CCC: Market for product certifications in China will be liberalized
12. June 2014On June 6, 2014, the Chinese authority CNCA (Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese: 中国国家认证认可监督管理委员会) published a significant announcement on their website. They announced that they will open the market for product certifications in China, allowing other certifying authorities besides the existing ones (e.g. CQC and CCAP or the Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Center) and accredited test laboratories the opportunity to accept applications for CCC certifications and/or to conduct product tests in the future.
By allowing more choices, the Chinese certification industry should become more “market-driven” and competitive. More and more products and product groups are added to the official CCC product catalogue, requiring more applications to be handled. In addition, new or updated GB Standards and implementation rules are published consequently and they must be implemented accordingly. Opening the certification market up should help relieve the workload from the existing certification authorities.
The CNCA will be re-evaluating their resource allocation, to streamline the certification process. This new policy of allowing more certifying authorities will ultimately give the CNCA more authority, minimizing the National government and State control in the field of product certification.
In an effort to control and minimize these adverse effects, there are strict guidelines and requirements for institutions which are seeking certification approval. For example, the maximum number of approved bodies will be regulated and limited, based on the product groups. Also, the geographical distribution will be determined to avoid a concentration of certification bodies, in for example urban areas.
Test laboratories and institutions which are planning to apply certification approval must meet the following requirements:
- The test lab or certification body shall have at least two years of experience in the field of product certifications
- They must have solid financial backing
- They must have a qualified and certified staff
- They must be independent and impartial
- The technical equipment and devices must be approved and meet the requirements of CCC regulations and GB Standards
It remains to be seen how the market for product certifications will develop in China. The hurdles to be officially authorized by the Chinese government are stringent and difficult. At this point it is unknown to what extent the liberalization of the certification process will be and if the CCC applicants will be able to freely choose their certifying authority.
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Information regarding GB-Standards, CCC certification, the certification process and the costs can be found on our website. You will also find details regarding our certification package on our website including a general anticipated time frame. Take a look at our references section to see a list of some of our clients and what they are saying about us. For more detailed information please download our free booklet “CCC Made Easy” here.
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