How to Obtain GCC and G-MARK in the Seven Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries?

 How to Obtain GCC and G-MARK in the Seven Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries?

GCC is the abbreviation for the Gulf Cooperation Council. The GCC was established on May 25, 1981, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Currently, its member states are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Sultanate of Oman, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the Republic of Yemen. The GCC General Secretariat is located in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and it is an important economic organization in the Middle East.

GC mark certification is a market access certificate for products entering the GCC member states.

I: Introduction to GC Mark Certification

Since July 1, 2016, the technical regulations for low-voltage electrical equipment and appliances in the Gulf countries have officially come into effect, mandating GCC certification for some products. After the implementation of these regulations, low-voltage electrical equipment must meet the safety and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements of these technical regulations and bear the GC mark in order to be sold in the Gulf Standardization Organization (GSO) member states. Some regulated products must be certified by a third-party certification body authorized by the GSO and registered with the GSO before they can bear the GC mark.

On November 14, 2016, the Gulf Cooperation Council Standardization Organization (GSO) officially released the latest rules for the use of the GSO Conformity Tracking Symbol (GCTS).

The GSO Conformity Tracking Symbol is a traceability symbol generated by the GSO certificate traceability system after registration. It consists of two parts: the GC symbol and a traceable QR code.

II: Rules for the Use and Printing of the GC Symbol

On April 25, 2019, the Gulf Cooperation Council Standardization Organization (GSO) officially launched the new version of the GSO Conformity Tracking Symbol registration system. In response to various adjustments made in the new system, the GSO released the second version of the GSO Conformity Tracking Symbol (GCTS) usage rules on May 21, 2019, requiring certified companies to complete the transition within a specified timeframe to comply with the new rules, with May 1, 2019, as the dividing line. The following is an interpretation of the rule changes:

(I) Important Notes

1. The designated organization code in the GCTS for products has been removed;

2. The use of GCTS for certificates on products is strictly prohibited;

3. Once a certificate is suspended, revoked, or cancelled, the certificate holder should immediately cease using the GCTS;

4. New certificates issued before May 1, 2019, and certificates whose three-year validity period has expired and are being renewed, can still use the old version (with the designated organization code) of GCTS until the following deadlines:

a. The certificate's validity period, if the certificate's validity period is later than December 31, 2020;

b. December 31, 2020, if the certificate's validity period is earlier than December 31, 2020.

(II) The structure of the new version of the GCTS for products is shown in the figure:

http://www.gso.org.sa/nb/coc/000X-X (QR code automatically recognized)

① Gulf Compliance Mark (G-mark logo)

② Traceability QR Code

(III) Example of GCTS for Products

http://www.gso.org.sa/nb/coc/000X-X (QR code automatically recognized)

(IV) Application Location of GCTS for Products

1. Product body, nameplate (label). If there is insufficient space for the nameplate (label), it is acceptable to apply it only to the product body;

2. In any case, GCTS for products should be applied to the external surface of the product body or to a part that can be easily accessed without the aid of any tools;

3. GCTS application requirements only apply to the product body. Other additional components do not need to be applied. However, if the product consists of two or more main functional units, all of them must be GCTS applied.