Section 14(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 2063(a), requires every manufacturer, private labeler, or importer of a product that is subject to a consumer product safety standard and that is distributed in commerce to issue a certificate that such product conforms to the applicable standard and to base that certificate upon a test of each item or upon a reasonable testing program. The purpose of this subpart B of part 1212 is to establish requirements that manufacturers, importers, and private labelers must follow to certify that their products comply with the Safety Standard for Multi-purpose lighters. This Subpart B describes the minimum features of a reasonable testing program and includes requirements for labeling, recordkeeping, and reporting pursuant to sections 14, 16(b), 17(g), and 27(e) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2063,2065,2066,and.

(a) General requirements—(1) Manufacturers (including importers). Manufacturers of any multi-purpose lighter subject to the standard must issue the certificate of compliance required by section 14(a) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2063(a), and this subpart B, based on a reasonable testing program or a test of each product, as required by §§ 1212.13, 1212.14, and 1212.16. Manufacturers must also label each multi-purpose lighter subject to the standard as required by paragraph (c) of this section and keep the records and make the reports required by §§ 1212.15 and 1212.17. For purposes of this requirement, an importer of multi-purpose lighters shall be considered the “manufacturer.”

(2) Private labelers. Because private labelers necessarily obtain their products from a manufacturer or importer that is already required to issue the certificate, private labelers are not required to issue a certificate. However, private labelers must ensure that the multi-purpose lighters are labeled in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section and that any certificate of compliance that is supplied with each shipping unit of multi-purpose lighters in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section is supplied to any distributor or retailer who receives the product from the private labeler.

(3) Testing on behalf of importers. (i) If the required testing has been performed by or for a foreign manufacturer of a product, an importer may rely on such tests to support the certificate of compliance, provided that:

(A) The importer is a resident of the United States or has a resident agent in the United States and

(B) The records are in English and the records and the surrogate multi-purpose lighters tested are kept in the United States and can be provided to the Commission within 48 hours (§ 1212.17(a)) or, in the case of production records, can be provided to the Commission within 7 calendar days in accordance with § 1212.17(a)(3).

(ii) The importer is responsible for ensuring that:

(A) The foreign manufacturer's records show that all testing used to support the certificate of compliance has been performed properly (§§ 1212.14-1212.16),

(B) The records provide a reasonable assurance that all multi-purpose lighters imported comply with the standard (§ 1212.13(b)(1)),

(C) The records exist in English (§ 1212.17(a)),

(D) The importer knows where the required records and multi-purpose lighters are located and that records required to be located in the United States are located there,

(E) Arrangements have been made so that any records required to be kept in the United States will be provided to the Commission within 48 hours of a request and any records not kept in the United States will be provided to the Commission within 7 calendar days (§ 1212.17(a)), and

(F) The information required by § 1212.17(b) to be provided to the Commission's Office of Compliance has been provided.

(b) Certificate of compliance. A certificate of compliance must accompany each shipping unit of the product (for example, a case), or otherwise be furnished to any distributor or retailer to whom the product is sold or delivered by the manufacturer, private labeler, or importer. The certificate shall state:

(1) That the product “complies with the Consumer Product Safety Standard for Multi-purpose lighters (16 CFR part 1212)”,

(2) The name and address of the manufacturer or importer issuing the certificate or of the private labeler, and

(3) The date(s) of manufacture and, if different from the address in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the address of the place of manufacture.

(c) Labeling. The manufacturer or importer must label each multi-purpose lighter with the following information, which may be in code.

(1) An identification of the period of time, not to exceed 31 days, during which the multi-purpose lighter was manufactured.

(2) An identification of the manufacturer of the multi-purpose lighter, unless the multi-purpose lighter bears a private label. If the multi-purpose lighter bears a private label, it shall bear a code mark or other label that will permit the seller of the multi-purpose lighter to identify the manufacturer to the purchaser upon request.

(a) General. As explained in § 1212.11 of this subpart, certificates of compliance required by section 14(a) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2063(a), must be based on a reasonable testing program.

(b) Reasonable testing programs—(1) Requirements. (i) A reasonable testing program for multi-purpose lighters is one that demonstrates with a high degree of assurance that all multi-purpose lighters manufactured for sale or distributed in commerce will meet the requirements of the standard, including the requirements of § 1212.3. Manufacturers and importers shall determine the types and frequency of testing for their own reasonable testing programs. A reasonable testing program should be sufficiently stringent that it will detect any variations in production or performance during the production interval that would cause any multi-purpose lighters to fail to meet the requirements of the standard.

