Law of the Russian Federation of June 10, 1993 N 5151-1 On certification of products and services.

Law of the Russian Federation of June 10, 1993 N 5151-1 On Certification of Products and Services.

Law of the Russian Federation  of June 10, 1993 N 5151-1

«On Certification of Products and Services»

(as amended by Federal Law of December 27, 1995 N 211-FZ)

This Law establishes the legal basis for mandatory and voluntary certification of products, services and other objects (hereinafter referred to as — products) in the Russian Federation, as well as the rights, obligations and responsibilities of certification participants.

Section I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Concept of certification

Certification of products (hereinafter referred to as «certification») is an activity to confirm the conformity of products with established requirements.

Certification is carried out for the purposes of:

creating conditions for the activities of enterprises, institutions, organizations and entrepreneurs in the single commodity market of the Russian Federation, as well as for participation in international economic, scientific and technical cooperation and international trade;

assisting consumers in making a competent choice of products;

protecting consumers from the dishonesty of the manufacturer (seller, contractor); monitoring the safety of products for the environment, life, health and property;

confirming the quality indicators of products declared by the manufacturer.

Certification may be mandatory and voluntary.

Article 2. Legislation of the Russian Federation on certification

Relations in the field of certification are regulated by this Law and the legislative acts of the Russian Federation issued with it.

Article 3. International treaties

If an international treaty of the Russian Federation establishes rules other than those contained in the legislation of the Russian Federation on certification, then the rules of the international treaty shall apply.

Article 4. Powers of the Committee of the Russian Federation for Standardization, Metrology and Certification

The Committee of the Russian Federation for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (hereinafter — Gosstandart of Russia) in accordance with this Law:

forms and implements state policy in the field of certification, establishes general rules and recommendations for conducting certification on the territory of the Russian Federation and publishes official information about them;

carries out state registration of certification systems and conformity marks operating in the Russian Federation;

publishes official information on certification systems and conformity marks operating in the Russian Federation and submits it in the established manner to international (regional) certification organizations;

prepares, in accordance with the established procedure, proposals for accession to international (regional) certification systems, and may also, in accordance with the established procedure, conclude agreements with international (regional) organizations on mutual recognition of certification results;

represents, in accordance with the established procedure, the Russian Federation in international (regional) organizations on certification issues as the national certification body of the Russian Federation.

Article 5. Certification System

1. The certification system is created by government authorities, enterprises, institutions and organizations and is a set of certification participants who carry out certification according to the rules established in this system in accordance with this Law.

The certification system may include enterprises, institutions and organizations regardless of their form of ownership, as well as public associations.

The certification system may include several certification systems for similar products.

2. Certification systems are subject to state registration in accordance with the procedure established by the State Standard of Russia.

Article 6. Certificate and conformity mark

1. Certificate of conformity (hereinafter referred to as the «certificate») is a document issued in accordance with the rules of the certification system to confirm the conformity of certified products with the established requirements.

A mandatory component of the certificate of conformity is the fire safety certificate.

The procedure for organizing and conducting certification of products and services in the field of fire safety is determined by the State Fire Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in agreement with the federal executive body in the field of standardization, metrology and certification. (paragraphs 2 and 3 were introduced by Federal Law No. 211-FZ of 27.12.95)

2. Conformity mark — a mark registered in the established manner, which, according to the rules established in a given certification system, confirms the conformity of the products marked with it with the established requirements.

The procedure for state registration of conformity marks is established by the State Standard of Russia.

3. The rules for the use of conformity marks are established by a specific certification system in accordance with the rules established by the State Standard of Russia.

Section II MANDATORY CERTIFICATION

Article 7. Mandatory certification

1. Mandatory certification is carried out in cases stipulated by legislative acts of the Russian Federation.

2. The organization and implementation of work on mandatory certification is assigned to the State Standard of Russia, and in cases stipulated by legislative acts of the Russian Federation in relation to individual types of products, may be assigned to other state governing bodies of the Russian Federation.

3. The forms of mandatory certification of products shall be established by the State Standard of Russia or other state governing bodies of the Russian Federation authorized to do so in accordance with this article, taking into account established international and foreign practice.

4. It is prohibited to advertise products subject to mandatory certification but not having a certificate of conformity.

Article 8. Participants in mandatory certification

   The participants in mandatory certification are the State Standard of Russia, other state governing bodies of the Russian Federation authorized to carry out work on mandatory certification, certification bodies, testing laboratories (centers), manufacturers (sellers, performers) of products, as well as central bodies of certification systems, determined in necessary cases for the organization and coordination of work in certification systems of homogeneous products.

    Participation in the work on mandatory certification of registered non-profit (non-commercial) associations (unions) and organizations of any form of ownership is permitted, subject to their accreditation by the relevant state governing body.

Article 9. Powers of state governing bodies

   Gosstandart of Russia and other state governing bodies of the Russian Federation, which are assigned by legislative acts of the Russian Federation to organize and conduct work on mandatory certification, within the limits of their competence:

create certification systems for homogeneous products and establish rules of procedure and management for conducting certification in these systems;

select a method for confirming the conformity of products with the requirements of regulatory documents (certification forms);

define central bodies of certification systems;

accredit certification bodies and testing laboratories (centers) and issue them permits for the right to carry out certain types of work (licenses for carrying out certain types of work);

maintain a state register of participants and objects of certification; establish rules for the recognition of foreign certificates, conformity marks and test results; establish rules for accreditation and issuance of licenses for carrying out work on mandatory certification;

implement state control and supervision and establish the procedure for inspection control over compliance with certification rules for certified products;

consider appeals on certification issues;

issue certificates and licenses for the use of the conformity mark.

