Product Compliance
in United Arab Emirates

Until recently, the institution in charge of the product compliance in the United Arab Emirates was the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA).  It was the only national standardization body created in 2001 under UAE Law No. 28/2001.  However, in 2020, the of the UAE carried out a major government reorganization, and ESMA was absorbed into a newly created Ministry of Industry & Advanced Technology.

Following the history, the ESMA’s function involved, inter alia:

• Preparing national standards (prepared by technical committees), at the government, industry, and consumers demand.
• Due to the realization of UAE standards, certyfing the consumers safety and environmental protection.
• Leading the ECAS (Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme), determining the compatibility of imports with national and international and issuing conformity authorization.
• Approving the conformity evaluation authorities
• Admitting the EQM (Emirates Quality Mark) to national products.

In general, ESMA standards rely on GCC, which is a Gulf Standards Organization, gathering already existing international and regional ones.

UAE Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme (ECAS)

The requirements of UAE Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme (ECAS) need to be complified with the exporters and importers trading goods and placing their products in the United Arab Emirates Marketplace.

ESMA (Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology) implements ECAS, which is a certification measure, ensuring the confirmation of products relevancy to the UAE standards.

Products such as machinery, cosmetics, food appointed for customer use, electrical, electronic and automotive appliances are included into the regulation.

The product certification approval process (for manufacturers as well as for traders) according to the Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme (ECAS) follows in most cases these steps:

1. Registration on the ESMA website
2. Submission of the Documents via the ESMA portal

The documents required to be submitted for Registration of Prod-ucts are stated in the application form or in relevant technical re-quirements as deemed necessary to ascertain the compliance of the product with the applicable standard (e.g. valid test reports as per applicable standards by an accredited testing laboratory)

3. Pay the Fees
4. Document Review and conformity assessment

Upon acceptance of the Application form and all the necessary doc-uments, ESMA shall carry out a conformity assessment based on the identified scheme for a particular product.

Assessment, Testing and Evaluation of product shall be conducted by ESMA or its recognized conformity assessment bodies.

5. Issuance of Certificate of Conformity and registration of product

When the results of conformity assessment demonstrate that the relevant requirements are met, ESMA shall issue an ECAS Certificate of Conformity to the product.

The ECAS Certificate of Conformity shall serve as an approval of the product and can be used by the trader in marketing their registered product.

It is crucial to note, that the RoHS regulations need to be obtained as well, while importing products into the United Arab Emirates.  They are parallel with the EU standards and take into consideration all electronic and electrical devices with a voltage of 1000 volts for alternating current and 1500 volts for direct current. (the rating cannot exceed)

Examples of Technical regulations prescribing compliance with UAE standards are:

https://moiat.gov.ae/en/about-us/laws-and-legislation

Cosmetics and Personal Care, Detergents, Electrical Products- LVE, Energy Drinks, Food Contact Materials, Oxo-biodegradable plastics, Paints, Perfumes, Petroleum Products, Retreaded Tires, Tobacco Products, ROHS, Honey, Organic Products, EESL, Water Fixtures, Metrology, Electrical Storage Water Heaters, Cables and Wires/Power Cables, Automatic Doors and Windows, ECASEx, Vehicle Spare Parts, Personal Safety Equipment

Most conformity assessments prescribed by the SASO technical regulations are based on the three following approval types (as defined in ISO/IEC 17067):

• Type 1a: Product testing / inspection
• Type 3: Product testing / factory inspection / audit
• Type 5: Product testing / factory inspection / surveillance factory audit

Common features of these types comprise the following proceedings:

The manufacturer shall submit a request for type approval to a notified body selected him, such request shall include:

1. Name and address of the manufacturer;
2. A written declaration not to submit the same request to any other Notified Body.
3. Technical documentation facilitating the assessment of the conformity of the product to the requirements of Saudi technical regulations. Such documentation shall include adequate analysis and evaluation of risks.
4. Technical documentation shall identify the requirements that apply to the product. Including, as required by the assessment, the design of the product, manufacturing and operation (use) of the product.
5. Technical documentation shall include – at least – the following:

