STANDARDS: SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
INDEX TO SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
BOBS Standards Mark Regulations
Standards (Compulsory Standards) Regulations
BOBS STANDARDS MARK REGULATIONS
(sections 16 and 11(1))
(15th March, 2002)
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
REGULATION
1. Citation
2. Declaration of a standards mark
S.I. 13, 2002.
These Regulations may be cited as the BOBS Standards Mark Regulations.
2. Declaration of a standards mark
The following mark is hereby declared to be a BOBS standards mark that may be applied to any commodity falling within the standards specifications which have been set and issued in respect of that commodity,
BOBS Standard Mark (for Product Certification) is a stylised representation of a diamond with the acronym "BOBS" imposed (in Times Roman capital letters) on the lower part of the diamond.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE STANDARD MARK
The diamond consists of a crown and base each displaying five facets which are symmetrically constructed to the outer dimension of 5X (height) by 8X (length).
The crown is a set of five centrally aligned polygons with the height of 1X apart. The line 5X long is marked at points 0.5X and 1.5X from each end. The Line 8X long is marked at points 1X and 2.5X from each end. The ends of the two lines and the two sets of points are joined by straight lines.
The base is a set of five triangles made by locating a centrally aligned point 4X vertically below the 8X line, and joining that point to the 8X line at the ends and at points 1Xand 2.5X from each end.
The size of the letters varies according to the horizontal length of the diamond. The height of the letters is 2X. The top of the letters is 0.5X from the 8X horizontal centre line of the diamond.
The lines shall be 0,1X thick.
STANDARDS (COMPULSORY STANDARDS) REGULATIONS
(section 16(1)(f) and (g))
(23rd June, 2023)
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
REGULATION
1. Citation
2. Interpretation
3. Objective
4. Scope
5. Application of WTO/TBT Agreement Principles
6. Use of international principles
7. Functions of the Bureau
8. Delegation of functions
9. Compliance with Regulations
10. Appointment of inspection agencies
11. Application for certificate of compliance
12. Handling of an application
13. Remote inspection
14. Products bearing the standards mark
15. Destination inspection
16. Conditional release
17. Locally manufactured products
18. Service standards
19. Disposition of samples
20. Lost certificates
21. Mutual recognition of conformity assessment procedures of other countries
22. Market surveillance
23. Revocation of certificate
24. Retaining technical documentation of compliance and confidentiality
25. Dealing with non-complying products
26. Exemptions
27. Appeals
28. Revocation of S.I. No. 78 of 2008
S.I. 71, 2023,
S.I. 48, 2024.
These Regulations may be cited as the Standards (Compulsory Standards) Regulations.
In these Regulations unless the context otherwise requires—
"authorised officer" means an employee of the Bureau designated as such by the Managing Director to conduct inspection, sampling, testing or evaluation of a product to determine its conformity with the compulsory standards;
"bill of lading" means a document issued by a carrier acknowledging that specified goods have been received on board a vessel as cargo for conveyance to a named place for delivery to a known or identifiable consignee;
"certificate of conformity" means a verifiable document issued by an inspection agency which is proof that the product specified therein conforms to the compulsory standard;
"competent authority" means an organisation that has been legally delegated or invested with authority, capacity or power to develop and enforce standards and technical regulations in a country;
"certificate" means certificate of compliance or conditional release certificate or registration certificate;
"certificate of compliance" means a certificate issued by the Bureau, verifying compliance of an imported batch or product with these Regulations;
"certification" means the formal substantiation that a product, process, organisation, individual or management system meets the requirements of a standard or technical regulation;
"compulsory standard" means a Botswana Standard that has been declared compulsory in terms of the Act;
"conditional release certificate" means a certificate issued by the Bureau to an importer allowing the release of an imported commodity from the custody of Customs officials after compliance with customs requirements while awaiting approval by the Bureau;
"conformity assessment" means a procedure used, directly or indirectly, to determine that the relevant requirements of the compulsory standards are fulfilled;
"CIF" value means the cost, insurance and freight value;
"inspection" means examination of a product design, product, process or installation and determination of its conformity with specific technical requirements or, on the basis of professional judgment, with general requirements;
"inspection agency" means a body appointed or designated by the Bureau as competent for checking and verifying that a product conforms to the requirements of the compulsory standards declared in relation to that product;
"inspector" means a person who has been appointed as such by the Minister in terms of the Act;
"market surveillance" means random checks and audits, taking of samples and gathering of information with regard to the products available on the market for compliance to compulsory standards;
"process" means any method of operation, manufacture, production, storage, transportation, disposal or combination thereof;
"product" means any industrially manufactured, agricultural or fish product for which a compulsory standard has been declared in terms of the Act;
"registration certificate" means a certificate issued by the Bureau, verifying compliance of a locally manufactured product with a compulsory standard;
"regulatory authority" means any ministry, department or agency at national or regional level that has been given the formal powers to oversee the enforcement of standards or technical regulations in Botswana;
"standard" means a standard approved by the Bureau under the Act;
"supplier" means the manufacturer, producer, merchant, distributor, importer or agent who places a product, or service into the market;
"test report" means a document issued by an accredited testing facility and conforming to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025: General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, or a document issued by any other competent facility as determined by the Bureau;
"testing" means a technical operation that consists of the determination of one or more characteristics of a given product, process according to a specified procedure;
"TBT" means Technical Barriers to Trade; and
"WTO" means the World Trade Organisation.
