In recent years, Saudi Arabia has made a great reform for the local certification policy and certification system, compared to the simple certification process a few years ago. Today we’ll introduce briefly the required certification process for LED lighting products exporting to Saudi Arabia .
In simple terms, the import of LED products to Saudi Arabia needs Energy Efficiency standards, CB, IECEE, and SABER. Specifically, we are going to start talking about the main process of exporting lamps and lanterns to Saudi Arabia from the following 4 aspects.
1. Energy efficiency testing of lamps + energy efficiency registration (EER)
At present, Saudi Arabia's energy efficiency standards for LED lamps and lanterns are mainly SASO 2870, SASO 2902 and SASO 2927, of which SASO 2870 mainly controls light sources, SASO 2902 controls lamps and lanterns, and SASO 2927 mainly controls street lighting products. Most of the lighting products are included in the above three control standards, except for some products that can enjoy energy efficiency exemptions, such as: traffic signals, solar lights, emergency escape lights, battery-powered lights, and so on.
Saudi Arabia EER energy efficiency requirements, including 2 main aspects: energy efficiency testing and energy efficiency registration.
The specific test contains a lot of technical content (This part won’t be specifically expanded here. If you need to get more information, you can contact us at any time.
The cost of ordinary SASO 2870 and SASO 2902 is a few thousand RMB for a model, while the cost of street lamp SASO 2927 needs several tens of thousands RMB for a model. We can see that the difference is very big. And because SASO 2927 documents are numerous, Saudi auditors is also very strict for 2927 audit. Then we often need to amend the documents, and the audit issues of SASO 2927 cycle often takes longer time .
The EER certificate is valid for 1 year .
The executor: the manufacturer .
The energy efficiency test report for EER registration application must be within 2 years, otherwise it is invalid.
The EER registration cycle is approximately: 8~12 working days.
Importers friends, please note that because the EER executive is the manufacturer, then, if the manufacturer already has an EER certificate for a product with other importers, then, when working with other importers, the manufacturer does not need to start from scratch to do another EER certificate. Only a trademark authorization is enough as the original energy efficiency report can still continue to use, which can save time and expense when on the cost.
After the energy efficiency is done, the next is the IECEE registration, and CB certification is required.
2. IEC report + CB certificate for lamps and lanterns
CB certification is the same as the safety certification we usually do, but the test standard used here is the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) standard.
Generally speaking:
LED bulbs with: IEC62560 standard; lamps and lanterns with: IEC60598 standard
It’s similar to the safety testing for all lamps and lanterns. There are 8 main categories of requirements:
1. Classification: Class I, Class II, Class III.
---Can be classified according to the level of electric shock protection
---by rating of water and dust resistance (IP)
---By the installation surface designed for use
---According to the environment of use
---According to different installation methods
2. Marking:
The basic contents of the lamp products must be marked:
--- manufacturing plant or responsible agent
---Model number and rated parameters
---IP rating
---Illumination distance
---Category identification
---Other, such as special bulbs, harsh environment use, better protection cover, etc.
3. Mechanical protection: reliable connection; sharp edge protection.
4. Electrical protection: grounding protection; insulation protection; creepage distance.
5. Waterproof and dustproof: IP test.
6. Thermal protection: temperature test.
7. Fire protection: material test
8. Other protection: UV, laser, explosion, etc.
Another thing to note is: the need to provide a nameplate. Height of nameplate text is not less than 2mm, and symbol height not less than 5mm; nameplate material must be wear-resistant waterproof (You can just provide a printout and material samples.)
In addition to the overall IEC test, the accessories of the lamps and lanterns, that is, the key components also need to have CB certification, otherwise it will incur additional random testing costs. After the CB certification and registration of EER, the next thing to consider is how to apply for IECEE registration.
3. IECEE registration of lamps and lanterns
IECEE registration of lamps and lanterns can be registered by the importer itself, and the manufacturer needs to provide the following information:
1. Three years of valid CB test reports and certificates
2. The importer's business license in Saudi Arabia, including the establishment time and legal representative
3. The manufacturer's business license. it is recommended not to use the trader's.
4. English and Arabic instructions, etc.
It is worth noting that if the imported brand is different from the one on the CB report, or the brand is not mentioned on the CB, the CB certificate can still be used, but a PID (Product Difference Declaration) document needs to be added for review.
An IECEE certificate can contain multiple models on the same CB certificate, and a CB can reflect up to 20 models as a series.
The application period for IECEE certificate is 15~20 working days, and the validity of IECEE certificate is 1 year.
4. SABER registration and certificate of lamps and lanterns
The last step, but also the most important step of the Saudi certification process, is that by registering in the SABER system, we can get the SC certificate required for customs clearance. This step can also be finished by the importer himself.
Through the SABER system, importers and local manufacturers can easily apply for general conformity certificates for their products (certificates of conformity for products and batches of goods).
The SABER system mechanism is divided into the following three steps.
---1. Risk level of the product
The system assigns the risk level of the product based on the HS code and product category provided. Products not regulated by Saudi Arabia's technical regulations are classified as low-risk products.
---2. Product registration system
The importer enters the product details into SABER. SABER system will verify whether the product is regulated according to HS code or product category. The HS code of the product, applied at first for the application of the IECEE, must be strictly according to the SABER system, otherwise it would be troublesome for the later registration.
---3. Type Approval Certificate (Product Conformity Certificate PC Certificate)
Products are subject to the implementation of the SABER system of Saudi Arabia's technical regulations. For products not subject to Saudi Arabia's technical regulations, simply submit a self-declaration through the SASO approved form, no need of type approval certificate.
Valid period: one year
Required supporting documents:
Documentary proof of conformity, such as test reports, quality certificates, risk assessment reports, inspection reports, etc. (if applicable).
Photos of product design, dimensions, drawings and specifications.
The above is about the certificates when importing LED products into the Saudi market. Dear friends of importers, if you want to further understand about the above introduction, welcome to write to consult. We specialize in exporting LED products for nearly 20 years, and can give you further advice and guidance on the certificates.