FAQ

It shall be also noted that in accordance with paragraph 1, Article 4 of the Agreement, technical regulations are developed only in respect of the products included in the consolidated list of products subject to compulsory requirements of the Customs Union (hereinafter - the Consolidated List). In accordance with paragraph 4, Article 3 of the Agreement the Parties shall not allow any compulsory requirements to be fixed in their laws in respect of the products that are not included in the consolidated list.

Thus, products shall no be subject to any additional requirements .​

Before that moment the Parties had to take respective measures for implementing the CU technical regulations? in particular, where it concerned bringing national laws in conformity with the provisions of the CU technical regulations. The Eurasian Economic Commission repeatedly asked the governments of the Customs Union member states to provide information concerning the implementation of the CU technical regulations that came into force. However, until now such information has not been provided to the Commission.

Products of foreign manufacturers other than the CU member states shall be shall be provided with certificates or declarations of conformity in accordance with the national law of a Customs Union member state, or uniform certificates of conformity for the products subject to compulsory certification (item "1" in the Consolidated list).

In accordance with paragraph 5 of the Decision of the Customs Union Commission of 18.06.2010 No. 319 "On Technical Regulation in the Customs Union" from 1 July 2010, certification and registration of declarations of conformity in respect of the products included in the Consolidated List shall be organized by competent authorities of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.

In accordance with paragraph 12 of the note to the Consolidated List of products, uniform certificates and declarations of conformity issued and accepted are documents confirming the conformity of respective products with the requirements of national laws of the Customs Union member states.

In accordance with paragraph 5 of the Instruction on the Unified register of issued uniform certificates of conformity and registered uniform declarations of conformity approved by the Decision of the CU Commission of 18 June, 2010 No. 319,information about certificates and declarations of conformity shall be recorded by the Parties' competent bodies in the national parts of the unified Register based on a decision to issue a certificate or registration of a declaration of conformity, or their suspension, renewal, extension or termination in the manner established by the Party's law.​

2. If the products is only subject to declaration (like perfumes and cosmetics), and the test laboratory that delivers conformity assessment (confirmation) has no accreditation for individual parameters, is it possible to enter into test subcontracts for such parameters with other test laboratories?

May a conformity assessment body enter into subcontracts for individual parameters with laboratories from other CU states having accreditation for such parameters and included in the register of the CU test laboratories?​

3.Will the products covered by the CU technical regulations be excluded from national lists?

3. In accordance with paragraph 4 Article 2 of the Agreement on Uniform Principles and Rules of Technical Regulation in the Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation the Parties shall ensure circulation of the products meeting the requirements of technical regulations of the CU without imposing any additional requirements in respect to those contained in the CU technical regulation for such product and without following any additional conformity assessment (confirmation) procedures.​

In the Republic of Belarus, in accordance with the "Conformity Confirmation Rules of the National Conformity Confirmation System of the Republic of Belarus " (approved by the Directive of Gosstandart of 26.05.2011 No. 23), copies of certificates of conformity shall be executed on standard forms, certified by an accredited certification authority that issued the certificate or by regional standardization, metrology and certification centers.

In the Russian Federation, in accordance with the letter of the State Committee of the Russian federation for Standardization and Metrology of 22.09.2000 No. ИК-110-19/3022 (in pursuance of article 12 of the Rules of Sale of Certain Types of Goods approved by the Directive of the Government of the Russian Federation of 19.01.1998 No. 55, as amended by Directives of 20.10.1998 No. 1222 and of 2.10.1999 No. 1104), copies of certificates of conformity shall be made on sheets of white paper and certified by the holder of the original certificate of conformity, a notary or the certification authority that issued the certificate of conformity .

In the Republic of Kazakhstan, in accordance with the CU technical regulation "Conformity Confirmation Procedures" (approved by the Directive of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 4 February 2008 No. 90 )  copies of certificates of conformity shall be made on standard forms and certified by the signature of a head officer or his authorized representative and the stamp of a certification authority.

At present. Gosstandart of the Republic of Belarus is preparing a draft program for the development of interstate standards for this technical regulation, which implies the development of an interstate standard based on ISO 18416-2009 by the Republic of Belarus.

The lists of standards to CU TR 007/2011 have no regulatory document for the detection of ethylene glycol in air.

- a certificate for the manufacturer's management system (if available);

- information about completed research (if any);

- reports for machine and/or equipment tests performed by the manufacturer, seller, person acting as a foreign manufacturer and/or test laboratories (centers) (if any);

- certificates of conformity for materials, components or their test reports (if any);

- certificates of conformity for such machines and/or equipment received from foreign certification bodies (if any);

other documents directly or indirectly confirming the conformity of machines and/or equipment to safety requirements of this technical regulation (if any).