Article 10. Duties of the central body of the certification system

    The central body of the certification system:

organizes, coordinates the work and establishes the rules of procedure and management in the certification system it heads;

considers appeals from applicants regarding the actions of certification bodies and testing laboratories (centers).

Article 11. Responsibilities of the Certification Body

    The certification body:

certifies products, issues certificates and licenses for the use of the conformity mark;

suspends or cancels the validity of certificates issued by it;

provides the applicant, upon request, with the necessary information within the limits of its competence.

Article 12. Responsibilities of the Testing Laboratory (Center)

    Testing laboratories (centers) accredited in accordance with the procedure established by the relevant certification system carry out testing of specific products or specific types of testing and issue test reports for certification purposes.

Article 13. Responsibilities of Manufacturers (Sellers, Contractors)

    Manufacturers (sellers, performers) of products subject to mandatory certification and sold on the territory of the Russian Federation are obliged to:

sell these products only if they have a certificate issued or recognized by an authorized body;

ensure that the products sold comply with the requirements of the regulatory documents for which they were certified, and mark them with a conformity mark in accordance with the established procedure;

indicate in the accompanying technical documentation information about certification and regulatory documents that the product must comply with, and ensure that this information is communicated to the consumer (buyer, customer);

suspend or terminate the sale of certified products if they do not meet the requirements of regulatory documents for which they are certified, upon expiration of the certificate or if the certificate is suspended or cancelled by a decision of the certification body; ensure the unimpeded exercise of their powers by officials of bodies implementing mandatory product certification and control over certified products; notify the certification body in the manner established by it of changes made to the technical documentation or to the technological process for the production of certified products.

Article 14. Conditions for the import of imported products

1. The terms of contracts (agreements) concluded for the supply to the Russian Federation of products subject to mandatory certification in accordance with the legislative acts of the Russian Federation must provide for the presence of a certificate and a conformity mark confirming its compliance with the established requirements. The said certificates and conformity marks must be issued or recognized by the authorized body of the Russian Federation.

2. Certificates or certificates of their recognition are submitted to the customs authorities together with the cargo customs declaration and are the necessary documents for obtaining permission to import products into the territory of the Russian Federation.

3. The procedure for importing products subject to mandatory certification into the territory of the Russian Federation is established by the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation and the State Standard of Russia in accordance with the legislative acts of the Russian Federation.

Article 15. State control and supervision over compliance with mandatory certification rules and certified products

1. State control and supervision over compliance by manufacturers (sellers, performers), testing laboratories (centers), certification bodies with the rules of mandatory certification and for certified products is carried out by the State Standard of Russia, other specially authorized state governing bodies of the Russian Federation within the limits of their competence.

2. Direct state control and supervision over compliance with certification rules and certified products shall be carried out by officials exercising state control and supervision over compliance with mandatory requirements of state standards. The said officials shall exercise state control and supervision over compliance with certification rules and certified products in the manner and under the conditions established by the Law of the Russian Federation «On Standardization».

Article 16. Financing of Work on Certification and State Control and Supervision

1. The following shall be subject to mandatory state financing:

development of forecasts for the development of certification, rules and recommendations for its implementation;

provision of official information in the field of certification;

participation in the work of international (regional) certification organizations and work with foreign national certification bodies;

development and (or) participation in the development of international (regional) rules and recommendations on certification;

development of draft legislative acts in the field of certification;

conducting research and other work on certification of national importance;

conducting state control and supervision over compliance with certification rules and certified products;

maintaining the State Register of Certification and Accreditation and archival storage of materials on state registration of certification systems and conformity marks;

other work on mandatory certification determined by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

2. Payment for work on mandatory certification of specific products shall be made by the applicant in the manner established by the State Standard of Russia and state governing bodies of the Russian Federation, which are entrusted by legislative acts of the Russian Federation with the organization and implementation of mandatory certification, in agreement with the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The amount of funds spent by the applicant on mandatory certification of its products shall be included in its cost price.

Section III VOLUNTARY CERTIFICATION

Article 17. Voluntary certification

    For products that are not subject to mandatory certification in accordance with the legislative acts of the Russian Federation, and for requirements for which mandatory certification is not provided for by the legislative acts of the Russian Federation, voluntary certification may be carried out at the initiative of legal entities and citizens under the terms of an agreement between the applicant and the certification body.

Article 18. Organization of voluntary certification

    Voluntary certification may be carried out by any legal entity that has assumed the function of a voluntary certification body and registered the certification system and conformity mark with the State Standard of Russia in accordance with the procedure established by the State Standard of Russia. Mandatory certification bodies also have the right to carry out voluntary certification subject to the specified conditions.

    The voluntary certification body establishes the rules for carrying out work in the certification system, including the procedure for paying for it.

Article 19. Rights of the applicant

   When concluding an agreement for certification, the applicant has the right to receive from the voluntary certification body the necessary information on the rules for product certification, as well as to determine the form of certification.

Section IV LIABILITY FOR VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS LAW

Article 20. Criminal, administrative or civil liability

   Legal entities and individuals, as well as government bodies guilty of violating the rules of mandatory certification, bear criminal, administrative or civil liability in accordance with applicable law.

 

President of the Russian Federation            B. BELTSIN