The Confederation of Mexican Customs Broker Associations (CAAAREM) issued a circular to its members April 2 clarifying entry documentation for goods withdrawn for consumption from Recintos Fiscalizados Estrategicos (free trade zones) that are not adjacent to Mexican customs, according to a blog post from Mexican law firm Consorcio Juridico Aduanero. Responding to CAAAREM’s request for a legal opinion, Mexican customs told the broker group that two “pedimento” entries must be submitted for such goods, both with code “G9,” one for withdrawal from the FTZ and the other for entry for consumption. The ruling is E/800/02/00/00/00/19-3818-2-87, dated March 29, CAAAREM said.
Three product safety agencies of North America -- the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Health Canada and the Consumer Protection Federal Agency of Mexico -- jointly developed consensus recommendations to improve test methods for ensuring the safety of AC and USB chargers, the CPSC said in an April 4 news release. In trilateral letters to the standards development organizations in the three countries, the agencies recommended new testing to assess potential fire and burn hazards caused by AC and USB chargers for small electronic devices. The effort is the first example of a joint consumer product safety standard recommendation developed among multiple governments that aren’t members of a single administrative region, they said. The goal of the multiyear project is to foster closer alignment of consumer product safety requirements through technical consultations and to seek consensus approaches to consumer product hazards not yet being addressed through formal regulatory or standards work, they said.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency recently updated its information page on the Automated Import Reference System Verification Service (AVS), the agency said an email. "AVS helps importers/brokers validate multiple commodities against the most current [Automated Import Reference System (AIRS)] database," the CFIA said. "Within minutes, AVS identifies which line in a transaction, if any, is incorrect." The AVS technical specifications page and a list of frequently asked questions were also recently updated.
Mexico’s Tax Administration Service announced the addition of several new “web services” for the electronic transmission through the VUCEM single window of permits and certificates required by COFEPRIS (the Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risk) and SADER (the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development), in a fact sheet issued April 2. Newly added permits include sanitary certificates for drugs and medical devices, as well as a web service for modifications to phytosanitary imports for imports.
Implementation of the Central American Single Declaration (DUCA) in several Central American countries has been delayed until May 7, according to customs agencies in Costa Rica and several other countries in the region. The new electronic declaration, which replaces the Central American Single Customs Form (FAUCA) and the Single Declaration of Goods for the International Terrestrial Customs Transit (DUT), will be used as the goods declaration by the member states of the General Treaty of Central American Economic Operation (i.e., Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama), according to an alert from the Central American law firm Arias. The new declaration had been set to take effect April 1.