The GCC certification, also known as G-Mark certification, stands for Gulf Cooperation Council. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was established in May 1981 and is the primary political and economic organization in the Gulf region, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The GSO, or Gulf Standardization Organization, was established to ensure the safety and quality of products entering the Gulf market and to participate in the development of production and service sectors through various standardization activities. The current member countries of the GSO include the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Yemen, totaling seven countries. In the field of standardization and conformity assessment, products that obtain the GC mark certification can enter the markets of these seven countries. Currently, the GSO is actively working to unify the standards and certification procedures among the seven countries and has already released unified technical regulations for toys and low-voltage electrical equipment. The GC mark certification serves as a market access certificate for products entering the markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states.
The GCC certification is mandatory and covers a wide range of products. The applicable product range mainly includes, but is not limited to, the following:
1. Household electric fans
2. Refrigerators, freezers, and other household freezing devices
3. Centrifugal clothes dryers, washing machines, and washer-dryer combos
4. Food grinders, blenders, fruit juicers, and vegetable juicers
5. Household toasters, electric hair clippers, and hand dryers
6. Household electric heating devices, soil heaters, microwaves, electric pots, hot plates, heating rings, barbecues, and ovens
7. Electric water heaters, storage water heaters, immersion liquid heaters, and electric irons
8. Plugs, sockets, adapters, power cords, extension cords, and chargers
9. Air conditioners, toy products, etc.
What are the certification modes for GCC certification?
1. Non-mandatory products: Apply for customs clearance documents according to previous processes;
2. Mandatory products: Products undergo testing, and a GCC type certification certificate is issued by a GSO-designated recognized body.
The process for obtaining GCC certification in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries is as follows:
1. Confirm whether the product falls within the mandatory range, and determine the product category and standards, providing the product specifications to the certification engineer for a quote;
2. The certification engineer (I⑧ б 二O9I Oб 8④) will quote based on the product specifications;
3. Confirm the quote, fill out the application form, send samples, and make payment;
4. The laboratory will test the samples upon receipt;
5. After passing the test, the applicant can obtain the GCC certification mark, which can be affixed to the product;
6. The application cycle for GCC certification in the Gulf Cooperation Council is approximately 2 to 3 weeks, and the certificate is valid for 3 years.