CPSC's E-Filing Rule for PGA Message Set Could Be Adopted Next Month

The Consumer Product Safety Commission could issue next month its final rule compelling importers to submit their goods’ product safety certification electronically as part of the CPSC's partner government agency message set in ACE.

The commission is set to potentially vote on the rulemaking on Oct. 30, following a public hearing on Oct. 9 and a briefing on Oct. 15, according to Sabrina Keller, deputy director for CPSC’s Office of Import Surveillance. Keller was a panelist at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America government affairs conference on Sept. 23.

These dates are also subject to change, Keller noted.

As the committee approves the final rule, the committee also must approve the rule’s implementation deadline. The implementation timeline could potentially be longer than the 120 days previously proposed, Keller said.

“We got a lot of great industry feedback from you all and others in the form of public comments that 120 days, four months, is not long enough to do all the software development and prepare for this,” Keller said. The CPSC staff is “going to propose a longer implementation date. We're sending that to our commission in about two weeks, and ultimately the commission will vote and decide on that.”

The final rule also could potentially expand the definition of importer to account for situations when the assumed importer might not be the best party to answer questions or provide data inputs about the specific product being imported.

The importer of record is responsible for eFiling the certificate. Imported products are subject to certification if they are subject to a consumer product safety rule, ban, similar rule, standard or regulation; imported for consumption or warehousing; or distributed in commerce. This includes de minimis shipments.

Following the issuance of the final rule, CPSC said to expect full implementation to occur sometime in 2025. The final implementation will consist of the rollout of final eFiling requirements.

CPSC recently wrapped up phase 2 of this rollout, which was a beta pilot that occurred from Fall 2023 to Summer 2024 and involved about 37 participants.

While the official beta pilot has ended, CPSC is still accepting volunteers to test out the system, and the agency has received approval to have up to 2,000 more importers to be involved (see 2406030059), according to Keller.

As the eFiling rollout occurs, Keller told the audience of brokers, “I recommend starting early, establishing good communication with us, CPSC, and your importers, and testing the system. There's no risk to testing the system. You're not going to break anything. You're not going to get any bad marks against you.”

She said later during the session: “As we always say, you have to get involved now, because that's how you get your importers aware [with] what they are going to have to provide to you. You can test your software. You can test your process. I cannot ever emphasize enough how you should get in and play now.”