Iraq
1.2 Iraq Regulatory Departments and Quality Control
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Overview

The Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control is considered one of the oldest organizations in the country. It was established in 1979 under Law No. 54 issued on 4/6/1979, and contains the following departments:

  • The Standardization Department.
  • Quality control circuit.
  • Technical and Administrative Services Department

The procedures for approving and monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the National System of Quality Control (1988) are among the most important exclusive competencies of the Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control under the provisions of Article 3 / second, third of Law 54 of 1979 as amended, and these procedures aim to ensure the protection of the consumer, public health and the environment through evaluation mechanisms Conformity of goods and products (local or imported) to the approved Iraqi specifications that are directly related to the consumer.

The Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control has sought, since 2011, and based on the provisions of Article 3/8 of its applicable law, and in implementation of the general government policy and in cooperation and coordination with all concerned parties to follow the international contexts in authorizing global, impartial inspection bodies accredited in accordance with the highest international specifications and standards and has the experience and competence to implement Pre Shipment Inspection program (PSI) through official government contracts that lasted for the period 2011-2019. This program included more than 930 different industrial commodities (food, engineering, chemical, construction, textile) directly related to the consumer and doesn't include the imports of specialized public sector entities not related to the consumer.

Today, the Agency presents the new phase of the program for the period 2020-2022 after completing the pre-qualification process for companies wishing to obtain a pre-supply inspection license and issue a certificate of conformity in accordance with the directives of the Economic Affairs Committee / Council of Ministers, where three contracts were signed to grant a license with three qualified international companies and a full development The legal and supervisory framework for the work of licensed companies by issuing a guide to granting a license (1/2019) and in conjunction with the resumption of monitoring, auditing and verification procedures to ensure and enhance the efficiency of the pre-supply inspection program by the employees of the device at the border crossings and over the hours and working days of the ports.


Pre-Shipment Inspection Programme (PSI)

The Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control started to engage in Pre-Shipment Inspection program (at the country of origin) which is considered as one of the methods for quality assurance that have been recognized in the field of international trade by carrying out inspection through third party (an internationally accredited neutral entity). The inspection company grants the manufacturer or supplier a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) for the goods or products prior to shipping. On May 15, 2019, the Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control announced a public / international invitation (1/2019) for contracting and conducting Pre-Shipment Inspection and to issuing a Certificate of Conformity at the country of origin. The outcome of the invite resulted in contracting with the following companies to be licensed and accepted by FI for issuing CoC:

  1. Intertek International Limited / UK (The only company operating in KRI at Ibrahim Khalil Border Crossing). Kurdistan Products
  2. HQTS-Helmsan & Quality & Technology Services.
  3. Geo-chem / Middle East U.A.E. 

Programme Mechanism

Steps Description
  1. Conformity Verification Request

The importer or exporter applies for verification of conformity to one of the licensed companies (Intertek, HQTS, Geo-chem.) This application should include the following:

  1. Proforma invoice, final invoice, letter of credit, with a list of (names of goods destined for export, and the name and address of the importer and exporter).
  2. Conformity documents that may be available for goods destined for exportation, for example:
  3. Certificates, inspection reports / analysis reports according to safety specifications and/or Iraqi and international specifications (ISO, IEC, EN) or food codex specifications.
  4. Quality Management/Safety Systems Certifications (IOS 22000, HACCP, ISO\TS 16949, ISO 13485).
  5. Information regarding the location and date of the goods’ presence for the purpose of conducting physical inspection.
2. Documentary Verification The inspection company reviews the provided information and conducts sample taking for laboratory testing/analysis.
3. Physical Inspection After document’s verification, physical and laboratory inspections are carried out to check conformity.
4. Certificate of Conformity The inspecting company verifies the robustness and accuracy of the data collected during the conformity verification process and physical and laboratory inspection. Accordingly, the CoC is issued stating whether the item(s) is complying with the specification or not.
5. Verification at the Iraqi Border Crossings

Authorities at the entry points verify documents of the incoming shipments, including CoC by checking:

  1. The validity of the conformity certificate issued by the accountable/licensed company.
  2. Physical shipment matches shipping documents.
  3. The integrity of the seals of containers (in the country of import or export.)
  4. The shipping conditions are respected (no damages, refrigerated or frozen goods are in refrigerated containers). In case of any damage, documentation (pictures and reports) should be considered.
  5. If there is any doubt about a shipment (discrepancies), the inspecting team/committee informs the he customs department to re-verify the shipment and ensure its conformity with the inspected goods in the country of origin/exportation.

Random Check: The Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control has the right to request the customs authorities not to deliver any shipment until after re-examining and conducting random inspection.

For more information about:

  1. Profile of the examiner companies and their contact addresses.
  2. Addresses of corporate offices around the world.
  3. List of imported goods subject to inspection.

Please see the attached file below in the Arabic version.

For contact information, please see the following link: 4.1 Iraq Government Contact List and 4.3 Iraq Laboratory and Quality Testing Companies Contact List.


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