Introduction to SONCAP certification in Nigeria

The Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) is the government agency responsible for setting and enforcing quality standards for imported and domestically manufactured goods.In order to ensure the control products meet has obtained the country technical standard or other international standards, to protect consumers from unsafe products in Nigeria or do not conform to the standard product damage, Nigeria's national bureau decided to restrictions on exports to the country's products to implement mandatory conformity assessment procedure before shipment (hereinafter referred to as "SONCAP").

After years of implementation of SONCAP in Nigeria, the new SONCAP policy will be implemented on April 1, 2013 according to the latest notice.The exporter will not apply for SONCAP for each shipment, but apply for COC instead. After the exporter gets the COC, he will provide it to the importer to apply for SC.In addition, according to the product risk category requirements of on-site sampling testing, inspection and supervision of the installation.

Nigeria SONCAP certification control scope

1. All electronics and electronic products are available for public use, whether at home or in residential, office, retail, leisure and other environments.Examples include but not limited to household appliances, IT products, communications products, lighting products, audio-visual products

2. Motor vehicle tires

3. Car glass

4. Auto spare parts

5. Car batteries

6. Gas appliances

7. Toy

8. Certain galvanized steel products

9. Food and food

Chemicals 10.

Nigeria SONCAP certification process

There are three main steps to apply for Nigerian certification:

Step 1: product testing;

Step 2: apply for PCR/PCL product certificate;

Step 3: apply for a SONCAP certificate.

Product testing and PC certificate application process

1. Sample delivery test;

2. Test report issued by the organization with ISO17025 qualification;

3. Submit PC application form;

4. Provide product name, customs code, product photos and package photos;

5. For PCL, it is necessary to carry out system audit of the factory; it must have ISO9001 certificate..

Apply for SONCAP certificate

1. SONCAP application form;

2. PC certificate;

3. Inspect and supervise the loading and sealing of containers, and submit the final invoice and packing list after passing the inspection;

4. Submit form M;Commercial invoice and packing list;Photos of products and packaging;

5. If the PC registration certificate is from another company, the exporter needs to provide the English authorization letter of the company holding the PC.

Note: After the production of the goods, we should apply to our company for SONCAP immediately. We should inspect and supervise the loading of the goods according to the requirements and seal them, and issue the SONCAP certificate after passing the requirements.Application after shipment is not accepted.

There are three forms of Nigerian COC certification

Route A for occasional shipments A year

After the production of the exporter's goods, the inspector shall inspect the goods, and then take samples from the bulk goods for testing. After passing the test, the PR report shall be issued. Before shipment, the exporter shall conduct supervision and seal the goods, and the CoC certificate shall be issued after passing the test.

The documents to be submitted are as follows:

1) CoC application form

2) product name, product photo, customs code;

3) packing list

4) proforma invoice

5) FORMM number

Route B for multiple shipments a year.

Firstly, the exporter applies for PC. The process of applying for PC is as follows:

1) PC application form;

2) product name, product photo, customs code;

3) qualified test report issued by ISO 17025 qualified laboratory;

4) conduct system audit of the factory

The validity period of PC is one year.

After the goods are produced, the process of applying for CoC is as follows:

1) CoC application form;

2) packing list;

3) proforma invoice;

4) FORMM number

After the materials are complete, a certain percentage of the goods shall be inspected, sampled tested and supervised. The percentage shall not be less than 40%, and the CoC certificate shall be issued if qualified.

Route C for frequent shipments a year.

Firstly, the factory applies for Licence. The application conditions are as follows:

1) at least 4 successful applications based on RouteB;

2) the factory was audited twice and qualified.

3) qualified test report issued by ISO 17025 qualified laboratory;

The License is valid for one year.

After the goods are produced, the process of applying for CoC is as follows:

5) CoC application form;

6) packing list;

7) proforma invoice;

8) FORMM number

Once the materials are complete, a certain percentage of the goods shall be inspected and supervised, not less than twice a year.

Notes for SONCAP certification in Nigeria

(1)SONCAP certification belongs to CB certification system and recognizes CB reports, third-party reports of IEC standard system and third-party IEC(CB) test reports issued by certification bodies under CB system.Therefore, if there are CB reports or third-party test reports approved by other certification bodies, SONCAP certification focuses on the collation and provision of documentation.

(2) if a valid product test report can be provided and the required documents are complete and correct, GTS will normally issue a PC certificate within 5 working days.If a product test or factory audit is to be conducted, the certification cycle needs to be evaluated in combination with the test situation and the factory audit situation.

(3) certification fee mainly includes certification and reporting fee.If the product needs to be tested, the test fee shall be paid in addition.The cost of the certificate and report depends on the validity of the certificate, the number of product models, the number of trademarks, etc.In addition, different acceptance agencies, certification costs will vary.

(4) if the certificate expires and needs to be replaced, the latest safety test report (valid for 2 years) shall be prepared. The standard in the report shall be the latest IEC standard, and the name and model of the product in the certificate shall be the same as that in the report.

(5) when submitting SONCAP certification application, it is better to list a series of product names and models that need to be applied for, so that all products of the same type can be included in a PC certificate, which can save a lot of time and cost.

(6)SONCAP certification sometimes has inspection requirements, but the probability of inspection is not high.License-issuing organs will only put forward inspection requirements when they think it is necessary.

(7) prepare ISO9001 certificate before certification, which can be exempted from factory inspection and improve efficiency.