The import of electrical appliances including air conditioners, fans and electric irons without the GCC specification compliance certificate will be banned this year, a senior official from the Ministry of Environment has said.
"The compliance certificate is a guarantee that such electrical appliances are safe to use and will not cause any risk of fire or other harm to the users," Dr Mohamed bin Saif al-Kuwari, assistant undersecretary for laboratories and standardisation, told local Arabic daily Arrayah.
The targeted electric appliances include irons, heaters, water heaters, ovens, fridges, toasters, lamps and electric wires, besides air conditioners, the daily said yesterday.
Dr al-Kuwari pointed out that the experimental launch of a campaign to combat the harmful consequences of inferior electrical appliances has resulted in the withdrawal of large numbers of non-standard products from the local market in co-operation with the Consumer Protection Department of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce.
"An awareness programme will be launched first to raise public awareness about the required specifications and standards, which are still under discussion. Then, importers and retailers will be given a grace period of six months to modify their situation according to the new requirements. After that the new regulations will be enforced."
Dr al-Kuwari also advised consumers to be careful when buying any electrical appliance to make sure that it complies with the local requirements and is of high quality to avoid any risks during use.