• A general description of the product.
• Design and manufacturing drawings, horizontal projections (diagrams), components, units, subdivisions, etc.
• Description and explanations, referred to therein, necessary to understand the drawings, diagrams, and the operation (use) of the product.
• List of the Saudi standards or any other relevant technical specifications adopted by SASO, whether fully or partially ap-plied, and a description of the adopted solutions to meet the essential requirements of the Saudi technical regulations in case of non-application of the aforementioned standards. In case of partial application of Saudi standards, the technical documentation shall clarify the applied clauses.
• Report results (graph calculations) of the design, operation control, conducted tests, etc.
• Test reports.
• Representative samples of the planned production. The notified body may request additional samples, if necessary.
• Evidences (proofs) supporting the appropriateness of the technical solutions applied in the design. Such evidence shall refer to all documents, particularly in case of non-application of the Saudi standards and/or the aforementioned appropriate technical specification.
• Supporting evidences – as applicable – shall include results of test conducted in the suitable laboratory in the manufacturer or any other laboratory under the responsibility of manufacturer

Labelling

SASO is also responsible for marketing guidelines for products in the Saudi market including labeling. The guidelines are implemented by the Ministry of Commerce and Investments through its inspection and test laboratories located in places where imported goods enter Saudi Arabia. However, there is no single label of confirmation because SASO advises different rules (e.g. labeling in Arabic) and provides specific requirements for marks identification and labels for different kinds of imported products with respect to the applicable Technical Regulations.

The EQM indicates compliance to the relevant technical standards and obligations of the United Arabic Emirates. Although, the EQM is mandatory as well as voluntary, in order to o ensure the continuous concession, the mark requested by the manufacturer, obliges a Quality Management System implementation.

Inspection, auditing and testing are necessary in order to be granted by the Emirates Quality Mark, a license of the manufacturer’s products quality system and its an all-inclusive evaluation

It’s validation continues for three years. For certification,  the document review is required based on product type and production origin.  In the cases of an on-site audit’s necessity,  it is subject to yearly on-site surveillance audits.

The mandatory mark regulations, cover the following products:

• Bottled drinking water – natural and mineral one.
• Most juices and beverages.
• Part of milk and dairy products

The Emirates Quality Mark is highly recommended for:

• AC and DC cables, wires of low voltage.
• Water heaters with an electric storage.

The SASO Quality Mark (SQM) confirms the compliance of the product with the relevant national standards set by the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) in Saudi Arabia.
It also proves that the production process of the product was conducted under an effective quality management system to ensure compliance with applicable quality standards.

A comprehensive evaluation of both the product and the system ensuring relevant quality through the production process has to be conducted through inspections, auditing and testing in order to grant the SQM license.

The certificate expires after three years. In the meantime the audits are conducted every 6 -12 month depending on the kind of the product.

The SQM can be granted to both voluntary and mandatory marks. If producers intends to build up consumer confidence in their products that are not subject to SASO’s regulations they can chose SQM as a voluntary mark.

The following products can be tested for the SQM Mark:

• Building materials – part I: Reinforcing Steel (rebar) for buildings
• Building materials – part III: Cement and concrete
• Building materials – part IV: Bricks, tiles, ceramics, and sanitary ware
• Gas appliances and their accessories

The SQM also simplifies the products’ customs procedures and makes them faster.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the United Arabic Emirates requires special apparatus, such as TTE (Telecommunication Terminal Equipment), radio and wireless user device to comply with UAE’s technical conditions before it can be approved by the TRA, registered with the TRA and supplied in the UAE.

The TRA registration is obliged to the foreign manufacturers before the products certification. Based on the manufacturer’s Declaration of Conformity, the process is influenced by the approval of test reports, as well as possibility of required in-country testing.

There are 3 different TA types based on the level of product danger:

1. The first level – Declaration of Conformity, applies to telecommunications equipment of low danger and priority. It’s approval is confirmed by the SDoC, taking into consideration crucial obligations and technical standards.
2. The second level – General Equipment Registration, applies to telecommunications equipment of medium danger and priority. The evidence of conformity with the technical standards is provided by the registered manufacturer/importer of the device. It consists of conforming technical test reports issued by an ILAC-certified lab, or based on a certificate of conformity issued by one of TRA’s certification entities as defined in sections 4.15 and 4.16. At the applicant’s expense, the TRA may perform or request a lab testing, if the certified test report is not available.
3. The third level – Advance Equipment Registration, applies to telecommunications equipment of high risk and priority. The evidence of conformity with the technical standards, occurs when the registered manufacturer or importer of stated devices, provides the crucial requirements of the product, based on:

– Conforming test reports issued by a recognized evaluation laboratories according to 4.15 and 4.16 sections.

– Executing additional technical assessments at the telecom equipment National Lab.

As part of the mandatory Type Approval requirements, the sample of telecommunications device should by provided by the manufacturer/importer.

Although the TRA approval is valid for 3 years, the authority might change, modify, or cancel authorizations at any time if required.