Attorney Gil Nadel, Attorney Rosie Murdoch- Ron
The Standards Institute has recently declared its intentions to summon importers to a hearing due to forgeries discovered in the importers' declarations submitted to the Institute during the procedure for the release of shipments imported by them. In the wake of these hearings these importers could possibly be placed in a status of "breach of trust".
In order to fully comprehend this declaration we will briefly delineate the manner in which the Standards Institute certifies imported goods, the various categories of goods, and what it means to be an importer who has committed a breach of trust. The Free Import Decree determines that an "official standard certificate" must be presented when importing certain goods. This certificate is a lab approval stating that the conditions for the release of these goods, as determined by the Standardization Supervisor at the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry, have been upheld. The Standardization Supervisor has divided imported goods into four examination categories. The difference between these categories lies in the examinations applied to the goods for the sake of granting an official standard certificate. In this article we'll be focusing on groups 1-3. The examination procedure for each of these groups is demarcated in regulation 401 of the Standards Institute.
The examinations as conducted by the Standards Institute according to regulation 401
Sampling examination- the purpose of the sampling examination is to determine whether the sample of a certain product corresponds to the requirements as detailed in each clause of the standard or standards which are applicable to it and which are delineated in the Free Import Decree. The sampling examination is usually executed before the first commercial import by providing a sample of the product which the importer wishes to import for a sampling examination in the Standards Institute, before importing the entire shipment. Positive results of the sampling examination allow for a positive certificate to be granted which in turn functions as a sample certification and the basis for obtaining an official standard certification for future shipments of products of the same sample and manufacturer.
If the sampling examination has not been executed prior to the commercial import, it is usually possible to perform this examination upon the arrival of the first shipment while the shipment is released in exchange for a guarantee or a commitment to the Standards Institute. In this case, the guarantee requires the importer to refrain from selling the products until all examinations have been completed and the results have been declared "according to official standards".
When the sampling examination has been completed and the results have been declared "according to standards" the importer can import the same product according to the sample that was examined and/or the category of samples (as per the lab's assessment) in further shipments.
Identification and extraction examination- this examination is meant to determine the product's correspondence to the sample that was previously examined and certified. The examination is usually carried out at the harbor or in the importer's yard. It includes inspecting documents, a visual inspection of the product and often the product itself is examined as well. This type of examination also includes a random sampling of each unit of goods within the shipment in order to perform an identification examination and/or additional examinations.
R examination (R for the release of a shipment)- every standard includes an appendix containing a list of correspondence examinations that are mandatory for part of the standard's clauses, this appendix is called appendix R. The R examination is based on the R appendix. Its purpose is to examine the product only in relation to the clauses that appear in the appendix as opposed to the sampling examination which examines all of the official standard's clauses.
What happens if the sampling examination yields faulty results?
In this case, the importer will initially receive a negative sampling certificate. If it is possible to remove the defects the importer is permitted to do so in a process called "defect removal". When performing a defect removal procedure it is usually possible to release the products to the importer's warehouse in exchange for a commitment or a bank guarantee as a guarantee that the importer will act towards removing the defects.
After removing the defects an additional examination will be carried out and if the product is found to be intact, the Institute will procure an additional examination certificate detailing the defects that have been rectified and examined and the importer will be released from his bank guarantee/commitment.
The sampling certificate along with the defect removal certificate are a joint testimony as to the sample's correspondence to the official standard's requirements.
It is the importer's job to set a date for the identification and extraction examination for the sake of performing a defect removal examination no later than 60 days after the order's certification.
It is advisable to carry out the defect removal with the manufacturer in the country of origin, but if this is not the case the Standard Institute must be notified in advance and the importer must provide a commitment to remove the defects in Israel. Failure to remove the defects will be considered a breach of this commitment on the part of the importer.
What is the "breach of trust" status?
An importer who has not upheld his obligations as stated in regulation 401, some of which have been presented above, is liable to find himself placed in the "breach of trust" status which will result in stringent procedures for the release of his shipments. As such, he may be required to deposit guarantees, or his products may be subjected to larger samplings for examinations, a delay in their release and more.
How can the "breach of trust" status be avoided?
It is advisable to provide a sample of the product which the importer wishes to import, for examination in the Standards Institute before importing the entire shipment;
It is advisable to remove any defects with the manufacturer in the country of origin, before the commercial shipment arrives in Israel;
It is advisable to stay within the time limits delineated in regulation 401 regarding the identification and extraction examination, shipment eradication or its return to its country of origin;
It is advisable to present original documents or certified copies and to save copies of all relevant materials.
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