This is an un-official translation of Arabic text from Saudi Arabia Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) website:
http://www.commerce.gov.sa/test/a-1.asp
Mechanism for Consumer Products’ Sample Taking
and Referral to the Private Laboratories
The Mechanism of Consumer Products’ Sample Taking and Referral to the Private Laboratories which is being used for this purpose and the mechanism of receiving and resolving the results in implementation of Paragraph “Fifth” of the Decision of HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry No. 5817 dated 8/6/1428H (24/06/2007G).
1. Upon the arrival of consignments to the Kingdom’s inlets, they will be offloaded in the customs’ yards and inspected by the custom’s inspector.
2. The documentation of the consignment shall be referred to the offices of the branches of the Laboratories of the Ministry by the custom’s inspector.
3. The concerned technicians shall examine and study the documentation attached to the consignment.
4. The concerned technicians of the Branches of the Laboratories in the customs’ yards shall examine the consignment to insure the existence of complete explanatory information on the packages.
5. The Consignment Examination Form shall be completed and all the information required in the form filled up as well as the inclusion of all the items as per the invoice and actual inspection.
6. Consignments accompanied with a Conformity Certificate issued by approved authorities in the country of origin or have mutual recognition with the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO).
(Quality Mark or Certificate) shall be dealt with as follows:
A. The authenticity of the certificates and the approval authority shall be verified and random samples shall be taken in accordance with the scientific methods approved for sample taking.
B. Samples shall be secured and sealed with the seal of the laboratory and delivered to the representative of the outsourced laboratory accompanied with an official letter requesting their examination and testing to confirm their conformity to the approved standards and to verify the correctness of the attached Conformity Certificates.
C. The tests to be made shall be specified as determined by the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) and the Directorate General for Laboratories and Quality Control as approved by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
D. The cost of tests shall be specified and the importer shall be asked to pay the cost of all the tests by a certified check in the name of the laboratory which shall be handed over to the representative of the private laboratory together with the samples referenced in Paragraph ‘B’.
E. Thereafter, those items shall be directly cleared in the customs’ yards.
7. Upon receiving the result of the tests, the following shall be made:
A. In case the result of testing all or some of the samples of the consignment (if the consignment contains several items) show their conformity to the approved standards, the importer shall be officially notified with the result, provided random samples may be taken from those items and for the importer itself if deemed appropriate by the Ministry.
B. In case the result of testing all or some of the samples of the consignment (if the consignment contains several items) show their non-conformity to the approved standards, the following actions shall be taken:
The importer will be officially informed with the result and asked to coordinate with the issuing (exporting) entity for the avoidance of such violations in the forthcoming consignments.
Providing the Directorate General for Laboratories and Quality Control with the result for circulation to all the laboratories of the Ministry.
The Directorate General for Laboratories and Quality Control will inform the Directorate General for the Quality Control of Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) to contact, in turn, the entity that issued the certificate and the approval authority in the country of origin to take the necessary action including the notification of the International Laboratory Accreditation Corporation (ILAC) if required and the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) faces difficulty in solving this problem.
If the non-conforming items affect the health and the safety of the consumer with direct effect, the Directorate General for Commercial Fraud of the Ministry of Commerce shall be notified in order to take the necessary action for the withdrawal thereof from the markets using the appropriate methods deemed, along with the advertisement of the same in the Media at the expense of the importer and the issuance of a warning against having or using the same and the application of the regulatory penalties in this concern as well.
Upon the arrival of this consignment or some of its items for the same importer at a later date, it will not be directly cleared and the provisions of Item 6 (A, B, C and D) hereinabove shall be applied thereto.
8. Consignments not accompanied Conformity Certificates or their certificates are issued by a non-approved entity, shall be dealt with as following:
A. Consignment for which testing there is no private laboratory to be used for testing, the same shall not be cleared, provided such shall be applied after the lapsing of six months after the announcement of the same in the read media.
B. Consignments for which there is a private laboratory to be used for the purpose of testing them, shall not be directly cleared and the provisions of Paragraph 6 (A, B, C and D) shall be applied with respect thereto.
C. In case the result of testing all or some of the samples of the consignment (if the consignment contains several items) show their conformity to the approved standards, the importer shall be officially notified with the result and the Customs will be asked to clear them.
D. In case the result of testing all or some of the samples of the consignment (if the consignment contains several items) show their non-conformity to the approved standards, the importer shall be officially notified with the result and the Customs will be asked not to clear them.
9. The representative of the private laboratory to which the sample(s) is referred shall transport the same to the laboratory in accordance with the scientific methods of sample transportation within a maximum period of three (3) days as of receiving the sample(s) together with the official letter and the test fees.
10. The Private laboratory for which the sample(s) is referred shall examine/test the same in accordance with the approved standards in strict compliance with the performance of the tests specified to be done by it pursuant to the contents of Paragraph No. 6 (C).
11. The laboratory shall send the results of the test to the originating entity together with the remaining sample(s) or whatever proves the usage thereof for testing within fifteen (15) days as of receiving the sample(s) and for a maximum period of twenty five (25) days for the sample(s) which testing takes more than 15 days.
12. The originating entity shall notify the customs and the importers with the result of the test after studying the result by the conformity section.
13. The following consignments shall be exempted from the conformity certificates and from the referral to the private laboratories.
A. Consignments that have no entities for the issuance of conformity certificates including original auto spare parts, computer accessories and everything excepted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is are manufactured by the original manufacturers provided that a certificate issued by the manufacturer (factory) shall be attached thereto certifying that the spare parts and computer accessories are original (genuine) and manufactured by the factory and that the manufacturer bears full responsibility for the damages that might happen as a result for their utilization.
B. Consignments imported for personal use and of little quantities, a written undertaking shall be taken to the effect of not offering them in the market.
C. Consignments bearing quality mark issued by the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO), provided that the importer shall submit what proves the validity of the quality mark.
D. Consignments imported under contracts with government entities, registered companies or licensed factories intended for those entities exclusive use and not for sale, provided that the original contract or a copy certified by the contracting entity shall be presented and the quantities imported shall be conforming to those stated in the contracts.
E. If so desires, the contracting entity may request the testing of those merchandise by a private laboratory used for the purpose of their conformity with the approved standards.
F. Used cars shall be referred to the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) for testing to ensure their conformity to the approved standards even if conformity certificates are attached thereto issued by approved entities in the issuing (exporting) country in implementation of what is agreed upon between the Ministry (MOC&I) and the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) in this regard.
PETER S. MERGUERIAN
peter@goglobalcompliance.com
GO GLOBAL COMPLIANCE, INC.
Tel: (408) 416-3772
Fax: (408) 416-3224
Cell: (925) 487-4640
Skype: petermerguerian
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