SASO, SFDA, and GSO G-Mark Regulatory Update – May 2023

On May 8, 2023, SASO issued a circular that identified HS Codes that will have additional approval requirements in order to receive a Shipment Certificate. Starting May 10, 2023, any incoming consignments will require that the Declaration Form be approved by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources before the Shipment Certificate can be issued.

The HS Codes impacted include:

On May 2, 2023, SASO announced the release of new HS Codes into the SABER Platform. The following HS Codes will become subject to Technical Regulations within 30 days of this notice.

See pdf attachment May 2023 Newsletter - 20230502 HS Codes Added to SABER - EN.pdf

On May 5, 2023, SASO announced that 60 new standards have been approved for use as Saudi Standards.

See pdf attachment May 2023 Newsletter - 20230505 SASO Standards Update - EN.pdf

On May 21, 2023, the IEC Certification Department announced that the Council of Ministers have adopted a new numbering system for the commercial registration number.

See jpg attachment May 2023 Newsletter - 20230521 Commercial Register Process Amendment - Source - AR EN.pdf

On May 14, 2023, SASO held a workshop to review the Technical Regulation for Cableway Installations and to review changes to the Technical Regulation for Lubricating Oils.

Changes to the Technical Regulation for Lubricating Oils include:

• Wording modifications on the preamble
• Modification of Article (1) Terms and Definitions
• Modification of Article (2) The Scope
• Modification of Article (5) Explanatory Data
• Modification of Article (6) Conformity Assessment Procedures
• Wording Modification on Article (7), (8), (9), and (11)
• Modification of Article (10) General Provisions
• Modification on Appendix (1-A) List of Relevant Standards
• Modification on Appendix (1-B) List of Products and HS Codes

In May 2023, SASO published two new Technical Regulations: TR for Standby/Off Mode Requirements for Electrical & Electronic Equipment and TR for Watercraft. Currently, only the Arabic version is available.

See pdf attachment May 2023 Newsletter - 202305 SASO TR-Requirements-Electrical-Electronic-Equipment - AR.pdf and May 2023 Newsletter - 202305 SASO TR-Watercrafts - AR.pdf

On May 29, 2023, the KSA Ministry of Commerce issued a recall for Tyco's Simplex/Autocall Fire Protection Products due to the possibility of failure to warn visually and/or audibly during alarm conditions and the outbreak of fire which could lead to injury and damage to property. Consumers are instructed to contact the company or local distributor for a free checkup, software update and/or free replacement.

Recalls - for more information on recalls please visit https://recalls.sa/recall/search

On May 14, 2023, the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA) released a circular to announce that following a series of reviews of evidence and studies, it was determined that the use of Azelaic Acid in cosmetic products was safe in certain proportions. With immediate effect, manufacturers of cosmetic products are allowed to add Azelaic Acid in all cosmetic products in a percentage that does not exceed 15% maximum.

On March 30, 2023, the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA) released verion 2 of the Requirements Guide of the Regulation of Conformity Assessment Bodies Designation.

On May 30, 2023, GSO announced that all valid commercial record numbers registered in the G-Mark Platform for Economic Operators (EO) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has been replaced by the unified number for non-governmental establishments in KSA which starts with "7". The G-Mark has also been updated to validate commercial record numbers in Saudi Arabia to be in 10 digits starting with number "7".