Most goods must be certified or registered before being exported to Saudi Arabia. Certified goods usually need a PCoC and SCoC. Non-certified products will need a SABER Self-Declaration certificate and shipment certificate. For SFDA and CST regulated products, there are different approaches.

PCoC is used to ensure the product complies with the appropriate Saudi technical regulation and remains valid for one year. SCoC is issued separately for each shipment according to a valid PCoC and commercial invoice. It is required for custom clearance of such a consignment.

The SABER account belongs to the Saudi importer. Only those companies that have a Saudi Commercial Registration are able to open an account on SABER. Foreign manufacturers and exporters provide all required documents, test reports, and technical data.

Standard certification time for the first application will usually take around 2-3 weeks. Classification will take one to two days, testing will take up to a week where needed, and the PCoC will take several days once a full file has been provided. Products that need factory audits, additional testing, SFDA registration, or SQM will take more time to obtain.

Yes, SQM is compulsory for certain regulated product categories such as selected construction materials, gas products, and electrical accessories. This will usually involve product testing, quality system assessment, and factory audits. Where products do not require the mentioned documents, SQM is voluntary and can be used as quality marking in Saudi Arabia.

SFDA usually regulates food/beverages, cosmetics, medical devices, and pharmaceutical products and their registration/authorization processes, such as food product registration, Halal compliance, cosmetics notification, and Medical Device Marketing Authorization (MDMA).

Approval may be needed if the product has the capability of communicating via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular technology, satellite, or any other form of radio. Such approval may be needed even where the wireless feature is only one tiny element of a big machine.

According to SASO Circular No. 247, products subject to certain technical regulations will be required to have the supplier’s name and Commercial Registration number marked on the label. If you produce new packaging and labeling, you must include this information before the regulation takes effect.

Shipment will likely be detained at customs. Without the valid PCoC, SCoC cannot be issued, and hence the normal clearance process will not be completed. USe of informal clearance procedures, like undertaking letters, should not be considered.

Previous IEC and CB scheme test reports are accepted if they are covering the product, standard, model, and tests that are required. It depends if the lab that conducted the test has the right accreditation and scope. Markek reviews the previous test reports and verifies their validity at the classification stage.