FACTS ON PVoC INSPECTION ON IMPORTED GOODS
Airwagon Cargo Movers Ltd
To be the market leader in the Kenyan clearing and forwarding industry.
As an importer do you know what PVOC Inspection is and entails? The Pre-Verification of Conformity (PVOC) Program is a conformity assessment program applied to products at the respective exporting countries, to ensure their compliance with the applicable Kenya standards, approved specifications and other applicable regulations.
There are two ways in which the Inspection can be carried out, goods can be inspected at the Origin country or undergo Local Inspection upon arrival.
ORIGIN INSPECTION
The process of inspecting the goods at Origin involves a clearing agent, supplier and a specific authorized inspection body at the Origin country.
Most Importers are afraid of the process which they assume is a tedious process which in fact is not if you have a capable clearing agent. This process starts with lodging an Import Declaration form (IDF) in the KRA ICMS System by your clearing agent and upon approval we share with the supplier at country of Origin. We also assist your supplier to get contacts of the local office of the Approved Inspection body near them.
The next step is the coordination of the Supplier and Inspection Body where by the supplier is asked to fill out documentation in regards to the goods and an inspection date set. The inspection body representative will then visit the factory for physical verification and inspection of the goods is done. Once completed and goods pass the standard inspection, a draft Certificate of conformity (COC) is issued for approval by the customs agent in Kenya to ensure that it meets the customs standards.
Once the Draft is confirmed to proceed, the clearing agent will submit the same to the inspection body to enable them issue a final COC. On arrival the final COC is the document attached for release of shipment with Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).
LOCAL INSPECTION
This is the process of conducting the Inspection process on arrival of goods in Kenya. The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) will charge the inspection at 5% of the Cost, Insurance and Freight(CIF) of your goods value for shipments that come from countries where there is presence of approved Inspection bodies but you as an importer opted for Local Inspection. Another scenario of Local Inspection is whereby there is no approved body of PVoC inspection at Origin country thus goods are imported without origin inspection, in this case the charges for local inspection is 0.6% or minimum of 265 dollars whichever is higher of the CIF value of your goods.
PVoC inspection can only be conducted by specific inspection bodies approved by Kenya Bureau of Standards. These bodies are divided into zones in specific countries to make it easier for the importer to know which body to contact at their location.
General Goods are divided under different routes to determine what inspection progress they will undergo. These routes are as follows; the information below can be found at www.kebs.org.
Route A (Consignment inspection and Testing)
Under this Route, products to be shipped have to be both tested and physically inspected to demonstrate conformity to relevant standards. This route is open to all products being exported by either traders or manufacturers.
Route B (Product Registration)
This route offers a fast track certification process for goods with reasonable and consistent levels of quality through registration of such products by the PVoC Agent. Product registration is recommended to Exporters having frequent shipments of homogenous products. The registration is valid for a period of one year. Shipments of registered products are exempted from mandatory testing and certification may be based on physical inspection only. However, regular testing of registered product is still required to ensure product conformity throughout the registration period.
The following products are however not eligible for registration under Route B (i.e. are subject to certification under Route A only);
? Sugar
? Cereals and pulses such as Rice, wheat, beans, Maize etc.
? Fertilizer
? Animal and Fishery products (fresh and frozen- not further processed)
? Fresh dairy Products
? Fresh horticultural produce
? Used or second hand goods
Route C Product Licensing
This route is open only to manufacturers who can demonstrate existence of a quality management system in their production/ manufacturing process. It involves auditing of such production processes and licensing of products manufactured thereof by authorized PVoC Agent(s) in line with ISO Guide 28: 2004.
On successful conclusion of this process, the manufacturer will be presented with a License for the relevant products valid for a period of one (1) year. Licensed products shall be subject to random physical inspection by authorized PVoC Agent(s) prior issuance of Certificate of Conformity and subsequent shipping of the same. However, the PVoC Agent(s) shall carry out limited testing during the license valid period.
Note: The PVoC Agent(s) will review the Request for Certification (RFC) received from the exporter before determining the most appropriate certification route and the applicable standard to be used in the certification process.
Route D Consolidated Cargo Imports
This route is open only to registered importers of consolidated cargo. This is cargo containing a wide range of products or merchandise generally in small quantities or parcels belonging to several consignees who have pooled or assembled together their parcels to form one consignment which may be declared as belonging to one importer at the port of destination or de-consolidated back into the original individual consignments for delivery to the respective cargo owners upon arrival at destination port.
For purposes of this procedure a consolidated cargo shall contain not less than 3 different products/ brands.
Registered consolidators, who bring together separate items from different individuals or sources into a one consignment for importation, shall apply for certification and submit the packing list and commercial invoice to PVoC agent at least forty-eight (48) hours before inspection. The PVoC agents shall assign the required number of inspectors to the consolidation points to undertake inspection and thereafter issue Certificate of Inspection (COI). High risk goods imported through this Route shall be subjected to testing at destination by KEBS before release. Importers of such goods are required to meet the cost of testing at destination.
FEES CHARGED UNDER THE PVOC PRGRAM
Route A: 0.60% of the FOB Value min USD 265 max USD 2700
Route B: 0.55% of the FOB Value min USD 265 max USD 2700
Route C: 0.35% of the FOB Value min USD 265 max USD 2700
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Route D: 0.75% of the FOB Value min USD 265 max USD 2700
The above fees cover documentary verification, physical inspection and sampling including sealing of the containers where applicable. The fees do not include: -
? Laboratory testing
? Manufacturer Licensing
? Registration fees
? Sampling of Bulk shipment
? Re-inspection.
These services shall be charged directly by the contractor on a case by case basis.
PVOC Contractors (Inspection bodies)
? World Standardization Certification &Testing Group(Shenzhen) Co. Ltd
? China Hansom Inspection & Certificate Co. Ltd
? TUV Austria Turk
? CCIC
? SGS
Countries NOT subject to PVoC Program (Goods from these countries to be subjected to destination inspection)
? Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal
? North Korea
? Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Polynesia Islands, Samoa
? Estonia, Latvia
? Albania, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania
? Iceland
? Israel
? Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara
? Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Sudan, Tunisia
? Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote D’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
? Angola, Central Africa Republic, Congo Brazzaville, DRC, Gabon
? Botswana, Madagascar, Malawi, Seychelles, Zambia, Zimbabwe
? United Kingdom and Ireland
As an importer always ensure to observe the KEBS Standards on the goods you import to avoid losses, destruction of goods or return to origin at your cost if found unfit for use in Kenya.
Choose us today as your clearing agent to ensure that your goods are in conformity with KEBS Standards no matter where they are coming from globally.
Tel:0722167738/0722979255
WhatsApp :0719606104
Email:[email protected]