(ii) All reasonable testing programs shall include:

(A) Qualification tests, which must be performed on surrogates of each model of multi-purpose lighter produced, or to be produced, to demonstrate that the product is capable of passing the tests prescribed by the standard (see § 1212.14) and

(B) Production tests, which must be performed during appropriate production intervals as long as the product is being manufactured (see § 1212.16).

(iii) Corrective action and/or additional testing must be performed whenever certification tests of samples of the product give results that do not provide a high degree of assurance that all multi-purpose lighters manufactured during the applicable production interval will pass the tests of the standard.

(2) Testing by third parties. At the option of the manufacturer or importer, some or all of the testing of each multi-purpose lighter or multi-purpose lighter surrogate may be performed by a commercial testing laboratory or other third party. However, the manufacturer or importer must ensure that all certification testing has been properly performed with passing results and that all records of such tests are maintained in accordance with § 1212.17 of this subpart.

(a) Testing. Before any manufacturer or importer of multi-purpose lighters distributes multi-purpose lighters in commerce in the United States, surrogate multi-purpose lighters of each model shall be tested in accordance with § 1212.4 to ensure that all such multi-purpose lighters comply with the standard. However, if a manufacturer has tested one model of multi-purpose lighter, and then wishes to distribute another model of multi-purpose lighter that differs from the first model only by differences that would not have an adverse effect on child resistance, the second model need not be tested in accordance with § 1212.4.

(b) Product modifications. If any changes are made to a product after initial qualification testing that could adversely affect the ability of the product to meet the requirements of the standard, additional qualification tests must be made on surrogates for the changed product before the changed multi-purpose lighters are distributed in commerce.

(c) Requalification. If a manufacturer or importer chooses to requalify a multi-purpose lighter design after it has been in production, this may be done by following the testing procedures at § 1212.4.

(a) Requirement. Before any multi-purpose lighters that are subject to the standard are distributed in commerce, the manufacturer or importer shall ensure that the surrogate multi-purpose lighters used for qualification testing under § 1212.14 are described in a written product specification. (Section 1212.4(c) requires that six surrogate multi-purpose lighters be used for testing each 100-child panel.)

(b) Contents of specification. The product specification shall include the following information:

(1) A complete description of the multi-purpose lighter, including size, shape, weight, fuel, fuel capacity, ignition mechanism, and child-resistant features.

(2) A detailed description of all dimensions, force requirements, or other features that could affect the child-resistance of the multi-purpose lighter, including the manufacturer's tolerances for each such dimension or force requirement.

(3) Any further information, including, but not limited to, model names or numbers, necessary to adequately describe the multi-purpose lighters and any child-resistant features.

(a) General. Manufacturers and importers shall test samples of multi-purpose lighters subject to the standard as they are manufactured, to demonstrate that the multi-purpose lighters meet the specifications, required under § 1212.15, of the surrogate that has been shown by qualification testing to meet the requirements of the standard.

(b) Types and frequency of testing. Manufacturers, private labelers, and importers shall determine the types of tests for production testing. Each production test shall be conducted at a production interval short enough to provide a high degree of assurance that, if the samples selected for testing pass the production tests, all other multi-purpose lighters produced during the interval will meet the standard.

(c) Test failure—(1) Sale of multi-purpose lighters. If any test yields results which indicate that any multi-purpose lighters manufactured during the production interval may not meet the standard, production and distribution in commerce of multi-purpose lighters that may not comply with the standard must cease until it is determined that the lighters meet the standard or until corrective action is taken. (It may be necessary to modify the multi-purpose lighters or perform additional tests to ensure that only complying multi-purpose lighters are distributed in commerce. Multi-purpose lighters from other production intervals having test results showing that multi-purpose lighters from that interval comply with the standard could be produced and distributed unless there was some reason to believe that they might not comply with the standard.)

(2) Corrective actions. When any production test fails to provide a high degree of assurance that all multi-purpose lighters comply with the standard, corrective action must be taken. Corrective action may include changes in the manufacturing process, the assembly process, the equipment used to manufacture the product, or the product's materials or design. The corrective action must provide a high degree of assurance that all multi-purpose lighters produced after the corrective action will comply with the standard. If the corrective action changes the product from the surrogate used for qualification testing in a manner that could adversely affect its child-resistance, the multi-purpose lighter must undergo new qualification tests in accordance with § 1212.14.

