Home Industry SolutionsIndustry Formats Product/Price Information Format v. 2.3

Product & Price Information Format
Proposed Revisions

Recently, a joint task force of the Power Transmission Distributors Association and the Bearing Specialists Association met to consider two proposed revisions to the Product Price Information Format (PPIF).  The task force is recommending adoption of this revision to each association’s committee and Board of Directors in the near future.

Because a change in the PPIF affects all of those using the format, we’re asking for your input—both favorable and unfavorable—on the proposed changes.  The substance of the revisions is included below.  Please respond with any comments in writing to ptda@ptda.org by August 16, 2010.

PPIF REVISION TO INCLUDE TWO OPTIONAL FIELDS FOR IMAGE NAME AND IMAGE URL

Explanation of Issue: 

Distributors require images of each product (part) number for their online catalogs. PPIF v. 2.1 does not have a specific field to provide links to product images.

Proposed Revision:

Add two optional fields where suppliers can provide:  (1) the name of an image file (if the images are provided on a CD-ROM or through direct server access) and/or (2) the URL of an image file (if the images are accessible on the supplier’s website or through a third-party’s website).

Image guidelines include:

• .jpg, .gif or .png format only
• Maximum size 200 x 200 pixels
• 75 dpi resolution
• Single product images only (no group shots)
• Image specific to an individual product

Field Definitions: 

PPIF REVISION TO INCLUDE AN OPTIONAL FIELD FOR HARMONIZED TARIFF CODE

Explanation of Issue: 

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) of tariff nomenclature is an internationally standardized system of names and numbers for classifying traded products and is developed and maintained by the World Customs Organization (www.wcoomd.org), an independent intergovernmental organization with over 170 member countries based in Brussels, Belgium.

Under the HS Convention, the contracting parties are obliged to base their tariff schedules on the HS nomenclature, although parties set their own rates of duty. The HS is organized into 21 sections and 96 chapters, accompanied with general rules of interpretation and explanatory notes. The system begins by assigning goods to categories of crude and natural products, and from there proceeds to categories with increasing complexity. The codes with the broadest coverage are the first four digits, and are referred to as the heading. The HTS therefore sets forth all the international nomenclature through the 6-digit level.   (Note:   Although additional digits may be added at the tariff-rate line or as statistical reporting numbers, this revision to the PPIF would only require the harmonized tariff code through the 6-digit level).

The penalties that can be levied against a company by a country for not including harmonized tariff codes on customs documentation can be punitive and expensive.  As many manufacturers already use these codes for their products and distributors are being asked to provide the same information, it would benefit distributors to be provided with these codes via PPIF for their use in importing/exporting.

Proposed Revision:

This revision would add one optional field where a supplier will provide the harmonized tariff code (up to the six digit level) from the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States available at http://hts.usitc.gov.

Field definitions: