On December 5, 2002, The U.S. Customs Service published in the Federal Register (67 Fed. Reg. 72,436) an invitation for comments from the general public and other Federal agencies regarding the current Blanket Certification of Chemical Substances. Under Customs regulations promulgated to administer the Toxic Substances Control Act, an importer must certify that with respect to each chemical substance being imported in a particular shipment, the substance is in compliance with TSCA and is not being offered for importation in violation of TSCA.
The Blanket Certification allows an importer to use one certification to certify that multiple shipments to be imported that year will be in compliance with TSCA, as opposed to issuing individual certifications for each imported shipment. The Blanket Certification program is a government "information request" under the Paperwork Reduction Act, and so is subject to periodic review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Customs is proposing to extend the use of the Blanket Certification and invites comments on whether the collection of this information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has any practical utility, the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the time burden imposed on the companies that must provide the information, ways to enhance the quality of information collected and to minimize the burden of collection, including possible use of automated collection techniques or the use of other forms of information technology.
Comments are due to Customs on or before February 3, 2003. Customs will summarize the comments received and submit the summary to OMB with Customs' request for approval.
This is an opportunity for any company that imports chemical substances to propose to Customs suggestions for reducing the reporting burden, particularly by use of new reporting technology or methods.
If you need further information concerning this development, or require assistance with preparing comments regarding the proposal, please contact one of the TSCA professionals below.
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Washington, D.C. |
Technology Sciences Group Inc. |
San Francisco |
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