G/TBT/W/721  
 
10 March  2020 
(20-1841) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARA BIA - SABER CONFORMI TY ASSESSMENT ONLINE  PLATFORM / 
SALEEM PRODUCT SAFET Y PROGRAM  
STATEMENT BY THE EUROPEAN UNION TO THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS T O TRADE  
26 – 27 FEBRUARY  2020 
The following communication, dated 9 March  2020, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the European Union . 
 
_______________  
 
 
1.  The European Union remains particularly concerned by the implementation of the electronic 
certification system S aleem on the web -portal Saber recently launched by the Kingdom of Saudi 
Arabia and which is having a major negative impact on the imports of products from the European 
Union in its territory, in particular toys and ceramics.  
2.  Indeed, manufacturers have now  to apply for a GCC Conformity Tracking Symbol (so -called 
GCTS) with a notified body. This requires sending a wide range of technical documentation and the 
payment of fees. After the approval by the notified body, the GCTS must be further requested from 
the GCC Standardisation Organisation (GSO), entailing the payment of new fees. Subsequently, the 
final award of the GCTS by GSO is followed by additional administrative steps, which include the 
online registration of each shipment and the request of a Shipme nt Certificate of Conformity (SCOC), 
and a Product Certificate of Conformity (PCOC) for each HTS code, which entails further submission 
of documentation and further payments of fees.  
3.  Overall, this is a process costly, burdensome and time consuming which, in light of the 
experienced faced by EU exporters, is being further delayed by the lack of sufficient resources and 
internal guidelines in the processing of applications for GCTS.  
4.  The European Union respectfully urges Saudi Arabia that the requirements of  the new system be 
simplified in order to address in particular the specificities of the toy sector. These improvements 
should include allowing for an efficient system of grouping several SKUs with similar characteristics 
under one GCTS, as well as allowin g adding new products to an existing GCTS covering a similar 
group.  
5.  Moreover, requests for documentation during the GCTS certification process should be kept to 
the minimum necessary, as they are burdensome, bring additional assessment costs, delay 
proces ses and have no added value in terms of safety. Moreover, there should be no reason to 
request additional certificates of conformity, such as PCOC, when the GCTS has already been issued.  
6.  The European Union considers that registration and renewal costs for  GCTS should also be 
minimised. Indeed, there is no justification for the GCTS renewal costs since this is just a formal 
process, executed online by the manufacturer.  
7.  Confidentiality in the process should also be ensured. Currently the GCTS public website  shows 
pictures of all products, including products before their release, revealing therefore very sensitive 
business information to competitors.  G/TBT/W/721  
 
- 2 - 
 
  8.  As mentioned, other than toys, the new system is significantly affecting the imports of ceramics 
from the Eur opean Union to Saudi Arabia. Companies are facing significant delays and difficulties in 
their arrangements and communication with notified bodies. Moreover, under the new system costs 
to comply with all steps in the process – in the form of fees - have in creased out of proportion from 
an average of 3,500 euros to up to 15,000 euros plus additional travel and accommodation costs.  
9.  In light of  these considerations, the European Union urges the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to ensure 
speedy procedures as well as the necessary resources and capacity to effectively process the 
requests for GCC Conformity Tracking Symbols in a timely and less costly mann er. 
 
__________