1/1 The terms and phrases below and other phrases mentioned in this Regulation - when applying its provisions - shall have the meanings and implications indicated next to them, or those stated in the laws, regulations, and decisions in force at the Organization, unless the context of the text requires otherwise.

• The Kingdom: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

• The Council: The Board of Directors of the Organization.

• The Organization: The Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization.

• Regulatory Authorities: The governmental authority/authorities with regulatory tasks according to their jurisdiction, responsible for implementing or monitoring the implementation of technical regulations, whether at customs points, markets, or factories.

• Market Surveillance Authorities: The governmental entities specialized in monitoring markets and the measures taken to ensure that products comply with the requirements of the regulations issued by the Board of Directors.

• Technical Regulation: An approved document from the Board of Directors that sets the characteristics of products and the processes associated with them and their production methods, including the applicable administrative provisions that must be adhered to. It may specifically include or address terms, definitions, packaging, requirements for labeling or marking products or services or processes or production methods.

• Standard Specification: A document that defines the attributes of a commodity, material, service, or anything subject to measurement or its descriptions, characteristics, quality level, dimensions, and measures, or safety and security requirements, including terms, symbols, testing methods, sampling, packaging, data sheets, and labels.

• Essential Requirements: The requirements specific to products that may affect safety, health, and the environment, which must be adhered to.

• Hazard: A potential source of harm.

• Risk(s): The likelihood of a hazard causing harm; related to the severity of the harm.

• Market Surveillance: The activities and measures taken by Market Surveillance Authorities to verify that products meet the requirements stipulated in the relevant technical regulations and that they do not pose a risk to health, safety, and the environment, or any other aspect related to protecting the public interest.

• Supplier: Refers to the following:

  • - The manufacturer of the product, if located in the Kingdom, or any person presenting themselves as the manufacturer of the product, by naming the product in their name or any relevant trade description, as well as any person renewing the product.

  • - The manufacturer's agent in the Kingdom if the manufacturer is located outside the Kingdom, or the importer in the absence of an agent for the manufacturer in the Kingdom.

  • - Any person in the supply chain whose activity may affect the characteristics of the product.

• Conformity Assessment Procedures: An approved document from the Board of Directors that clarifies the procedure used directly or indirectly for assessing conformity.

• Accepted Entities: Entities for conformity assessment accepted by the Organization according to the Regulation for Accepting Conformity Assessment Entities.

• Certificate of Conformity: The certificate issued by the Organization or one of the accepted entities, confirming that the product or any batch of it complies with the requirements of the relevant standard specifications.

• Supplier's Declaration of Conformity: A declaration from the supplier themselves that their product complies with the applicable legislative requirements, without any mandatory intervention from a third party - in all stages of the manufacturing process - and the declaration may rely on tests on the product according to the relevant legislation.

• Saudi Quality Mark: A mark approved by the Organization indicating that the establishment has an effective management system that ensures the production of a product compliant with the Regulation and the granting procedures and the relevant Saudi standard specifications.

• Market Placement: The initial placement of the product in the market of the Kingdom, for which either the manufacturer or the importer is responsible.

• Market Offering: Means any supply of the product for distribution, consumption, or use in the Kingdom within a commercial activity, whether for monetary compensation or without compensation.

• Withdrawal: Any action aimed at preventing the offering of products in the market and in the supply chain.

• Recall: Any action aimed at retrieving products that have been previously provided to the end user.

• Competent Authority: The authorities responsible for applying the provisions of this technical regulation and issuing licenses related to the product, or to the establishment and its activity.

• Environment: Everything surrounding humans, animals, plants, or any living organism; including water, air, land, soil, living organisms, biodiversity, gases in the atmosphere, and water bodies, as well as what these environments (environmental media) contain of inanimate objects, various forms of energy, ecological habitats, natural processes, and their interactions.

• Equipment: Machines and tools, fixed or mobile devices, control components including measuring devices, detection or prevention systems whether connected together or separate. This equipment is designed to generate, transmit, store, measure, control energy, and convert it from one form to another and/or is designed to process materials, and has the potential to cause an explosion through its specific ignition sources.

• Preventive Systems: Devices other than equipment components, designed to immediately stop an imminent explosion and/or limit the effective range of the explosion, which are provided in the market separately to be used as independent systems.

• Components: Any element necessary for the safe operation of equipment and preventive systems but does not have an independent function.

• Explosive Atmosphere: A mixture of flammable materials with air under atmospheric conditions in the form of gases, vapors, mists, or dust, where combustion spreads to all the unburned mixture upon ignition.

• Explosive Environment: An environment that can become explosive due to local and operational conditions.

• Group Equipment (I): Equipment intended for use in underground parts of mines, in addition to parts of the surface installations of these mines, which are exposed to danger due to mining gases and/or combustible dust, consisting of categories (M1) and (M2) as detailed in Appendix (2).

• Group Equipment (II): Equipment intended for use in places other than mines and exposed to danger due to explosive atmospheres, consisting of categories (1), (2), and (3) as detailed in Appendix (2).

• Equipment Category: A classification of equipment within each group as detailed in Appendix (2) that determines the required level of protection to be ensured.

• Intended Use: The normal use of the product as defined by the manufacturer during design and construction by assigning the equipment to a specific group and category, or providing all necessary information for the safe performance of a preventive system or device or component.

2/1 The words and other phrases mentioned in this technical regulation shall have the meanings stated in the laws, regulations, and decisions in force in the Kingdom.

