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Introduction

The Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) is a government agency responsible for developing and implementing quality standards for imported goods and domestically manufactured products in Nigeria. To ensure that controlled products comply with the approved national technical standards or other international standards, and to protect Nigerian consumers from harm caused by unsafe or non compliant products, the National Standards Agency of Nigeria has decided to implement a mandatory pre shipment conformity assessment procedure (SONCAP) for controlled products exported to the country.

On March 1, 2013, the Nigerian Bureau of Standards officially released a new SONCAP operating procedure. From now on, each independent third-party organization will no longer directly issue SONCAP certification. Instead, exporters will apply for Product Conformity Certification (CoC) in the exporting country, and importers will apply for SC certificates from the Nigerian Bureau of Standards (SON) with a valid CoC.

Several Concepts in SONCAP Certification

In SONCAP certification, customers may mention these names: PC, SC, COC. These terms may have some slight differences, but in most cases they mean the same thing, that is, to obtain mandatory certification for products sold in Nigeria, for imported products, it is to go through customs clearance in Nigeria. Below are a few specific concepts to distinguish:

·SON stands for Standards Organization of Nigeria. This is a Nigerian government agency, also known as the Nigerian Bureau of Standards. In January 2013, SON officially released the revised SONCAP program with a fully qualified assessment structure.

·SONCAP stands for Standards Organization of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme, also known as the Nigeria Standards Organization Conformity Assessment Programme. It can be understood that SONCAP is a program and basis published by SON to evaluate whether a product meets Nigeria's minimum safety standards.

·PC - short for Product Certificate, which is mandatory. Obtaining a PC certificate is the first step to be completed in the SONCAP program. The SONCAP qualification assessment procedure requires obtaining a PC certificate before applying for a SONCAP certificate, which is also a prerequisite for Nigerian importers to obtain Form M. Some banks even require the presentation of a PC certificate before issuing a letter of credit.  

·FORM M is a form used by importers to apply for a SONCAP certificate at a local bank, similar to an import declaration form, and is also a necessary document for later application of the SONCAP certificate.

·SC - short for SONCAP Certification, also known as SONCAP Certificate. It is the certificate obtained by the importer through PC certificate and FORM M application before shipment, submission of bill of lading after shipment, and finally handed over to customs for customs clearance.

·COC stands for Certificate of Conformity, which is a certificate of conformity for a single batch of products, valid for a single batch. This step has been removed from the latest process, but it is still frequently mentioned due to its existence in the SONCAP program for a period of time.

Applicable product scope

The products currently subject to SONCAP regulation are as follows:

·Toys

·Electrical and electronic products that can be used by the public, such as in residential, office buildings, retail, leisure and other environments. Including but not limited to home appliances, IT products, communication products, lighting products, audio-visual products, etc.

·Second hand car

·Automotive spare parts

·Car tires

·Automotive Glass

·Automotive spare parts

·Chemical products (such as engine oil, paint, asphalt, school chalk, kitchenware, and tableware)

·Architecture and Building Materials

·Mechanical equipment and gas appliances (such as galvanized steel products, taps and valves, ceramic and sanitary ware, ceiling, gas tank, kerosene stove and hurricane light, aluminum products, mechanical backpacks, spray, electric pressure cookers, cement and gypsum, etc.)

·Paper and stationery

·Safety protection equipment (such as fire-fighting equipment, electronic safety equipment, etc.)

·Textiles and textile products

·Footwear

·Medical devices

·Furniture

·Art and handicrafts

·Leather, plastic, and rubber products

The following products are not compatible with SONCAP:

·Food

·Medication (Traditional Chinese Medicine)

·Medical examination equipment and machines, etc

·Chemicals used as raw materials

·Military sanitary ware and equipment

·Goods classified as prohibited by the Federal Government of Nigeria

·Used cars and other goods

Process and documentation

The latest certification procedure of Nigeria Standard (SON) stipulates that SONCAP certification is obtained in three steps:

The first step is to obtain a PC certificate for Nigerian importers to apply for FORM M No. and exporters to apply for SONCAP certificates for batch shipments. There are three modes of PC certificates, which will be explained in detail later. The following information needs to be provided:

·Apply for the company's business license

·Application Form

·Product images (including instructions and final assembly drawings for mechanical and electrical products)

·Product Internal Testing Report

·Third party laboratory product testing report (17025 qualified laboratory using relevant standard testing)

Step 2, obtain FORM M

·The importer obtains the PC certificate from the local bank;

Step three, obtain the SONCAP certificate. Apply for SONCAP certification before each shipment, schedule pre shipment inspection, and send the certificate to the importer for customs clearance along with other documents. The following information is required:

·PC certificate

·FORM M

·Application Form

·Invoice

·Packing list

·Product photos

·Bill of Lading

other

The importer uses the SONCAP certificate to handle customs clearance at Nigeria Customs. All controlled products will be refused release by customs upon arrival at Nigeria's ports, airports, and land borders without a SONCAP certificate. The goods will be sampled and tested according to Nigeria's requirements, and the exporter/importer will bear all costs (sampling, testing, demurrage fees), and may ultimately face confiscation and destruction of the goods.