UPDATE: Saudi Arabia Announces New RoHS Requirements in 2022

UPDATE as of January 2023

After several products on the Saudi Arabian market were discovered to contain dangerous substances that represented a serious danger to both the safety of the consumer and the environment, the country made the decision to issue a Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulation that would require relevant manufacturers and importers of both electric and electronic equipment (EEEs) to comply. While this implementation was first set to begin on January 5, 2022, it has now been pushed back to July 4, 2022, with rollout dates to affect manufacturers of different types of appliances over time until March 31, 2023.

Updates to Compliance Timelines

As of July 4, 2022, all small electrical household appliances must be in compliance. The other dates for electric and electrical manufacturer compliance are as follows:

• From October 2, 2022: Large electrical household appliances are affected
• From December 31, 2022: Telecommunication and IT equipment are affected
• From March 31, 2021: Lighting equipment are affected

More appliances will be added to this list over time, so it is important for manufacturers to stay up-to-date on this policy’s changes and additions.

Background About These RoHS Requirements

The technical regulation was first published on July 9, 2021 by the Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization (SASO), in an effort to bring the country closer alignment with the European Union’s Directive on restricted hazardous substances in EEEs.

The restriction requires that all relevant products undergo testing to ensure it does not exceed the chemical restriction levels of six substances, namely lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).

However, this version does not completely imitate the EU’s version: it does not yet list four phthalates that the EU added to its restricted list in 2015: DEHP, BBP, DBP, and DIBP.

This new technical regulation will apply to manufacturers of large and small household appliances, information communication technology and lighting equipment, monitoring and control tools, and leisure, recreational and sporting equipment.

There will be exceptions to this regulation, including: medical devices, military equipment, large-scale industrial stationary machinery, large-scale fixed installations, and aerospace equipment. Manufacturers who fail to comply with this regulation are subject to penalties, fines, and the potential for a product to be completely removed from the market.

The Saudi RoHS regulation offers a full overview of supplier obligations including technical and administrative requirements, and directions for completing the conformity assessment procedures clearly outlined in the documentation.

Original post from October 25th, 2021

Saudi Arabia is the latest country to issue a Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulation, requiring relevant Saudi manufacturers and importers of electric and electronic equipment (EEEs) to comply with this law from 5 January 2022, onward. This decision comes after several products on the market were discovered to contain dangerous substances that represent a serious danger to both the safety of the consumer and the environment.

The technical regulation was first published on 9 July 2021, by the Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization (SASO), in an effort to bring the country closer alignment with the European Union’s Directive on restricted hazardous substances in EEEs.

The restriction requires that all relevant products undergo testing to ensure it does not exceed the chemical restriction levels of six substances, namely lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).

However, this version does not completely imitate the EU’s version: it does not yet list four phthalates that the EU added to its restricted list in 2015: DEHP, BBP, DBP, and DIBP.

This new technical regulation will apply to manufacturers of large and small household appliances, information communication technology and lighting equipment, monitoring and control tools, and leisure, recreational and sporting equipment.

There will be exceptions to this regulation, including: medical devices, military equipment, large-scale industrial stationary machinery, large-scale fixed installations, and aerospace equipment. Manufacturers who fail to comply with this regulation are subject to penalties, fines, and the potential for a product to be completely removed from the market.

The Saudi RoHS regulation offers a full overview of supplier obligations including technical and administrative requirements, and directions for completing the conformity assessment procedures clearly outlined in the documentation.

However, it’s important to note that a self-declaration will not be sufficient. Instead, the manufacturer or importer must organize the testing and certification process with a notified body.

How Nemko Can Help

As a recognized certification notified body in Saudi Arabia, Nemko will be available to help your organization through the certification process. Nemko also provides specialized RoHS regulation implementation services for worldwide compliance solutions. For more information, email us at info@nemko.com to learn more or to get started today.