We are already in October, and this is usually the time of the year when importers engage in the purchase of a wide variety of products for sale in Guyana. These products are offered for sale to consumers during the bustling shopping season at the end of the year. The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) is cognizant of this and takes this opportunity to remind all importers of products it monitors to ensure that the consignments of products they acquire from overseas comply with the requirements of the relevant Guyana Standards. By ensuring this, quality products will be available for purchase by those consumers who are looking to upgrade or buy that new item during the holidays.
Importantly, it must be stated that the GNBS only monitors a specified list of products imported and locally manufactured. This list includes Domestic Electrical/Electronic Appliances, Weighing and Measuring Devices, Textiles, Garments, Footwear, Safety Helmets, Safety Matches, Tyres, Gas Stoves, Cigarettes, PVC Pipes, Furniture, Christmas Tree and Decorative Lighting Outfits, Cellular Phones, Electrical Fittings and Equipment and Gold Jewellery.
To ensure conformance, the GNBS reminds importers of the following:
To get registered with the GNBS for the current year by completing and submitting to the Bureau the prescribed application form along with a copy of the business registration and registration fee.
To acquire the relevant National Standards from the GNBS for products imported, to ensure the selection and importation of standard-compliant goods in the country of export.
Submit samples of new products to GNBS for approval, prior to the importation to avoid sub-standard products and rejection of imported consignments.
To have consignments examined by Inspectors of the GNBS, before clearance and sale in the country.
To make timely arrangements with the GNBS to facilitate the examination of products including the timely payments for inspections.
Ensure that products imported are for the purpose intended and are safe for use. Importers should purchase from sources that issue warranties which could be easily passed on to consumers.
Ensure that any brochure, instruction manual, leaflet, etc., which are associated with products, are in English Language and accompany the product at the time of sale.
To facilitate periodic surveillance inspections by GNBS Inspectors at their premises including warehouses and workshops. Records relating to the operation of the premises should also be available for checks by Inspectors of the Bureau. All records such as copies of invoices, customs documentation, bills of sale, etc. must be properly kept and should be easily retrievable.
To ensure, where necessary, that imported products bear a national or international certification mark from a Regulatory Body in the country of origin, or a certificate of quality compliance should be submitted to the GNBS to verify the quality of the product imported. Compliance certificates should be obtained from an independent Certification Body, a National Standards Body or the relevant Regulatory Body.
Importers are urged to check their products received to ensure conformance to the quality specification and to detect any deterioration in quality or other damages during storage and transportation. In addition, importers should address complaints received from customers regarding products purchased.
Finally, importers must desist from using the name of the GNBS in any advertisement or promotional material in relation to the sale of any product and ensure that all products imported are in metric (SI) units.
For further information, visit the Guyana National Bureau of Standards at Exhibition Site, Sophia, or its website: www.gnbsgy.org or call 219-0062, 219-0065, 219-0066.
