On September 27, 2023, the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced amendments to the "Inspection Regulations for General Household Electrical Appliances with regards to Freezer Products". These amendments introduce significant changes shown in the comparison tables below:

Exemptions from Inspection:

Please, note that products will be exempt from inspection under the following conditions:

• if a product has a USB connection port, the rated voltage of the unit is DC 5 V, it does not come with a power adapter, and it is not powered by a secondary battery;
• if a product is solely powered by car power, including those equipped with a car cigarette lighter power supply, and is not powered by secondary batteries;
• if a product is using only three-phase voltage as the power supply;
• if a product is solely using primary batteries as the power supply;
• toy products subject to inspection announced by BSMI.

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Inspection of Freezers Post-Amendment:

Freezers newly listed for inspection after the amendments will be subject to inspection of imported and domestically produced products starting from January 1, 2025. The inspection method is batch-to-batch inspection for type approval or dual verification and registration. From the date of announcement, the BSMI can accept applications for type approval or verification registration of listed goods. If type approval is adopted for batch-to-batch inspection, the goods should first apply for type approval, obtain a type approval certificate, and submit for inspection before the goods are imported or shipped from the factory; Those who adopt verification registration will be issued a product verification registration certificate upon review by the BSMI.

Freezers listed for inspection following these amendments will be subject to inspection for both imported and domestically produced units starting from January 1, 2025. The inspection methods include batch-to-batch inspection for type approval or dual verification and registration. BSMI will accept applications for type approval or verification registration of listed goods from the date of announcement. For type approval, products must first apply and obtain a type approval certificate and undergo inspection before importing or factory shipment. For verification registration, a product verification registration certificate will be issued upon BSMI review.

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Transition Period Provisions:

Before January 1, 2025, manufacturers may use previous versions of the standards to demonstrate product compliance. Post-announcement, the procedures for type approval and verification registration will be as follows:

1. For existing certificate holders: Certificate holders must submit a type test report and technical documents that comply with the revised inspection standards before December 31, 2024, for certificate renewal. The validity date remains unchanged. For those who fail to renew the certificate within the expiration date, the type approval or verification registration will be revoked.
2. Certificate extension: Certificates obtained under previous inspection standards can be extended as per the "Commodity Type Approval Management Regulations" or the "Commodity Verification Registration Regulations" according to the original inspection regulations. The extended certificate will be valid until December 31, 2024. Extensions applied for from January 1, 2025, require submission of type test reports and technical documents that meet the revised standards to BSMI.
3. For new applicants: Applications for certificates under the pre-amended standards before December 31, 2024, will remain valid until December 31, 2024. For new inspections or applications from January 1, 2025, applicants must submit the revised standard's type test report, technical documents, information on the location of the restricted substance content, information on the restricted substance content, and declaration of content of restricted substances to obtain a certificate from BSMI. The certificate is valid for 3 years from the date of issuance (if the certificate issuance date of newly inspected products is before December 31, 2024, it will be valid from January 1, 2025).

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Inspection Mark Guidelines:

Upon receiving the approval or verification registration certificate, you must print the inspection mark on the product body.

• If you choose to apply for verification registration, your product should have inspection mark as follows:

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• For products subject to type approval, the following inspection marks should be used:

The identification number should be placed just below or to the right of the basic icon, with restricted substance content listed on the second line. The inspection mark's size is not specified but must be clearly visible on the product in an appropriate proportion.

"RoHS" indicates that the product's restricted substance content does not exceed the standard percentage.

"RoHS(XX,XX)" indicates that the product contains restricted substances (XX) exceeding the standard percentage content.

For more information on the regulation, please visit the official link.

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The information has been prepared by the GMA Consult Group team.

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