G/TBT/N/PHL/190
12 March 2015
(15-1410)
Page: 1/3
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
Original: English
NOTIFICATION
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6
1.
Notifying Member: PHILIPPINES
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):
2.
Agency responsible:
Bureau of Philippine Standards
Department of Trade and Industry
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:
Bureau of Philippine Standards
Department of Trade and Industry
361 Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenue
Makati City, Metro Manila
Philippines
E-mail: bps@dti.gov.ph/ajoycebrana@gmail.com
3.
Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [ ], 5.6.2 [ ], 5.7.1 [ ], other:
4.
Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable): This Department
Administrative Order (DAO) prescribes the rules and regulations on Product Safety
Certification Scheme for all products under BPS technical regulation, whether locally
manufactured/assembled or imported.
5.
Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:
Department Administrative Order No. ____ Series of _____
Subject: the new rules and regulations concerning the Product Safety Certification Scheme of
the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) (15 pages, in English)
6.
Description of content: This edition of the DAO cancels and replaces the DAO No. 4,
Series of 2008 and DAO no. 5, Series of 2008 which has been technically revised to
introduce the following changes.
1.
Merging of DAO Nos. 4 and 5 into one technical regulation.
Note: Under the TBT Agreement, maintaining separate guidelines for imported products
and locally manufactured products is against the WTO's National Treatment principle.
Member Economy must ensure that regulations, standards, testing and certification
procedure do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade.
2.
Focus is on safety parameters: the objective of the Product Safety Certification
Scheme is to safeguard consumers' interest by ensuring that products designated
under technical regulation meet the specified safety standards. Performance is left to
the market as competitive advantage.
2.1 Category of products:
2.1.1 Mandatory Certification
G/TBT/N/PHL/190
-22.1.2 Mandatory Labelling with Self-Declaration of Conformity
2.1.3 Voluntary Declaration
2.2 Delisting of products without safety issues from the BPS List of Products under
Mandatory Certification, but for strict compliance and monitoring with mandatory
labelling:
2.2.1
2.2.2
2.2.3
2.2.4
2.2.5
2.2.6
2.2.7
Ceramic tiles
Flat glass (raw material)
UPVC rigid electrical conduit
Plywood
Steel sheets for roofing
Steel wires (low carbon)
Wire nails
3.
Reduce costs of doing business (waiting time and handling costs)
4.
Removal of the Conditional Release
5.
Full transparency in procedures and requirements:
5.1 Mutual recognition of test result and conformity evaluation by accredited laboratory
and CABs (inspection and testing at country of origin) consistent with the principle of
Equivalence as stated in the TBT Agreement.
5.2 Simplify documentary requirements by requiring long term documents (such as
SEC registration) only once a year
6.
Intensified product and market surveillance:
6.1 Random sampling at post market
6.2 Implementation of suppliers Self-Declaration under the Marking and Labelling
Framework.
Suppliers must take responsibility for the products they place in the
market, whether they are imported or domestically produced. Markings and labels
indicate that products comply with the applicable standards. They also establish a
traceable link between a product and the supplier responsible for placing it on the
market.
At the domestic market, the revisions addressed:
7.
1.
Entry and proliferation of uncertified and/or substandard products in the market
2.
Technical capability constraints such as testing capability accredited laboratory, lack
of technically-trained manpower;
3.
Reducing the cost of doing business (reducing documentary requirement and
administrative procedures, shorter processing time, less handling costs i.e.
warehousing, eliminates multiple handling of the products and waiting time for lab
test result and inspection time).
4.
Increases assurance of the availability of safe products in the market.
5.
Less interface with the certification body thus guarding impartiality of the BPS
decision-making process.
6.
Less issues relative to port congestion and the auction of seized/substandard
products.
Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:
The objective of the Product Safety Certification Scheme is to ensure that products
designated under technical regulation meet the specified safety requirement/s consistent
with a mechanism of safeguarding impartiality set forth in ISO 17065.
G/TBT/N/PHL/190
-3-
8.
Relevant documents:







9.
DAO 4 Series of 2008: The New Rules and Regulations concerning the Philippine
Standard (PS) Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Scheme of the Bureau of
Product Standards (BPS);
DAO 5 Series of 2008: The New Rules and Regulations concerning the issuance of
the Product Certification of the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS);
ISO/IEC 17065 – Conformity Assessment – Requirements for Bodies Certifying
Products, Processes and Services;
ISO/IEC 17067 – Conformity Assessment – Fundamentals of Product Certification
and Guidelines for Product Certification Schemes;
ISO 19011 – Guidelines for Auditing;
ISO 9000 – Quality Management System – Fundamentals and Vocabulary;
ISO/IEC 9001 – Quality Management Systems – Requirements.
Proposed date of adoption: Proposed date of entry into force: This order shall take effect 15 days after publication in
a newspaper of general circulation
10.
Final date for comments: 60 days from notification
11.
Texts available from: National enquiry point [X] or address, telephone and fax
numbers and email and website addresses, if available, of other body:
Office of the Director
Bureau of Philippine Standards
Department of Trade and Industry
361 Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenue
Makati City, Metro Manila
Philippines
E-mail: bps@dti.gov.ph
Telephone No.: (632) 751-3130
Fax: (632) 751-4706