It is a self-declaration document by the importers to the customs authorities in the U.S.A. This self-declaration states that all chemical substances imported into the country comply with one of the following two:
- The chemical substances comply with the Toxic Substance Control Act (TCSA) at the time of import. It means it must have positive certification.
- The chemicals imported are not subjected to TSCA requirements meaning there is no negative certification.
Customs have the authority to refuse entry of any shipment not carrying a TSCA certification.
For tobacco and other articles, what is tsca certification is not compulsory. For other chemicals, there are certain norms whether one requires positive or negative certification.
As per the TSCA Section 13, the Import certification decision-making process includes the following.
- If the material imported is an article or tobacco product, then import certification, positive or negative, is not required.
- If the material is a pesticide source, a by-product of nuclear material, ammunition or firearm, food, food additive, cosmetic, drug, then these materials are not subject to TSCA. However, it requires a negative TSCA import certification unless the shipment contains pesticide or other chemicals not subject to TSCA. For example, the shipment must come accompanied by F.D.A. form FD701 or E.P.A. form 3540-1.
- If the shipment contains chemical substances or mixtures regulated under TSCA section 5, 6, or 7, it should comply with these sections; otherwise, import certification is not granted, and shipment cannot be imperforated. If the shipment does not contain any chemical substance that comes under section- 5,6,7, then a positive TSCA import certification is made.
For companies based outside the U.S.A., the TSCA import customs compliance solutions is not essential. On the other hand, exporters need to provide information on the product composition as the importers have to know the product regulatory compliance status under TSCA.
TSCA Certificate filing
Importers have to mandatorily file the TSCA import certification statement with the shipment port of entry director. For import of chemicals that do not enter from a customs port but come via courier or regular parcel, then certification statements have to be submitted to the office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
How to check TSCA compliance for chemicals?
One has to check if all the substances in the product come listed in the TSCA Inventory of Chemical Substances. If the substance is not listed, then it is considered as a new substance and
require pre-manufacture notice before imported.
Also, the substance has to be examined if it comes under the SignificantNew Use Rules (SNURs) compliance under TSCA. If they require SNUR, they are designated by an “S” flag in the inventory list of TSCA. The substance is expected to be used in manufacturing, processing and is a new use substance; then, it is required to submit a SNUN (Significant New Use Notice) before 90 days of the start of manufacture of that substance.
Finally, the product needs verification whether it complies with TSCA restriction norms on Asbestos and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (P.C.B.s).