SASO Certification for Exports to Saudi Arabia

SASO Certification

The Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) is a technical governing body in Saudi Arabia. It was instituted in 1972 to govern tasks related to standards, metrology, and quality.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia requires that SASO Technical Regulation covers all consignments of products exported to them. Therefore, products should be issued with a SASO Certification, and a Shipment Certification of Conformity (SCoC) should accompany every consignment. These certificates indicate compliance with the applicable standards and technical regulations.

What is saleem?

SALEEM stands for Saudi product safety programme. SALEEM is concerned with the safety of products in the Saudi market. SALEEM in Arabic indicates that the product is safe, secure and free of flaws that may directly or indirectly harm individuals, society or the environment. 

The new Saudi product safety programme (SALEEM) issues a new SASO certificate, which replaces the current product certification program where products are classified as per the risk level into regulated and non-regulated products. 
Based on the severity and risk, SASO has issued several technical regulations for specified products. The technical regulations have listed the requirements and SASO certificate schemes for each product category.

WHAT IS SABER CERTIFICATE?

SABER is an online portal where importers, notifies bodies and Saudi Customs are involved in certificate issuance for both Product and Shipment certificates. The SABER certificates are used to clear the consignments from the customs. Also, invoices are issued in the SABER portal.

This importer-based portal registers products and issues SABER certification for products and shipment. All shipments to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia must have the SABER certificate of conformity.

terminology

• Product Certification of Conformity (PCoC)

  This SABER Certificate of Conformity is issued to register a product for one year. Obtaining this certificate is mandatory only for Regulated Products, and it is valid for one year. Once the regulated product obtains the Product Certification of Conformity (PCoC), it will be eligible to obtain the Shipment Certification of Conformity (SCoC).

• Shipment Certification of Conformity (SCoC)

  The Shipment Certification of Conformity (SCoC) is mandatory to issue for each shipment of Regulated and Non-regulated products. It is valid for one shipment only.

• Regulated and Non-regulated Products

  Regulated Products falls within a specific technical regulation. Non-regulated products are not included in technical regulations.

• Certification Body
  Certification body notified by The Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organisation (SASO)

Steps of Conformity Assessment Process

• Step 1: Importer Registration
  • Registering Importer information in the SABER portal
  • Assigning contact officers
• Step 2: Adding Products
  • Adding product information in the SABER portal as well as the product photos
  • Products are classified to Regulated or Non-regulated based on HS code
• Step 3: Product Certification of Conformity (PCoC) Request and Issuance (Applicable only for Regulated Products)
  • For regulated products, the importer proceeds to request with the SASO certification bodies to issue a Product Certificate.
  • Once specified, a list of SASO Certification Bodies notified for the same Technical Regulation is presented. The importer must select the Certification Body for issuing the Product Certificate.
  • Certification Body does contact the importer to arrange the activities required for Conformity Assessment
  • Once the Certification Body activities are done and the product is found conforming to the requirements, Product Certification of Conformity is issued.
  • If the product obtained an equivalent certificate, Product Certification of Conformity is still required.
• Step 4: Shipment Certificate of Conformity Request and Issuance (Applicable for Regulated and Non-regulated Products)
  • Shipment Certificate of Conformity shall be issued for each shipment of both regulated and non-regulated products.
  • For regulated products, only those products are obtained Product Certificate of Conformity are available to be added for Shipment Certificate.
  • Importer needs to add details of each product included in the shipment such as quantity as well as the details of the invoice, also barcode is needed.
  • For regulated items in the invoice, SABER will send the request to the certification body who issued the Product Certificate of Conformity to perform conformity assurance activities for regulated items in the invoice.
  • Certification Body will check the compliance of the product and will issue the Shipment Certificate of Conformity.

SALEEM IMPLEMENTATION FOR TEXTILE PRODUCTS:

On 24 August 2018, the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) published the Official Gazette for the Technical Regulation of Textile Products 02-05-18-164 M.A. This new technical regulation applies to all textile products placed on the market of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Accordingly, the exporters of textile products shall comply with the provisions of this new technical regulation.

Textile and apparel, including underwear for both adults and children, implemented in the SABER portal starting from 1st December 2019.

The Technical Regulation applies to all textile products which are available in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA):

• Products containing at least 80% by weight of textile fibres (including textile components of curtains, furniture, carpets, clothing, technical fabrics and textiles)
• Furniture, umbrella and sunshade coverings containing at least 80% by weight of textile components

Textile components of:

• The upper layer of the multi-layered floor covering
• Mattress covers
• Coverings of camping equipment and goods, provided that the components constitute at least 80% by weight of such upper layers or coverings
• Textiles incorporated in other products and forming an integral part thereof, including footwear, bags and head-covers 

Note: Products designed for medical purposes or medical claims, as they fall under the requirements and regulations of Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), are excluded from these Technical Regulations.

Initially, the SASO/SABER Programme was supported only by SABER, the online registration platform through which importers register the product models intended for import. SABER is an e-platform that links traders, importers to accredited certification bodies (CB) to get conformity certificates enabling shipment authorization and product compliance as per Saudi requirements.

As of 1st of July 2020, the shipment process into Saudi Arabia has been simplified and faster through the linking of FASAH and SABER platforms. FASAH is a Single Window system that enables importing and exporting across Saudi borders.

TÜV SÜD is a SASO certificate issuing authority in India. Therefore, we can provide a one-stop solution from product testing to SASO certification for textiles for customers for the SALEEM Scheme.

SASO Certification Services by TÜV SÜD:

TÜV SÜD is a notified SASO certification body, which means we can provide a one stop solution from Importer Registration to certification under the SALEEM scheme. As a SASO certificate provider in India, we strive to offer comprehensive and competitive services and certification packages with the following services:

• Handling facility (Importer) registration process

• Handling product registration (Listing) process
• Testing of products (As per the risk assessment)
• Factory Auditing (Applicable for Type – 3 products which are Children products and Underwear)
• Issuing Product Certificate of Conformity (PCoC)
• Issuing Shipment Certificate of Conformity (SC)
• Complete Account Managing which includes all the above services
• Awareness programs on SALEEM / SABER for the Importer and Exporter

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS