The Ministry of Commerce and Textile has extended the date for implementation of SRO 604(I)/2019 till August 31, 2019, requiring pre-shipment inspection (PSI) of solar panels and related equipment consignments imported into the country.
The Ministry of Commerce has issued an SRO 947(I)2019 to extend the date of implementation of the SRO 604 from June 1 to August 31, 2019. The provisions of the SRO 604 will take effect from September 1, 2019.
Presently, a large number of those consignments were lying at port, due to non-compliance of condition of pre-shipment inspection (PSI) mentioned in SRO 604. The consignments of solar panels, invertors and other equipment used in solar technology were previously imported on the standards and conditions specified by the government of Pakistan as per last import policy order. However, the Ministry of Commerce has imposed new requirement through SRO 604/2019 on May 28, 2019 for the import of aforesaid items.
Under the SRO 604(I)/2019, the import of solar panel and related equipments is related to different conditions as laid down by the Commerce Ministry.
The said importable items require compliance with the quality and safety standards approved by Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA). Provided that the test report shall be issued by accredited laboratory in the country of origin or exporting country for the scope of testing 1 calibration, in accordance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.
Another condition is that the certificate shall be issued by Conformance Accredited Product Certification body in the country of origin or exporting country for the type of certification in accordance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17065, Conformity assessment Requirements for bodies certifying products and services.
The PSI report shall be issued by accredited inspection body in the country of origin or exporting country for the type of inspections, in accordance with the requirements of ISO/ IEC 17020, General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection. The further the accreditation of the above mentioned Conformity Assessment Bodies shall be issued by an Accredited Body (AB), operating in accordance with ISO/lEC 17011, General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies.
The pre-shipment inspection companies as approved by Pakistan National
Accreditation Council (PNAC) for the inspection of solar equipment (including but not limited to solar PV systems, off-grids / standalone solar PV systems, solar PV kits, solar PV panels, solar PV cells, inverters, charge controllers, balance of system components for PV systems, Low-voltage switchgear and control gear assemblies, power converters for use in PV power systems, insulated cables for use in PV systems, solar pumping systems for liquids, solar water heaters with accessories, solar stoves/cookers/ranges, etc. and parts thereof).