The objective of these Regulations is to lay down the processes and procedures to be used in the assessment of conformity of imported and locally manufactured products in Botswana in the interest of public health and safety, consumer protection, environmental protection, prevention of deceptive practices, and any matters connected with or incidental thereto.
These Regulations shall apply to—
(a) procedures for inspection, testing and certification of products that are imported into Botswana in a manner consistent with the provisions of the TBT Annex to the SADC Trade Protocol and the WTO/TBT Agreement Principles;
(b) procedures for inspection, testing and certification of products that are locally manufactured in Botswana in a manner consistent with the provisions of the TBT Annex to the SADC Trade Protocol and the WTO/TBT Agreement Principles; and
(c) the protection for human safety or health, environmental protection, legitimate security interests and prevention of deceptive practices.
5. Application of WTO/TBT Agreement Principles
The implementation of these Regulations shall be guided by the WTO/TBT Agreement Principles including—
(a) non-discrimination;
(b) necessity;
(c) prevention of trade restrictiveness;
(d) proportionality;
(e) the use of international standards;
(f) equivalence; and
(g) transparency.
6. Use of international principles
(1) The Bureau shall ensure that it uses the international guidelines issued by international standardising bodies as the basis for implementing these Regulations.
(2) The Bureau may not use international guidelines and principles where they are inappropriate for reasons such as—
(a) national security requirements;
(b) the prevention of deceptive practices;
(c) protection of human health or safety;
(d) the environment, fundamental climatic or other geographical factors; or
(e) fundamental technological or infrastructural problems.
(1) The Bureau shall carry out conformity assessment of all products covered by the compulsory standards that are imported or locally manufactured in Botswana.
(2) The Bureau shall ensure that no product is placed on the market that does not comply with the provisions of the relevant compulsory standards.
(1) The Bureau may, where possible, delegate to or collaborate with other regulatory agencies and authorities.
(2) Every delegation under subregulation (1) shall be revocable by the Bureau and no delegation shall prevent the exercise by the Bureau of any function delegated under this regulation.
(3) The Bureau shall be responsible for all decisions made under subregulation (1).
(4) The Bureau may periodically and as appropriate, introduce monitoring mechanisms to enhance regulatory compliance.
9. Compliance with regulations
(1) A person who manufactures, produces or imports products into Botswana shall ensure that the products meet the requirements of the compulsory standards specified in Schedule I.
(2) A person shall not manufacture, produce, import or place a product on the market, which does not meet the requirements of the compulsory standards specified in Schedule I.
(3) A person shall not import or place a product on the market, which cannot be freely sold in the country of origin.
(4) An importer of a product covered by compulsory standards specified in Schedule I shall ensure that the product is subjected to inspection and testing for conformity to the compulsory standard in the country of origin and a certificate of conformity is issued before the product is shipped to Botswana.
(5) A local producer or a manufacturer of a product covered by a compulsory standard specified in Schedule I shall ensure that the product is subjected to inspection and testing for conformity to the compulsory standard before being placed on the market.
(6) The Bureau may affix a mark on a product, which has been inspected, tested and determined to comply with the requirements of relevant compulsory standards.
10. Appointment of inspection agencies
(1) The Bureau may designate or appoint an inspection agency in the country of origin of the product to undertake verification of conformity to the compulsory standards before the product is shipped into Botswana.
(2) The designated inspection agency shall carry out conformity assessment of the product to assess its compliance to the compulsory standards upon receipt of a request from the importer.
(3) An importer of a product shall be liable to pay the assessment fees to the inspection agency.
(4) An inspection agency shall issue the applicant with a certificate of conformity where the product complies with the requirements of the compulsory standards and shall notify the Bureau accordingly.
(5) An inspection agency shall issue a non-conformity report to the Bureau where the product does not comply with the requirements of the compulsory standards.
(6) The Bureau and the designated inspection agency shall agree on the procedures and process to be used by the inspection agencies to determine product compliance to the compulsory standards.
(7) The Bureau shall regularly monitor the activities of the designated inspection agency to ensure that they conduct the inspection in accordance with the agreed procedures.
