General Standards
Product testing is the key element of the goods approval process in Russia. Other types of product safety control such as post market surveillance, plant auditing and quality systems are not well developed. The country follows redundant practices of further testing of internationally accepted certified products.
Russia is a member of the International Standards Organisation (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Organisation of Legal Metrology (OIML). It is also a member of the European Organisation for Quality, and of COOMET (EuroAsian Cooperation of National Metrological Institutions).
Standards Organizations
The main authority for standardization, metrology and certification in Russia is the Federal Agency for Technical Regulations and Metrology, also known as Rosstandart. Gosstandart, the old name of the standardization agency, is also used. The Federal Agency for Technical Regulations and Metrology is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. About 478 technical committees and research institutes are affiliated with Rosstandart to create standards. The Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology is responsible for product licensing, metrological control, compliance of mandatory requirements of state standards and technical regulations.
More info about the Federal Agency for Technical Regulations and Metrology can be found at: http://www.gost.ru/wps/portal/en
Conformity Assessment
In recent years Russia adopted the common international language on product standards and certification procedures, thus making the conformity assessment easier. At present, about 35% of the 25,000 Russian standards conform to international norms, and many imperfections in the standards and certification process have been eliminated. The Russian government plans to harmonize 87% of its existing standards to international standards to facilitate the trade process.
Russian officials adopted the federal law “On Technical Regulations” in order to change the existing cumbersome standardization and certification systems and to harmonize the Russian legislation with international standards. The law allows a manufacturer to submit a declaration of conformity in the certification procedure for a limited number of products. The government has established a list (the list periodically changes) of 200 products acceptable for this procedure.
Product Certification
Many imported goods require a certificate of conformity issued by The Federal Agency for Technical Regulations. At present, the agency tests and certifies products according to Russian government standards rather than other international standards. The main bodies of certification in Russia are the Federal Agency for Technical Regulations and its authorized agents.
It should be mentioned that there are other agencies involved in certification as well: the Ministry of Agriculture (certification of food products), the Ministry of Health (certification of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals), the State Communications Committee (certification of telecommunications equipment and services), the State Mining and Industrial Inspectorate (certification of mining equipment, oil and gas industries), the Federal Security Service (mining of encryption devices and security equipment and systems) etc.
Russia applies the following international certification systems:
- System of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for tests of electrical equipment on conformity to safety standards
- System of certification of passenger cars, trucks, buses and other transport vehicles (UN EEC)
- System of certification of handguns and ammunition
- System of certification of electronic articles (IEC)
- International system of certification of metrology equipment and instruments
- Agreement on mutual recognition of tests of imported aircraft and certification of elements of airplanes
- UN International Navigation Organization (Navigation Safety Convention).
Accreditation
Various federal executive authorities are responsible for the accreditation process in Russia. Certification authorities and test laboratories, both local and foreign, are accredited in accordance with ISO/IEC Guideline 5 and ISO/IEC Standard 17025. Gosstandart and the Research Institute for Certification can accredit laboratories in their relevant industry sectors. Gosstandart also runs the state register of all accredited organizations.
