Specific features of the import of samples intended for the conformity assessment

The majority of products imported into the territory of the Eurasian Union must comply with the quality and safety requirements which are laid down in the Technical Regulations.

In order to certify the conformity of their products, importers should possess the following documents :

- a Certificate of Conformity (CC)

- a Declaration of Conformity (DC)

- a State Registration Certificate

To obtain a Certificate or a Declaration of Conformity, it is nececcary to provide a certification body with product sample(s) for futher testing. 

Meanwhile, according to the RosAccreditation instructions published on 27 February 2019, certification bodies are obliged to request an applicant to submit not only samples of supplied products, but also a documented confirmation of their importation into the territory of the Eurasian Union (as a rule, a customs declaration is required).

Product samples can be imported by shipping services, or they can be sent in a container with other goods, on the condition of the prior registration of this part of the cargo as samples for certification in the transport documents.

As is the case with all other goods crossing the Russian border, a customs declaration for product samples needs to be filled out. However, no permit (Certificate, Declaration, State Registration Certificate) is required.

In late 2017, the Federal Accreditation Service (RosAccreditation) and the Federal Customs Service (FCS) co-published a document "On the procedure for carrying out customs operations related to the import of product sample(s) into the territory of the Russian Federation and the Customs Union for further testing".

According to this document, a prerequisite for customs clearance of samples is the presentation of the documents listed below :

- a contract concluded with an accredited certification body or a testing laboratory to carry out the corresponding tests

- a letter from the accredited laboratory specifying the quantity of products required for testing.

The customs declaration for the samples and the complete technical file must be submitted to the certification body.

If the total cost of the imported samples does not exceed 200 Euro, the customs clearance procedure can be carried out in a simplified manner in the form of the extract from the express goods register which is also accepted by the certification bodies.