Colombia

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Regulatory agency

The National Accreditation Body of Colombia (ONAC)

Regulations

• Technical Regulation of Lighting and Public Lighting (RETILAP): The fundamental objective of this regulation is to establish the requirements that must be met by residential and public lighting systems, aiming at consumer safety, prevention of the environment, and minimising the risks caused by installations and use of lighting systems.
• Resolution NO. 0721 came into force on 19 December 2019, which applies to all zinc-carbon and alkaline batteries except the rechargeable batteries, button cell batteries, and batteries entered as non-commercial samples.

Guidelines

RETILAP can be achieved in accordance with four optional certification schemes (based on ISO/IEC 17067 standard):

• Scheme Type 1a: Type testing (valid for the tested product only).
• Scheme Type 1b: Type testing (product sample from a production batch)
• Scheme Type 4: Type testing (product sample), factory inspection and surveillance (periodical testing and factory inspection)
• Scheme Type 5: Type testing (product sample), management system audit (production process) and surveillance (periodical testing and audit)

Applicable categories

Some products requiring RETILAP approval: Solar panels, connectors and components for photovoltaic projects, electric motors, LED lighting products.

REGULATORY AGENCY

Communications Regulation Commission (CRC)

REGULATIONS

• Resolution 087 of 1997 establishes the general conditions of homologation of terminal equipment.
• The Comision de Regulacion de Comunicaciones (CRC) is the telecom regulatory commission of Colombia, which has voluntary approvals for all telecom equipment except for products that have voice communication functions, such as mobile phones, and for specific types of satellite communication products.

GUIDELINES

Type approval procedure:

• Submission of application to CRC
• FCC grants and reports, or CE RED reports, can be used to obtain the type approvals for these regulated devices
• Issuance of type approval

APPLICABLE CATEGORIES

Mandatory approvals are only required for fixed, mobile and global satellite telephone handsets. All other products can simply obtain a “Letter of Voluntary Approval” from the CRC, in which they state that the product is exempt from type approval requirements, and may be imported and sold in Colombia.

OUR SERVICES AT A GLANCE

TÜV SÜD has the experience and capability to support manufacturers in attaining compliance with Colombian requirements and obtaining the necessary approval.

Regulatory agency

Ministry of Mines and Energy (MINMINAS)

Regulations

• RETIQ (Technical Regulations for Labeling End-Use Electrical and Fuel Gas Equipment): Energy Efficiency Technical Regulation – Resolution 41012
• RETIQ is technical regulation of labelling, regulations seeking to promote the rational and efficient use of energy in products that use electricity and combustible gas, through the establishment and mandatory use of labels to report on the performance of the teams in terms of energy consumption and efficiency indicators.

Guidelines

• Prove the compliance with RETIQ through obtaining a Certificate of conformity or, in permitted cases, issuing Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity and labelling of product.
• Register a product in the Registry of Manufacturers and Importers of Products or provide a license to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism through the one-stop foreign trade window (“VUCE”) for the imported products that are subject to technical regulation and require only a certificate of conformity.
• Report to the surveillance authority: a name of a manufacturer or an importer and its legal representative or agent, which is Colombian resident, and an address for notifications, as well as any additional information determined by the regulators of the product.

Applicable product categories

Mandatory energy efficiency labelling is required for the following product categories:

• Air conditioners
• Commercial refrigerators
• Electric water heaters
• gas accumulation (tank) water heaters
• Gas household cooking appliances
• Gas tankless water heaters
• Household electric washing machines
• Household refrigerators
• Lighting
• Single-phase induction motors
• Three-phase induction motors

Our services at a glance

Being one of the leaders in the market of conformity verification services, we are eager to offer you, as our customers, the most beneficial terms of services.