Case Study

Accreditation underpins KENYA’S Imports

The Government through the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), the National Standards Body (NSB) requires that all goods to be imported into the country must first be inspected, tested and or certified by accredited Inspection Bodies, Test laboratories or certification bodies.

KEBS has contracted partners under the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) for exports to Kenya. These partners use their accredited facilities to inspect, test and certify products including motor vehicles against relevant Kenya standards or approved standards.

Such goods once inspected and tested are issued with certificates of conformity (CoC) at the country of origin and consequently KEBS import standardization mark.

The Government and the Kenyan business community benefit from goods being cleared quickly and at minimal cost. The need to re-inspect, re-test and re-certify goods is eliminated. Additionally, time taken to deliver goods from Kenya’s ports of entry to the neighbouring countries that use Kenya’s ports of entry is significantly shortened.

Overall, this programme that is anchored on accreditation has supported the work of regulators such as KEBS, Ministry of Health, Radiation Protection Board, and KEPHIS among others.

Further information is available on the KEBS website.