(a) Every manufacturer and importer of lighters subject to the standard shall maintain the following records in English on paper, microfiche, or similar media and make such records available to any designated officer or employee of the Commission in accordance with section 16(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. 2065(b). Such records must also be kept in the United States and provided to the Commission within 48 hours of receipt of a request from any employee of the Commission, except as provided in paragraph (a)(3) of this section. Legible copies of original records may be used to comply with these requirements.

(1) Records of qualification testing, including a description of the tests, photograph(s) or a video tape for a single pair of children from each 100-child test panel to show how the lighter was held in the tester's hand, and the orientation of the tester's body and hand to the children, during the demonstration, the dates of the tests, the data required by § 1212.4(d), the actual surrogate lighters tested, and the results of the tests, including video tape records, if any. These records shall be kept for a period of 3 years after the production of the particular model to which such tests relate has ceased. If requalification tests are undertaken in accordance with § 1212.14(c), the original qualification test results may be discarded 3 years after the requalification testing, and the requalification test results and surrogates, and the other information required in this subsection for qualifications tests, shall be kept in lieu thereof.

(2) Records of procedures used for production testing required by this subpart B, including a description of the types of tests conducted (in sufficient detail that they may be replicated), the production interval selected, the sampling scheme, and the pass/reject criterion. These records shall be kept for a period of 3 years after production of the lighter has ceased.

(3) Records of production testing, including the test results, the date and location of testing, and records of corrective actions taken, which in turn includes the specific actions taken to improve the design or manufacture or to correct any noncomplying lighter, the date the actions were taken, the test result or failure that triggered the actions, and the additional actions taken to ensure that the corrective action had the intended effect. These records shall be kept for a period of 3 years following the date of testing. Records of production testing results may be kept on paper, microfiche, computer tape, or other retrievable media. Where records are kept on computer tape or other retrievable media, however, the records shall be made available to the Commission on paper copies upon request. A manufacturer or importer of a lighter that is not manufactured in the United States may maintain the production records required by this paragraph (a)(3) outside the United States, but shall make such records available to the Commission in the United States within 1 week of a request from a Commission employee for access to those records under section 16(b) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2065(b).

(4) Records of specifications required under § 1212.15 shall be kept for 3 years after production of each lighter model has ceased.

(b) Reporting. At least 30 days before it first imports or distributes in commerce any model of lighter subject to the standard, every manufacturer and importer must provide a written report to the Office of Compliance, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, Room 610, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-4408. Such report shall include:

(1) The name, address, and principal place of business of the manufacturer or importer,

(2) A detailed description of the lighter model and the child-resistant feature(s) used in that model,

(3) A description of the qualification testing, including a description of the surrogate lighters tested (including a description of the point in the operation at which the surrogate will signal operation—e.g., the distance by which a trigger must be moved), the specification of the surrogate lighter required by § 1212.15, a summary of the results of all such tests, the dates the tests were performed, the location(s) of such tests, and the identity of the organization that conducted the tests,

(4) An identification of the place or places that the lighters were or will be manufactured,

(5) The location(s) where the records required to be maintained by paragraph (a) of this section are kept, and

(6) A prototype or production unit of that lighter model.

(c) Confidentiality. Persons who believe that any information required to be submitted or made available to the Commission is trade secret or otherwise confidential shall request that the information be considered exempt from disclosure by the Commission, in accordance with 16 CFR 1015.18. Requests for confidentiality of records provided to the Commission will be handled in accordance with section 6(a)(2) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2055(a)(2), the Freedom of Information Act as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552,and,16.

(a) For noncompliance with reporting and recordkeeping requirements. The Commission has determined that compliance with the recordkeeping and reporting requirements of this subpart is necessary to ensure that lighters comply with this part 1212. Therefore, pursuant to section 17(g) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2066(g), the Commission may refuse to permit importation of any lighters with respect to which the manufacturer or importer has not complied with the recordkeeping and reporting requirements of this subpart. Since the records are required to demonstrate that production lighters comply with the specifications for the surrogate, the Commission may refuse importation of lighters if production lighters do not comply with the specifications required by this subpart, or if any other recordkeeping or reporting requirement in this part is violated.

(b) For noncompliance with this standard or for lack of a certification certificate. As provided in section 17(a) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. 2066(a), products subject to this standard shall be refused admission into the customs territory of the United States if, among other reasons, the product either fails to comply with this standard or is not accompanied by the certificate required by this standard.