Act now to arrange Chinese CCC Ex certification before October 2020
In October 2019, China announced that its CNCA-C23-01:2019 - Compulsory Certification Rules for Explosion-protected Electrical Equipment (also called ‘CCC Ex’) certification scheme will be extended to cover all Ex products, irrespective of the place of manufacture. This means that, from October 2020 onwards, Ex products manufactured outside of China will no longer be exempt from the CCC Ex.
In other words, an ATEX and/or IECEx certificate will no longer be sufficient. As a recognized partner of an official Chinese Approval Body, DEKRA can advise you on the best route to CCC Ex certification, including performing the necessary on-site inspections and helping you to prepare the required documentation. But it is important to act now in order to meet the October deadline.
Under the new CCC Ex rules, all products listed in the current National Production License System (NPLS) catalogue, irrespective of the place of manufacture, must be assessed in the following three-step CCC certification process:
1. The Type Test (Ex product evaluation, testing and certification)
2. The Initial Factory Inspection
3. The Post-Certification Supervision (surveillance audits and re-assessment audits)
Ex products manufactured abroad for sale on the Chinese market have so far been exempt from steps 2 and 3, meaning that an existing ATEX QAN and/or IECEx QAR certificate was sufficient. Now, however, most manufacturers who want to continue to export Ex products to China must transition to the new CCC Ex scheme by October this year. The only exceptions are currently unlisted products, such as LED lighting apparatus for example.
Recognized auditors
While the Type Test process remains largely unchanged in practice, the CCC Ex scheme stipulates that audits of the manufacturing location (step 2) can only be done by recognized CCC Ex auditors appointed by the Chinese CCC Ex Certification Bodies. DEKRA is a recognized partner of an official CCC Ex Certification Body and is therefore already approved to perform the necessary on-site inspections. DEKRA’s experts can also assess your specific situation and guide you through the broader certification process to ease the burden on you, such as by helping you to prepare and submit the required documentation.
Deadline rapidly approaching
As a one-stop shop, DEKRA can combine the CCC Ex audit activities with testing and certification in line with many other standards (e.g. renewal of ATEX/IECEx/KC,INMETRO,etc.), making use of any overlaps to save you valuable time and money. With the October deadline rapidly approaching, time is of the essence, so don’t delay – contact us today to discuss the next steps to safeguard your continued export activities to China.