Questions:

1. If none of the above documents is available, the conformity confirmation authority cannot dismiss the application for conformity confirmation even if the documents provided are not sufficient for conformity confirmation?

2. Article 4 of this technical regulation reads about safety assurance of machines and/or equipment during development (design). In this connection we consider it necessary to make project and design documentation part of evidentiary materials used as a basis for making a declaration of conformity, as a safety case.

3. Article 5 of this technical regulation reads about safety assurance of machines and/or equipment during manufacture, storage, transportation, operation and disposal. n this connection we consider it necessary to make regulatory documentation (translated into a national and/or the Russian language) part of evidentiary materials used as a basis for making a declaration of conformity, as a safety case.​

In accordance with paragraph 10, Article 8 of the technical regulation a "safety case" is part of the package of documents for machines and/or equipment that confirms their conformity with the safety requirements of the technical regulation.

3. It is not clear which regulatory documents are meant. In Article 5 of the Technical regulation no regulatory documents are mentioned.

​According to paragraph 10, Article 8 of the technical regulation a package of documents for machines and/or equipment which confirms their conformity with the safety requirements of the technical regulation includes, without limitation:

- a safety case;

- specifications (if any);

- operating documents;

- a list of standards given in Article 6 applicable to such machines and/or equipment (if used by the manufacturer).

Question: For identification of products (machines and/or equipment), considering their complexity, this list shall be put into conformity with the Common Customs Tariff of the Customs Union.

Due to its structure and content the Common Customs Tariff of the Customs Union cannot be used for identification of machines and/or equipment.

Please be also informed that the plan of actions required for the implementation of the technical regulation approved by the Decision of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission of  5 April 2012 No. 22 imply development and approval of a List of Products giving their codes in accordance with the Foreign Trade Goods Classification of the Customs Union (TN VED codes) for all products where a customs declaration submitted to a customs authority shall be accompanied by one of conformity documents confirming the product compliance with the requirements of a technical regulation, and such list shall be prepared before 15 February, 2013.

 In accordance with the technical regulation "On Safety of Machines and Equipment" gas burner conformity confirmation is carried out through conformity declaration.

In accordance with the technical regulation "On Safety of Gas-Fuelled Devices" gas burner conformity confirmation is carried out through certification.

In both cases it concerns industrial gas burners that is why two technical regulations contradict each other.

Thus, the above regulations have different regulation objects.

Besides, clear instructions shall be given as to what documents shall be included in the package: for certification and conformity declaration.

Until the present the Commission has not received any proposals from the Parties.

2. Documents cancelled, repealed in the RF and replaced according to different information management systems are 34 items, which is 9%

The Party's body in charge of the development together with the Party's standardization body ensures update of the List at least once a year based on monitoring and the results of application of standards included in the List, and the Parties' proposals on their update.

78 items are replaced for standards 2011 which are unobtainable, this is 21.5% of the entire list.

2. Documents cancelled, repealed in the RF and replaced according to different information management systems are 

20 items which is 5.5% of the entire list..

The Party's body in charge of the development together with the Party's standardization body ensures update of the List at least once a year based on monitoring and the results of application of standards included in the List, and the Parties' proposals on their update.

It shall be specified for what products and for which parameters and specific items of particular regulatory documents certification tests with non-destructive testing are required, so that the conformity confirmation procedure did not shock the Applicant. For this purpose a conformity confirmation procedure shall be developed for specific products with specific TN VED codes for specific parameters specifying regulatory documents (for products and test methods) and specific items. Then there will be no misunderstanding concerning the procedure of conformity confirmation in the form of certification..

With any proposals concerning the introduction of relevant amendments to the List of Standards, which imply application of individual sections (paragraphs, subparagraphs) of the standard, where the compliance with the technical regulation of the Customs Union may be ensured by application of individual sections (paragraphs, subparagraphs) of the standard rather than the entire standard, one shall contact the technical regulation authority of the Republic of Kazakhstan.​

What uniform approach and mutual recognition is meant in this context?

The Federal Accreditation Service is a competent federal executive body having functions of the Russian Federation national authority for accreditation.

