Israel - Trade Standards Israel - Trade Standards
Overview
The Standards Institution of Israel (SII) is the only statutory body in Israel that develops and establishes standards. Created by an act of the Knesset (Parliament), "The Standards Law of 1953" mandates SII’s responsibility for the preparation, publication of technical specifications and standards for products and services, which are produced locally or imported. Today, the SII incorporates standardization, testing, conformity assessment, product certification, management system certification and training activities under one roof. It has laboratories in almost all technological areas, providing testing and inspection services to industry and commerce, as well as regulatory services to government. Overseeing the SII’s policy is the Commissioner of Standards at the Ministry of Economy and Industry (formally known as the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor).
The supreme body of the SII is the General Assembly, comprised of 70 members from the following sectors: manufacturing, construction, commerce, services, trades, consumers, engineering associations, universities and government. The General Assembly annually elects a Board of Directors and President. The SII’s Standardization Division coordinates the preparation of standards through the work of hundreds of standardization committees that include volunteer representatives from all sectors of the Israeli economy. The adoption of Israeli standards is voluntary; however, standards may be declared mandatory by the relevant government ministry in the interest of public health and safety or protection of the environment.
As the mandated national standards body, the SII represents Israel in two international standards organizations, the International Organization for Standards (ISO) and the International Electromechanical Commission (IEC). The SII has also become an affiliate of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electro Technical Standardization (CENELEC), though it has not joined any technical committees.
Israeli legislation mandates the adoption of multiple, proven international standards whenever possible to maximize benefits to the Israeli consumer of a competitive market. Historically, Israel’s standards policy has had clear preference for European standards, which results in a disadvantage for U.S. products.
Standards
The Standards Institute of Israel (SII) is the sole organization that develops standards in Israel. On a yearly basis the SII prepares its work plan that includes a list of standards they plan to develop. Members of the various technical committees, as well as government ministries, provide input.
Testing, Inspection and Certification
The Standards Institute of Israel (SII) operates product and system certification programs. Use of the Standards Mark is generally voluntary but Israeli law mandates that certain classes of products must be certified before they are sold. The Standards Mark program operates in accordance with EN 45011. To qualify for the Standards Mark, a product must conform to the requirements of the applicable standard or standards, and be manufactured in a plant with an approved quality assurance system, similar to ISO 9002.
The Standards Mark Board appoints technical committees of representatives from the public and private sectors in various technological areas, which meet regularly to evaluate the findings of the test reports and quality assessment reports. These committees report their findings to the Licensing Committee, which is responsible for granting or canceling a license.
Once a license is issued, follow-up inspections of the product and quality assurance review is performed. These inspections are performed by laboratory personnel and certified auditors. In addition, samples of the product are taken several times a year to insure continuous compliance of the product with the relevant standard or standards. In order to ease the process for foreign manufacturers wishing to enter the Standards Mark program, agreements have been reached with independent foreign testing and certification organizations to perform testing and inspection service on behalf of SII. The SII has signed Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA) with the following U.S. organizations:
| Dept. of Defense | QPL AND QML for Electronic components |
| ETL | Standards Mark recognition - Electrical and energy products |
| FCC | Recognition |
| IAPMO | Hydraulic products Standards Mark |
| NSF | Food Safety, HACCP-9000, HACCP |
| UL | Mutual recognition in fields of: Electricity, electronics, hydraulics, mechanics, fire. Standards Mark supervision in fields of: Electricity, electronics, hydraulics, mechanics, fire |
Accreditation
The Israel Laboratory Accreditation Authority (ISRAC) is the only body in Israel, which is internationally and legally recognized to accredit testing and calibration laboratories according to ISO/IEC 17025 and to recognize laboratories in accordance with the OECD rules of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP).
The Government of Israel decided in its resolution No. 3778 from August 14, 1994 to set up a National Authority for the accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories (ISRAC) and empowered the Minister of Industry, Trade & Labor to implement this resolution as a voluntary scheme for laboratories wishing to be internationally recognized for their competence in testing. The law for the national accreditation authority (ISRAC) was passed in the Knesset in May of 1997.
ISRAC has accredited laboratories in the areas of food, water, cosmetics, pesticide chemistry, biology, microbiology as well as many calibration, engineering, construction laboratories NDT (non-destructive testing) and EMC (telecommunications).
Publication of Technical Regulations
Technical standards and amendments are published in the official Israel Government Gazette (Hebrew Only) in hard copy only and can be purchased in bookstores that sell legal textbooks or by subscription by the Commissioner of Standardization who is responsible for enforcing mandatory standards. The Commissioner of Standardization will publish the standard for review and comment by the public within 30 days and relevant minister/s 60 days from the day of publication with an option for the ministers to receive an extension of a further 60 days. An appointed minister who does not send a response in the given timeframe, shall be deemed to have consented to the announcement as published, including changes applied to them in the course of the proceedings.
Prior to publication, the Director General of the SII officially informs the relevant industry sectors of pending additions and amendments. U.S. entities can influence the content and adoption of technical standards through active participation at the technical committee level.
Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to notify to the WTO proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that could affect trade. Notify U.S. (www.nist.gov/notifyus) is a free, web-based e-mail registration service that captures and makes available for review and comment key information on draft regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Users receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are added by selected country(ies) and industry sector(s) of interest, and can also request full texts of regulations. This service and its associated web site are managed and operated by the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Contact Information
The Standards Institution of Israel
http://www.sii.org.il/334-en/SII_EN.aspx
Mrs. Dalia Yarom, Director, Standardization Division
Tel: +972-3-6465180; Fax: + 972-3-6412762; Email: dyarom@sii.org.il