Certification for Gulf Countries
Exporting products to Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and others, requires compliance with the relevant safety, health, and environmental regulations in each country.
In 2004, the Gulf Cooperation Council standardization organization (GSO) was established to unify various standardization activities to improve the GCC economy and its competitiveness and meet the requirements of the Gulf Customs Union and the Gulf Common Market. In 2009,
GSO approved the G-Mark technical regulations for the Gulf conformity mark to reduce technical trade barriers and promote the free flow of goods across borders within GCC member states.
The Gulf Conformity Mark (G-Mark) is a mandatory requirement for low voltage electrical equipment (LVE) and children’s toys that are being imported or sold in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states consisting of:
- United Arab Emirates
- Kingdom of Bahrain
- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Sultanate of Oman
- State of Qatar
- State of Kuwait
The G-Mark regulations are also recognized in the Republic of Yemen, despite it not being a GCC member state.
Firstly, From January 2014, toys regulation adopted. toys entering the GCC market must comply with the Gulf Toy Technical Regulations (BD-131704-01), and compliant toys must have the GCC compliance quality mark, that is, the G mark.
After that, from July 2016, the seven Gulf countries approved technical regulations for certain low-voltage electrical equipment and appliances (BD-142004-01
The mandatory implementation of GCC certification requirements must meet the safety regulations and electromagnetic compatibility EMC requirements listed in the technical regulations.
Products covered in G-Mark:
- Gulf toy technical regulations: generally, refers to products designed or intended to be supplied to children under the age of 14.
- Gulf technical regulations for low-voltage electrical equipment and appliances: generally, refers to electrical equipment and its rated voltage is AC50V to 1000V and DC75V to 1500V.
