About the Office of Import Surveillance
CPSC’s Office of Import Surveillance (EXIS) works closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to identify and examine imported shipments of consumer products. As part of this effort, EXIS has co-located investigators at ports of entry who work side-by-side with CBP staff. EXIS also works to educate importers, manufacturers, and Customs brokers on CPSC’s standards and procedures.
CPSC Import Shipment Tracking Tool
Using this tool will allow you to see your shipment's status and the remaining time left for CPSC to review the shipment.
e-Commerce Assessment
The Office of Import Surveillance conducted an e-Commerce Assessment to forecast e-Commerce trends, understand the agency’s current capabilities relative to e-Commerce, and identify other stakeholder practices (including U.S. government agencies, foreign governments, and industry).
Violations
CPSC issues a Notice of Violation when there is a violation of a mandatory standard. These notices advise companies of the violation and of the nature of the necessary corrective action, which may include a recall, stop sale, or correction of production.
U.S. Government Notification Messaging at Import
This document describes CPSC’s participation in One U.S. Government Notification Messaging at Import.
Guidance to Industry on CPSC ACE DIS Use
The following guidance is to be referenced when documents are being asked to be provided on a shipment at the time of importation. It provides clear instructions to be sure that CPSC staff can retrieve documents out of the ACE DIS system.
eFiling
eFiling is a CPSC initiative to enable importers of regulated consumer products to file electronically (eFile) with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) certain data elements from a certificate of compliance, via a Partner Government Agency (PGA) Message Set. Before implementation of eFiling, CPSC will conduct a Beta Pilot test in conjunction with CBP and up to 50 test participants. The Beta Pilot test is intended to inform rulemaking and allow CPSC to develop, test, and implement processes and procedures to eFile certificates for imported, regulated consumer products. To learn more, click here.
Related Resources
| CPSC Detention of Products at Import FAQ |
|---|
|
CPSC has the authority to determine the admissibility of regulated consumer products and some hazardous substances offered for import. Issuance of a Notice of Sampling and Detention by CPSC will allow the importer and/or broker to deal directly with CPSC. |
|
All information relevant to the detention will be included on the notice, including the reason for the detention, and the contact information for the CPSC Investigator processing the detention. |
|
Yes. CPSC and CBP will send separate notices of detention. If CBP finds no violation and releases the product from its detention, the product will not be released to the importer until the CPSC detention is resolved. If CPSC finds no violation before the CBP reason for detention is resolved, the product will remain detained. |
|
Trade will initially receive an “Under Review” message if an entry is filed containing an HTS code of interest to CPSC. Subsequently, if CPSC determines that an examination is needed, trade will receive one of the following messages: “Intensive Exam,” “Intensive Exam with Documents Required,” “Hold Intact,” or “Hold Intact with Documents Review”. Product categories subject to this review can be found here. |
|
Yes. Cargo can continue through the port unimpeded, unless CPSC requests an “Intensive Exam,” or an “Intensive Exam with Documents Required,” and the request is approved by CBP, or if CBP or another Partner Government Agency (PGA) has reason to examine the cargo under their authority. |
|
No. CPSC employs a risk-based targeting methodology that looks for shipments that contain potentially noncompliant products. This messaging alone will not stop cargo. CBP must approve a CPSC request to place an intensive examination on a shipment. There is no de minimis value for this review. |
|
Per agreement with CBP, CPSC has 5 business days from the date the shipment is presented to CPSC for examination to make a decision on whether to place the shipment under detention. If the decision is to detain the shipment, CPSC then has 5 business days to issue the notice of detention to the importer. If CBP does not receive a notice of detention by the expiration of the timeframe (and there are no CBP or other government agency issues), CBP will release the shipment. |
|
If the entry is provided well in advance of arrival (3 or more business days), review can be completed prior to actual arrival. Otherwise, CPSC needs 16 business hours for ocean shipments and 8 business hours for air shipments to review the entry data and make a determination. |
|
CPSC’s work at the ports to examine shipments and enforce our statutes and regulations is limited to the operating hours of the Examination Stations where exams take place. CPSC has adopted a business clock of 8 am to 4 pm in the time zone where our staff is working on days when the federal government is open. |
|
No. CPSC staff reviews the data during business hours. A “May Proceed” message will be issued automatically after the established timeframe if CPSC has taken no action. |
|
Yes. The importer and/or broker are encouraged to submit any reasonable testing results or other evidence that would support the admissibility of the detained product. The Notice of Sampling and Detention will allow 5 working days for the recipient to respond. Reasonable extensions of time to produce necessary evidence will be allowed under certain circumstances. CPSC is seeking to receive a quick response from the importer and/or broker in order to expedite resolution of the detention. |
|
CPSC only detains products described in the Notice of Detention. The importer and/or broker should contact CBP to discuss the release of remaining products in the shipment. |
|
Typically, CPSC will make admissibility decisions on products within 45 - 60 calendar days of issuance of the Notice of Sampling and Detention. |
|
Yes. There are situations where CPSC allows merchandise under examination to be moved to the importer’s premises or other place agreeable to CPSC and CBP pending the results of the examination. Any such release will be a conditional release and must occur under CBP bond. |
|
CPSC will notify the importer of the length of the conditional release period, although the typical timeframe is 45 – 60 calendar days. Individual circumstances concerning the type of product and the complexity of examination will be considered. |
|
No. CPSC detention decisions are not made pursuant to 19 USC 1499 and are not subject to protest. |