10) information about the documents filed by the applicant to the certification authority and confirming that the products meet the requirements of regulatory documents, information about completed surveys (tests) and measurements…

The Kazakh Party observes the requirements of this directive. Information in the in the national parts of the Unified Register is given in accordance with p.6 of the Directive. However, the Russian and the Belarus parts of the Unified Register have no information specified in pp. 4, 5, 6, 10 of the Directive* (see pages 10-12).

information about declarations of conformity specified in subparagraphs1 – 6, 8 and 11 of paragraph 7 of this Directive.

 Question: Can this problem be solved in the context of the Customs Union?

Until the present, the EEC have received no response.

Question: what shall be done in case of actual difficulties with the delivery of product samples for testing? It  possible to provide an option for performing tests at the manufacturer's sites, including abroad?

For example, paragraph 6, Article 6 of the technical regulation of the Customs Union "On Safety of Equipment to be Operated in Explosion Hazardous Environment" establishes that, if necessary, due to specific manufacturing and installation procedures, as provided by the manufacturer in technical manufacturing or installation documents, equipment tests may be performed at the place of its manufacture and/or installation.

With any substantiated proposals concerning the introduction of relevant amendments to the technical regulation of the Customs Union, one shall contact the technical regulation authority of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Why many CU TRs only provide for conformity confirmation through declaration?

The procedure of state control (oversight) over the observance of the technical regulations of the Customs Union in the manner established in the laws of each Party is provided in Article 120 of the Agreement.

In accordance with paragraph 5 of the Instruction on the application of model conformity assessment (confirmation) procedures in the technical regulations of the Customs Union, approved by the Decision of the Customs Union Commission of 7 April 2011 No. 621, conformity assessment forms and procedures shall be selected based on the total of the risk of misleading conformity assessment and the damage from the use of assessed products. Conformity assessment forms and procedures shall be selected based on the following key factors:

degree of products potential danger;

sensitivity of target values to changing production and/or operating factors;

status of the applicant (manufacturer, manufacturer's authorized representative, seller, supplier);

adequacy of the degree of proof of conformity and costs of conformity assessment to the purposes of the technical regulation.

4) In the CU TR 019/2011 for individual protection devices:

P. 4.4., item 17 where it concerns test methods - there are inconsistencies in the names of regulatory documents: GOST R 12-4.218-2002 "Safety Standards System. Individual Protection Devices: Method of Measurement of Materials Permeability in Aggressive Media", and STB GOST R 12-4.218-2001 «Safety Standards System. Protective Work wear. General Specifications".​

Currently, based on the proposals from the Parties' authorities we have prepared the draft amendment to the Lists of Standards to the technical regulations "On Safety of Low-Voltage Equipment", "On Safety of Products Designed for Children and Teenagers", "On Safety of Toys". "On Safety of Consumer Goods", "On Safety of Grain", "On Safety of Individual Protection Devices", "Technical Regulation for Fruit and Vegetable Juice Products", which is to be considered at the third meeting of the Advisory Committee for Technical Regulation, Sanitary, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Measures.

The Commission have not received any proposals concerning the update of the list of standards to the technical regulation "Electromagnetic Compatibility of Equipment" from the Parties.

It is impossible to give the details of each developer organization for each procedure.

When updating the lists of standards, the Party's body responsible to the development of the technical regulation shall put them into conformity with the Regulation on List Compilation Procedure and provide for the development of ISO-based interstate standards when preparing the draft Program of Development of Interstate Standards to a technical regulation.

- documents adopted by the EEC are given in the section "The Eurasian Economic Commission"/ "Documents of the Eurasian Economic Commission".

- documents adopted by the Commission of the Customs Union are given in the section "Documents"/ "Catalogue of CUC Decisions".

Is it possible, to avoid endless updating of accreditation areas of accredited entities, to give in the accreditation area a TN VED code of the group (2 first digits) or the commodity item (4 digits) rather than subitems and subheadings?

For convenience of use of national regulatory documents of the Parties given in the lists of regulatory documents to the CU TRs one may use Indexes of Standards. While it is rather simple to buy the Russian Index buying the Index of Standards of the Republic of Belarus is connected with certain difficulties.

e-mail: belgiss@mail.belpak.by, info@belgiss.by www.belgiss.by 

Working hours - from 8.30 till 17.00

Lunch break - from 12.00 till 12.30​

The technical regulation CU TR 017/2011 provides for two forms of conformity confirmation: declaration (both based on own proofs (procedures 1d, 2d), and with participation of accredited laboratories (procedures 3d, 4d, 6d)) and certification (procedures 1с, 2с, 3с). Procedures of declaration based on own proofs may be replaced by declaration procedures with participation of accredited laboratories, or in general - declaration may be substituted by certification.

