.

While the FCC would undo the filing requirements, the compliance provisions would remain in place, it said. "We are not eliminating the requirement that there is an entity that assumes responsibility for the compliance of the device," the agency said. Instead of requiring a declaration from the importer or ultimate consignee, or their designated customs broker, that the products comply with the import conditions, the FCC would only require a determination, it said.

The FCC disagreed with the concerns from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (see 1509240017) that the determination requirement adds new compliance responsibilities for brokers. "While customs brokers may not have the expertise to determine the compliance of devices with FCC technical compliance rules, they can decline to broker shipments for which no other party will take responsibility, and they can take measures to ensure that their clients follow our rules for shipments they do broker by, for example, requiring a compliance statement by their client, relying on their business relationship with their client, by specific indemnification agreement, or with bonding measures to protect themselves from loss."

The FCC will, "in light of the concerns raised by the customs brokers," continue to "publish information that they can use to help evaluate whether a particular shipment is likely to implicate" the agency's regulations. For example, the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology will continue to provide this information as a "nonbinding guidance document listing [Harmonized Tariff Schedule] HTS Numbers that are likely to be associated with RF devices," the FCC said. "With this information, customs brokers can continue existing practices by which they consult the list of HTS Numbers to identify goods that may contain RF devices that are likely to be subject to FCC regulations. They will then be able to take whatever steps that they feel are necessary to ensure that there is a responsible party who has complied" with the requirements.

Other commenters on the FCC's proposed rulemaking in 2015 to end the Form 740 requirement (see 1510130057) largely agreed that the form is no longer necessary. The information that pertains to the FCC "is now readily available elsewhere, and the filing burden for manufacturers, for importers, for FCC staff, and for CBP ... [created] by the Form 740 is no longer warranted," it said. "We continue to believe that the data currently collected by CBP, when considered along with other publicly available material, will satisfy our compliance objectives and continue to support appropriate enforcement actions."

Still, "should future experience indicate that changes in CBP data collection would aid -- or hinder -- our ongoing compliance activities, we would raise the issue with CBP in an appropriate manner or take other action to address those contingencies at that time," the FCC said. The FCC recently again extended a suspension of the requirements to Sept. 30 (see 1706020044) while CBP implements ACE, which lacks Form 740 capabilities.

The FCC order would also increase the number of RF devices that can be imported for demonstration at trade shows. The agency currently allows for 200 such units, but that would be increased to 400 devices, the FCC said.