The purpose of this Regulation is to define the essential requirements for equipment and protective systems intended for use in explosive atmospheres covered by the scope of this Regulation, and to specify the conformity assessment procedures that suppliers must adhere to, in order to ensure that these products comply with the essential requirements aimed at preserving the environment and the health and safety of their users, as well as facilitating market surveillance procedures.

The supplier must comply with the following requirements:

1/4 The basic health and safety requirements stipulated in Appurtenance (3).

2/4 The required conformity assessment procedures and the provision of the technical documents referred to in Article (6).

3/4 The products must meet the technical requirements contained in the relevant standard specifications outlined

in Appurtenance (1).

4/4 The use of International System of Units (SI Units) or their multiples or subdivisions for the products covered by this Regulation during design, manufacturing, or trading, in accordance with the Saudi Measurement and Standards Law.

The explanatory data for products covered by the Regulation, prepared for placement and display in the market, must clearly and indelibly meet at least the following details:

1/5 The trade name or registered trademark.

2/5 The manufacturer's address.

3/5 The test certificate number.

4/5 The explosion protection marking () in accordance with the standard specifications.

5/5 The model number.

6/5 The name of the equipment.

7/5 The electrical limiters, if any.

8/5 The product classification (e.g., lighting, cable, etc.).

9/5 The maximum ambient temperature limit.

10/5 All essential information for safe use must be added when necessary.

11/5 The images and phrases used on the product must not violate public order, public morals, and the prevailing Islamic values in the Kingdom.

Conformity Assessment Procedures

1/6 The supplier - responsible for displaying and/or placing equipment and preventive systems intended for use in explosive atmospheres in the markets of the Kingdom must obtain a conformity certificate issued by the authority.

2/6 A technical file must be attached to the product containing:

• A- The supplier's (manufacturer/supplier) declaration of conformity according to the form attached in Appurtenance (4).

• B- Risk assessment document.

3/6 Products covered by the regulation that have obtained the Saudi Quality Mark are considered to meet the requirements of this regulation.

The regulatory authorities, within their jurisdiction and powers, shall do the following:

1/7 Verify that the related products meet the specified conformity assessment procedures and the technical documents attached to the shipments.

2/7 The regulatory authorities have the right to randomly withdraw samples from the related products and refer them to the specialized laboratories to ensure their compliance with the requirements stated in this technical regulation.

3/7 The regulatory authorities have the right to inspect the equipment and preventive systems to ensure their compliance with the requirements stated in this regulation.

4/7 The regulatory authorities have the right to charge suppliers (manufacturers and importers) for the costs of conducting tests and related matters.

5/7 In the event of detecting a non-compliance issue with the product, the regulatory authority shall withdraw the concerned products from the warehouses and take the necessary legal actions against them.

The market surveillance authorities, within their jurisdiction and powers, shall carry out the following:

1/8 Implement market surveillance procedures on products displayed in the markets, as well as products stored in the warehouses of traders and manufacturers, to verify the safety of the products and their compliance with the essential requirements outlined in this technical regulation and the relevant standard specifications.

2/8 Withdraw samples of the product, whether from the market or from the warehouses of suppliers (manufacturers and importers), in order to conduct the necessary tests and ensure their compliance with the requirements stipulated in this technical regulation.

3/8 In the event of detecting non-compliance of the product - whether displayed or stored - with the requirements of this technical regulation, the market surveillance authorities shall take all administrative actions, including withdrawal and recall of the concerned product, and the procedures and penalties stated in Article (9) shall be applied, after taking the necessary actions.

1/9 The manufacture and import of products that do not comply with the provisions of this Regulation are prohibited, as well as placing and displaying them in the market, or even announcing them.

2/9 The failure of a product to meet the requirements of this Regulation is considered sufficient grounds for market surveillance authorities and regulatory bodies to determine that this product is non-compliant; which may pose a risk to consumer health and safety and to the environment, in the following cases:

• A- Failure to affix or incorrect affixation of conformity marks or the Saudi Quality Mark or its equivalent.

• B- Failure to issue a certificate of conformity or the supplier's declaration of conformity, or issuing them incorrectly.

• C- Lack of or insufficient technical documentation.

• D- Lack of or insufficient explanatory data or usage instructions.

3/9 Upon detecting any violation of the provisions of this Regulation, the market surveillance authorities - as applicable - shall take all necessary measures to remove the violation and its effects from the market, and they may, for this purpose:

• A- Assign the violating entity - responsible for placing and displaying the non-compliant product - to withdraw it from warehouses or the market in order to rectify the violation, if possible, or to export it, or to destroy it (depending on the nature of the product), within the timeframe specified by the market surveillance authorities.

• B- Withdraw, seize, or destroy the products, or take any other action to recall them from the markets. The market surveillance authorities - as applicable - may announce the recall of the product from the markets, with the violating entity bearing all associated costs.

4/9 Upon detecting a violation, the authority shall take the necessary actions against these products that do not comply with the requirements of this Regulation, including the cancellation of the related certificate of conformity, and taking necessary measures with the accredited entity that issued the certificate in accordance with the Regulation on the Acceptance of Conformity Assessment Bodies.

5/9 Without prejudice to any harsher penalties under applicable laws, any person who violates the requirements of the approved standard specifications for products covered by this Regulation shall be punished with the penalties stipulated in the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law.