The SASO SABER process: current steps for exporting to Saudi Arabia

SABER is the mandatory online conformity platform operated by the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO). Importers and exporters register their products on this platform, upload their technical files and obtain from it the documents needed to clear Saudi customs.

The logic of the platform has two layers: the product is certified once, then a separate document is obtained for each shipment. Failing to grasp that distinction is the exporter's most common planning mistake.

The first step is selecting the conformity assessment body: the importer contracts with a body authorised by SASO (a CAB) to carry out the testing and technical review.

Application and review follow. Test reports, product photographs and labelling documentation are submitted; the body assesses them against the relevant technical regulation.

When approval and payment are complete, the platform issues the Product Certificate of Conformity (PCoC). Where no factory inspection is required this usually takes a few working days; where an inspection is required the period is longer.

The final step is repeated for every shipment: the importer requests a Shipment Certificate of Conformity (SCoC) and the platform compares and verifies it against the existing PCoC. Customs clearance proceeds only after that verification.

The first is that the 12-digit HS code has become mandatory. The code must match the product exactly; an approximate code leads to the document not being verified at shipment.

The second is the product declaration requirements introduced for certain categories. This adds a declaration component to files previously closed out with a test report alone.

The third is a tightening of the link between documents and tax compliance: a shipment through an organisation not compliant with the requirements of the relevant tax authority (ZATCA) cannot pass through the platform. Even where the technical file is complete, a shipment can be stopped by an administrative compliance gap.

Although the party requesting the document is the importer, the party producing its content is the exporter: the test report, label artwork and technical file come from the exporter. Those documents arriving incomplete blocks the process at source rather than on the importer's side.

Labelling is the part of the file most often returned. Where the Arabic information requirements and the mandatory marks on the product are not settled before production, they become the most expensive item to correct once the shipment is ready.

This market's most widespread mistake is confusing the two documents. The product certificate of conformity belongs to the PRODUCT: it is obtained once, is valid for a defined period and rests on the product's conformity with the technical regulation.

The shipment conformity confirmation belongs to the CONSIGNMENT: it is obtained for every shipment on the basis of the product certificate and is what is presented at customs.

When an importer holding a product certificate fails to obtain the shipment confirmation, the container waits at customs; this is not a technical non-conformity but a process error, and its cost appears directly as days of waiting.

The items a certificate application typically awaits are: accredited laboratory reports, the product's technical file, the model list and photographs, label samples and the importer's details. The completeness of that set determines the whole process.

The model list is the item most often returned for correction: the product name, model code and variants must be written identically in the document and on the product. A small difference in spelling gives rise to objection at customs.

Preparing the Arabic label and manual can be carried out independently of the technical process and, because it is usually left to last, creates a bottleneck; bringing it forward shortens the timetable directly.

For certain product groups an energy efficiency threshold and label are a separate obligation and run independently of safety conformity. A product falling below the threshold cannot be placed on the market even where it is entirely compliant on safety.

This is directly related to climatic conditions: efficiency requirements for cooling and air conditioning products are markedly strict in this market and can affect the design of the product.

Because the result of an efficiency test may require a design change, this item is placed at the very start of the project plan; an efficiency result obtained late can invalidate the entire timetable.