Items subject to certification are underwear, shape wear, swimwear and similar items, bed-linen, 1st layer (summer time) hosiery.

Items subject to declaration with  participation of accredited laboratories (procedures 3d, 4d, 6d) are:

- 2nd and 3rd layer clothing and garments;

- jersey fabrics;

- longcloths, apparel and huckaback textiles and fabrics;

- leather and fur clothing and garments;

- 2nd layer (winter time) hosiery;

- headwear;

- footwear, except felted footwear;

- carpeting and machine-made ware.

Items subject to declaration based on own proofs (procedures 1d, 2d) are:

neckwear (scarves, neck pieces, headscarves), bedding, textile cloths: shoe, decoration, furniture, artificial fur, and fabric with woven-in pile, narrow fabrics, leather haberdashery articles, felt, batt and nonwoven fabrics, manmade and genuine leather, processed fur skins.

Article 11of the technical regulation establishes that, for the purposes of conformity confirmation (both for declaration and certification) the applicant may add to the package of documents confirming the products conformity with the requirements of CU TR 017/2011, test reports of the consumer goods samples (standard goods samples) (with validity of no more than 3 years).

Besides, please note that the requirements of the technical regulation of the Customs Union (CU TR 017/2011) "On Safety of Consumer Goods" is not applicable to the following:

- second-hand products;

- products made to private orders;

- healthcare articles;

- special-purpose, in-house, personal protection products and materials that they are manufactured from;

- designed for children and teenagers;

- packaging textiles, woven bags;

- материалы и изделия из них технического назначения;

- textiles and industrial textile articles;

- gift products and arts and crafts items;

- sporting articles designed for outfit of sport teams.

The Decision establishes transitional provisions including those concerning the validity of documents with assessment (confirmation) of conformity with compulsory requirements issued before the technical regulation came into force.

In accordance with subparagraph 3.2, paragraph 3 of the Decision, documents with assessment (confirmation) of conformity with compulsory requirements established by regulatory legal acts of the Customs Union or the laws of any Customs Union member state and issued for the products being the subject of technical regulation of a technical regulation before the technical regulation came into force, shall remain in force until their expiry subject to the maximum of 1 July, 2014. Such documents, issued or adopted before the official release of the Decision, shall be valid until the date of their expiry.

Please be also informed that in accordance with subparagraph 3.3, paragraph 3 of the Decision, before the 1 July, 2014 products may be put into circulation in accordance with compulsory requirements previously established by regulatory legal acts of the Customs Union or the laws of any Customs Union member state, if they are provided with the documents on assessment (confirmation) of conformity of the products with such compulsory requirements, issued or adopted before the adoption date of the technical regulation. Such products cannot be remarked and shall be marked with a national conformity mark (market circulation mark) in accordance with the decisions of the Customs Union Commission of 20 September, 2010 No.386.

In accordance with paragraph 3, Article 3 of the technical regulation, products, when released to and put into circulation in the market, shall be accompanies by complete and reliable information about them by means of marking for prevention of any actions misleading the consumers (users) of the goods in respect of the products safety.

In accordance with paragraph 2, Article 3 of the technical regulation, consumer goods which conformity with the requirements of the technical regulation is not confirmed, cannot be marked with the common market circulation mark of the Customs Union member states and cannot be put into circulation in the market.

Subparagraph 3.3-1, paragraph  3 of the Decision provides for production and putting into circulation in the customs territory of the Customs Union of the products that, before the before effective date of the technical regulation, was not subject to compulsory assessment (confirmation) of conformity under regulatory legal acts of the Customs Union or the laws of any Customs Union member state, without documents of compulsory assessment (confirmation) of conformity and without any national conformity (market circulation) mark.

It shall be also noted that in accordance with subparagraph 3.4, paragraph 3 of the Decision, circulation of the products put into circulation during the validity of the conformity assessment (confirmation) documents specified in subparagraph 3.2 of the Decision, and the products specified in subparagraph 3.3-1 of the Decision is allowed during the service life of the products determined in accordance with the laws of the Customs Union member state.

At the same time, in accordance with paragraph 2 of the technical regulation, circulation of products in the market shall mean products movement from manufacturer to user (consumer), embracing all processes that such products undergo after their production is completed, and putting products into circulation means marketing in the Customs Union member states of the products shipped from the warehouse of the manufacturer, seller or the person acting for the foreign manufacturer, or shipped without storage, or exported for sale in the territory of the Customs Union member states.

(The answer has been prepared in accordance with the acts in force as of 30 November, 2012)