1. PRODUCT CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT
PCA is a solution designed to ensure that products meet
the specific requirements set by a regulatory authority in the
importing country.
PCA assists exporters to comply with import regulations
in target overseas markets. As an intrinsic part of society,
PCA provides reassurance to consumers of products and
commodities that action has been taken to affirm their
qualities, characteristics, and performance.
In the past few years, governments have partnered with
SGS to implement the PCA programme nationwide.
COUNTRIES
Algeria Kenya Qatar
Botswana
Kurdistan Region,
Republic of Iraq
Rwanda
Burundi Kuwait Saudi Arabia
Egypt Mongolia Tanzania
Ethiopia Niger Uganda
Ghana Nigeria
KEY ASPECTS OF PCA PROGRAMME
DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE
The typical conformity items being checked on products
concern the overall product safety (e.g. lead on toys),
human health impact (e.g. heavy metals in food), and
environmental effect (e.g. chlorofluorocarbons, lead,
formaldehyde, etc.)
These analyses are normally done through product
tests and/or reviews of existing test reports and product
certificates.
Other critical evaluations are done during physical
inspection, such as labels and marking requirements, shelf
life information, instruction manuals, etc. If required by
the programme, detection of counterfeit items can also be
undertaken during the inspection exercise.
SOURCES OF PROOF OF COMPLIANCE
In most cases, the test reports and certificates issued by
ISO17025-accredited test laboratories and manufacturer’s
own test facilities* provide the best proofs of compliance
by a product to the technical regulations and/or relevant
product standards. The programs provide flexibilities on
compliance depending on the nature of the products.
*subject to approval and qualification criteria by the principal country.
TECHNICAL REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS
The relevant standards to comply with are set by the
government authorities, normally represented by the
country’s national standards body. The basis of Compliance
is according to hierarchy: international standards, regional
standards, national standards or another country’s
standards.
In some cases, these will be supplemented by technical
regulations.
SGS IS YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER
SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing
and certification company, recognized as the global
benchmark for quality and integrity and with more than
80,000 employees and a network of over 1,650 offices
and laboratories worldwide. SGS is an authorized service
provider to verify the conformity of goods according to a
country’s product conformity assessment programme.
CONFORMITY PROCESS FLOWCHART
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Satisfactory?
Request for
Certification
(RFC)
Final
documents
Issue
Non-
Conformity
Report NCR
Receives copy
of NCR
CoC
NCR to
Exporter
Review/ Verify
Product
Conformity
Document
Inspect
Shipment
Issue
Certificate
CoC
Review
Inspection
report and Final
Documents
Product testing
EXPORTER SGS IMPORTER
Satisfactory
Result?
Pass
Testing?