11. Application for certificate of compliance
(1) An importer of a consignment containing a product for which a compulsory standard has been provided under Schedule I shall apply to the Bureau for a certificate of compliance.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subregulation (3), the Bureau may in exceptional circumstances give permission to the importer to apply for a certificate of compliance in less than 14 days prior to the arrival of the product into Botswana.
(3) An application for a certificate of compliance shall be made to the Bureau in Form A set out in Schedule II at least 14 days prior to the arrival of the product into Botswana and shall be accompanied by—
(a) a certificate of conformity issued by a designated inspection agency; and
(b) an application fee specified in Schedule III.
(4) The Bureau may request the applicant to submit the following documents together with the application—
(a) the packing list;
(b) test report;
(c) the document reflecting the port of entry through which the product is to be imported;
(d) an invoice or proforma invoice of the product in respect of which a compliance certificate is sought;
(e) the bill of lading or airway bill; or
(f) such other documents as the Bureau may require.
12. Handling of an application
(1) An authorised officer shall, upon receipt of an application verify all the documents to ensure that the application is duly filled and accompanied by all the necessary attachments.
(2) An authorised officer may verify the products to ensure that such products match with the declaration in the application and the certificate of conformity.
(3) The Bureau shall issue a certificate of compliance in respect of the products that have been determined to conform to the compulsory standards upon payment by the applicant of a certification fee specified in Schedule III.
(4) A certificate of compliance issued in accordance with subregulation (3) shall be signed by the Managing Director or any officer of the Bureau authorised in writing, by the Managing Director.
(5) A certificate of compliance issued in accordance with subregulation (3) shall be valid for the period stated in the certificate or the expiration of the shelf life of the product to which it relates, whichever comes first.
(6) A certificate of compliance issued in accordance with subregulation (3) may be extended for such a period, as the Bureau may deem appropriate upon payment of a fee specified in Schedule III.
(7) The Bureau shall consider an application made under these Regulations within 14 days from the date of submitting the application.
(1) An Application for remote inspection shall be made to the Bureau in Form B set out Schedule II.
(2) A person who makes an application to the Bureau for remote inspection shall pay inspection fees for local or international inspections as specified under Schedule III.
14. Products bearing the standards mark
Where a manufacturer, producer or an importer of a product is licensed to use the standards mark by the Bureau, he or she shall not be required to apply for a certificate of compliance in respect of that product.
(1) A person who imports any product without a certificate of conformity from a country where an appointed inspection agency is present shall pay a surcharge of 15 per cent of the CIF value of the product and the relevant fees to the Bureau before being subjected to destination inspection and testing for conformity to the compulsory standards under these Regulations.
(2) A product which arrives at the port of entry without a certificate of conformity from a country where an appointed inspection agency is not present, shall be subjected to destination inspection and testing for conformity to compulsory standards at the expense of the importer.
(3) A person who intends to import a product from a country where no inspection agency is present shall at least 14 days prior to the arrival of the product notify the Bureau of his or her intention to import such a product.
(4) A product that is accompanied with the certificate of conformity may also be subjected to destination inspection and testing where the authorised officer finds reason to doubt the compliance with the relevant compulsory standard.
(5) An importer of the product shall be responsible for the costs of storage, analysis and any other incidental charges incurred during the destination inspection.
(6) Any product subject to destination inspection shall be inspected and evaluated by the authorised officer or designated inspection agency to determine conformity to the relevant compulsory standard.
(7) The authorised officer or designated inspection agency may take a sample of the product for laboratory analysis during the destination inspection to determine conformity to the relevant compulsory standard.
(8) The Managing Director or any officer of the Bureau authorised in writing by the Managing Director shall issue a certificate of compliance in respect of the products that have been subjected to destination inspection and determined to conform to the relevant compulsory standard.
(9) A certificate of compliance issued in accordance with subregulation (8) shall be valid for the period stated in the certificate or the expiration of the shelf life of the product to which it relates, whichever comes first.
(10) A certificate of compliance issued in accordance with subregulation (8) may be extended for such a period, as the Bureau may deem appropriate upon payment of a fee specified in Schedule III.
(11) The authorised officer shall issue a seizure notice and notify the relevant authorities including the Botswana Unified Revenue Service and the product shall not be permitted entry in the domestic market where they have been subjected to destination inspection and have been determined not to conform to the compulsory standards.
(1) An inspector may conditionally release a product to an address specified in the conditional release certificate where an importer has cleared with customs requirements, but the Bureau has subjected the products to inspection, sampling and testing.
(2) An inspector may seal an imported consignment prior to releasing the consignment under subregulation (1).
(3) A conditional release under seal shall be subject to payment of a conditional release certificate fee specified in the Schedule III in addition of the inspection fees.
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