Goods registration plan to reduce cross-border delays

The import, export and transit of goods and the means of transporting them are subjected to national and international regulations. Compliance with these regulations is checked and enforced when the goods arrive in the country of transit or destination. In most countries, this is at the border crossings or stations close to the geographical boundary of the country.

Unfortunately, traders, their representatives and drivers in most cases are forced to undertake multiple formalities at border crossings to release and clear the goods. At times this becomes a lengthy or speedy process depending on the organisation of the border crossings, the procedures in place and management of those formalities.

As a result, delays have become common, with pictures of endless lines of waiting trucks depicting trade barriers, particularly in developing countries in Africa. Waiting times at the border stations are commonly used as an indicator of trade facilitation performance.

However, the delays and incalculable timelines harm transit traffic and cross border trade. They cause unpredictable delivery times for traders and make it difficult for them to participate in a time-sensitive logistics chain of business with the producer and cargo owner.

Uncertain timelines also increase the durations a seller has to wait for payments which consequently create direct costs for leasing means of transport and warehouse fees.

The faster and more predictable the release process, the better for the trader’s planning, managing and optimising the supply chain. It is in this respect that the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) has come up with a Product Registration Scheme (PRS) for importers.

In this new framework, we require importers to register their goods before shipment based on technical criteria to ensure compliance with applicable requirements.

We expect to complement the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVOC) programme in addressing the delays experienced by traders due to backlog in the inspection of goods by PVOC partners at the country of origin.

The process offers certification of products with reasonable and consistent levels of quality adherence, leading to the issuance of a certificate of conformity at the ports of entry for registered products based on a selective inspection in applying a risk assessment process.

The importers must also provide proof that the products meet requirements of relevant Kenya standards, approved specifications and other applicable regulations as provided under Legal Notice No. 78 of 28th April 2020 clause 5(2).

Importers shall be responsible for the quality of their products throughout the value chain including addressing consumer complaints as well as product recall if so ordered by Kebs.

All registered products require a local certificate of conformity to be permitted into the country. However, the certification process is faster as there will be very minimal inspection at the ports of entry.

Where inspection and testing is required, the same shall be undertaken at the importer’s premises/warehouse. Product registration fulfils the requirements of Article 5 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).

The process applies to all regulated products apart from animal and fishery products (fresh and frozen – not further processed), bulk petroleum products and base oils, bulk shipments of cereals and pulses such as rice, wheat, barely, beans and maize.

On top of that, the Product Registration Scheme (PRS) additionally doesn’t apply to fertiliser, fresh dairy products, fresh horticultural produce, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), motorcycle helmets, sugar, tyres, used or second-hand goods and steel including flat bars, angle bars, channels, round bars, deformed bars, RHS and SHS.

Therefore, Kebs shall register products based on test reports from laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, product certification by the National Standards Body and/or under IECEE scheme.

For this reason, all the interested eligible importers or applicants must submit, a business registration certificate, Kenya Revenue Authority pin Certificate, test certificates for the IECEE scheme for electrical and electronic products, test report(s) issued against applicable Kenya or equivalent international standard by a recognized laboratory and other applicable regulations.

They also need to have valid manufacturer’s QMS certificates and/or valid manufacturer’s food safety management system certificate (FSSC/FSMS) for food products and/or valid product certification issued by the national standardization body of the respective country of the manufacturer and colored photographs to cover all product information in demonstrating compliance with the labelling requirements.

The applicants where applicable should also have product samples, material safety data sheets for products, operation/ instruction manual for appliances and machines, distributorship/dealership agreements if the applicant is not the brand owner, manufacturer’s warranty and a product type approval.

Finally and yet importantly the applicants should have regulatory permits, declaration of conformity, product recall procedure, and proof of payment of the application fee.