New Option for EMC Certification in South Africa: SABS Updates Regulations

                                                                                                                                                                                       

In South Africa, the national standards body SABS has announced that from 1 November, manufacturers of non-telecommunication electronic and electrical equipment can now apply for a SABS electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) Certificate of Compliance (CoC) by using any laboratory worldwide which is accredited by an accreditation body being a member the International Laboratories Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).

As mandated by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), EMC CoCs issued by SABS have since 2017 been required for any non-telecommunication electronic product entering the South African market.
Until now, SABS EMC CoCs have only been offered to manufacturers that had products tested at SABS affiliated laboratories (‘SABS A-Labs’). The SABS A-Lab program will continue, but manufacturers may now alternatively have their products tested at any ILAC accredited laboratory.

A SABS EMC CoC will, however, only be issued if a product has been tested and found compliant with EMC.
standards that are referenced in the ICASA regulations.

SABS encourages accredited laboratories to join SABS’ A-Lab program which ensures faster turnaround times and reduced certification fees. SABS refers to their A-Lab program as a Type 3 quality assurance scheme, that allows SABS to enter into agreements with accredited local and international laboratories based on the SABS conducting inspections or oversight visits to manufacturers, testing points and sampling of products as part of the continuous verification process. As most of the verification processes would in those cases be complete, SABS says they can then issue an EMC CoC in about one month compared to about 3 months for use of test reports from any accredited laboratory, (not being a SABS A-Lab).

Laboratories being part of SABS’ A-lab scheme pay an annual fee which includes audits and inspections by SABS personnel. The fee structure, the online application forms as well as additional information is available on the SABS website.

For further information, you may contact Lars.Hjerpseth@nemko.com or Roshelle.pillay@sabs.co.za

(Article is based on text provided by Lars Hjerpseth, edited by T.Sollie)