Doing Business In Saudi Arabia - Bna

5/13/2008
Environmental Control Department tests foodstuffs at the point of sale for product
safety standards.
The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) also has
authority on imported telecommunications and IT products and services.
Recently, the CITC has taken a more proactive role and has published a number
of technical specifications relating to various products and services within its
jurisdiction.
Conformity Assessment Return to top
Since its inception in 1995, the certification program known as the ICCP was
applicable to 66 regulated products. The purpose of the program was to insure
consumer protection and that products entering Saudi Arabia conform to SASO
standards. SASO was in charge of implementing and monitoring the
International Conformity Certification Program (ICCP). They have done so
through an agreement with Intertek, which has global presence.
Under its WTO commitments, Saudi Arabia will comply with all obligations under
the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade from the date of accession,
and without recourse to any transition period. As such, Saudi Arabia has
committed to remove the mandatory, pre-market approval requirements for
imports (ICCP) and to implement a non-discriminatory, post-market surveillance
mechanism applicable to both foreign and domestic product at no cost to
suppliers. As of the date of this report, Saudi Arabia still mandates that a
Certificate of Conformity (CoC) must accompany all consumer goods exported to
Saudi Arabia. Exceptions include food products, medical products including
medicines, medical equipment, and components/products of large industrial
projects.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has taken responsibility for the
Certificate of Conformity (CoC) program under the jurisdiction of Dr. Hamad Al-
Oufi, Director General for Quality Control & Inspection, and who can be reached
at (966 1) 401-3265, Fax: (966 1) 402-2539.
Product Certification Return to top
In Saudi Arabia, SASO will set up its own certification organization for locally
manufactured products, as several SASO employees have been certified to work
as professional auditors in conformance with ISO 9000 series standards.
For imported products, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry will implement the
CoC program, which should be abolished under Saudi Arabia’s WTO accession
commitments.
For beef and poultry meat imported from the United States, Saudi Arabia has
agreed to recognize a two-certificate approach: (1) an official FSIS export
certificate issued for beef and poultry meat and (2) a producer or manufacturer