Doing Business in Saudi Arabia Guide partners with XDS SASO team
What does Saudi Arabia mean for your business? And, what challenges will the SASO Certificate of Conformity programme present for your international expansion plans?
The Middle East’s largest country in sq. miles and second largest economy, Saudi Arabia, is a market that existing or up-and-coming exporters should play close attention to. With economists agreeing that the government’s plan to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil will successfully boost growth in the longer term. But, understanding Saudi Arabia customs requirements and the SASO Certificate of Conformity programme can mean many firms come unstuck.
We’re incredibly proud to support the work of the IOE, as well as the UK Government’s Department for International Trade’s Export is Great campaign.
What customs challenges will you face?
Saudi Arabia is one of many Middle Eastern countries operating a mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme. The Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization Conformity Assessment Programme (SASO CoC for short) is implemented to ensure that unsafe goods and those of poor quality do not enter the market.
This strict set of guidelines for exports into Saudi Arabia is complex and mandatory and failure to adhere can result in costly fines, delayed shipments, or risk of company blacklisting at customs.
Those new to export must consider that Certificate of Conformity programmes and Country of Origin requirements are mandatory, and that it is the exporter, not importer who is responsible.
SASO CoC Best Practice
To have confidence that your product will clear Saudi Customs follow these three steps:
- Understand SASO CoC, labelling and testing requirements for your products, before you finalise plans to expand your export business into Saudi Arabia.
- Plan ahead, ensure that your SASO CoC is in place before shipping your first Saudi order.
- Ensure that your shipment has the correct export documents, and labelling in place before shipping.
Other customs compliance factors
In addition, Saudi Arabia is also a member of the Gulf Standards Association (GSO), and as such are required to implement a strict set of import standards.
About XDS
At XDS Solutions we offer a number of services to help you address the customs compliance challenges of expanding into Saudi Arabia, enabling you to take full advantage of this growing market.
Our expert Account Managers personally manage every step of your export compliance journey. From initial product testing to the mandatory certificates required for successful customs clearance.
As active members of the Institute of Export we work with export teams from a wide range of industries, from start-up businesses to blue-chip multinationals. Delivering hassle-free export documents for shipments into The Middle East.
Next steps
Register today for our free CUSTOMS CLEARANCE AUDIT. It’s a chance to speak to one of our expert compliance advisors, discuss your business, the products you ship, and the Saudi Arabian customs clearance challenges you’ll face. In addition, you can also discuss the challenges you face exporting to other Middle East markets, including Iraq, Kurdistan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar and/or Syria.
You’ll receive a tailored Customs Audit Report, which will be full of recommendations to help remove the hassle of Certificates of Conformity, Country of Origin Certification, product testing and translations. As well as tips to help make sure that your shipment’s SASO export documentation is spot on, before leaving the warehouse.
Interested to understand more about the various conformity programmes operating across the Middle East, including the countries that are members of the Gulf Standards Association (GSO)? You’ll find our recent blog ‘Guide to Import Regulations across the Middle East‘ useful.
We did start to work with XDS as the procedures to get SASO or KUCAS seemed to be much easier than with other organisations in France. We found procedures elsewhere became constantly ever more complicated and slow.
An excellent SASO CoC service provided to our company by XDS Solutions, with the efficiency and accuracy required. I have recommended the XDS Solutions Certificate of Conformity service to all my colleagues.
XDS is excellent. Our Account Manager is really helpful and comes back to us within a short space of time. Most importantly though, the turnaround for SASO Certificate issuance is now very quick meaning we can operate comfortably within client deadlines and streamline our supply chain.
The whole experience of working with XDS Solutions has been positive. When we have an order for Saudi Arabia that we need assistance with I know now that it will be dealt with quickly and expertly. The account managers and the service from XDS is fantastic
I first approached XDS Solutions after an urgent request for SASO documentation from a Saudi Customer. I knew nothing about the documentation and was a little overwhelmed when I discovered what was required to produce them. However, the service provided by XDS was absolutely top class. They gave me every assistance I required and provided understanding to the whole process. The Documents were provided in good time and I was able to send them to Saudi Arabia quickly to allow the goods to enter the country without delay.
I have since used them on several occasions and am always dealt with promptly. The staff are proficient in their service and the quality comes through. I can’t thank them enough for their initial assistance and with everything that has followed.
