The Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) of Saudi Arabia announced on January 1, 2020 that certification bodies will stop registering Certificates of Conformity.
SASO announced that after January 15, 2020, it will become mandatory for most products to be registered using the SABER platform and obtain a Product Certificate (PCoC) and a Shipment Certificate (SCoC).
The PCoC is issued for every regulated product as per the applicable product standards defined in relevant technical regulations. The PCoC is valid for a period of one year.
The process is as follows:
- Request for Product Certificate of Conformity (PCoC) by applicant / importer.
- Entry of Product Details in the system based on Customs Tariff Code.
- Selecting of Certification Bodies (CBs).
- Conformity Assessment and entry of substantiating Documents/Verification Results.
- Issuance of PCoC from the system.
Every regulated product included in the shipment will be verified and ensured that a valid PCoC exists for that product, and if found to be true will be issued with the SCoC. The SCoC is valid for that specific shipment only.
- Request for Shipment Certificate of Conformity (SCoC) by Importer.
- Verification and confirmation of valid PCoC for the product.
- Issuance of SCoC from the system.
A physical factory audit is now required starting from January 2020.
This must be a SASO-specific audit and will assess various criteria including:
- Incoming Materials Inspection
- Product Assurance
- Product Test Plan
- Resource Management
Importers have to register online on the SABER platform to obtain PCoC and SCoC.
Manufacturers can check if their products would require SASO certification by referring to their technical regulations
It is also worth noting that the product HS code will also determine whether SASO certification is required.