In this Law, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings assigned thereto, unless the context requires otherwise:

Law: Law of Measurement and Calibration.

Organization: Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization.

Board: Board of Directors of the Organization.

Governor: Governor of the Organization.

Regulations: Implementing Regulations of the Law.

Center: National Measurement and Calibration Center.

Technical Documents: Documents issued by the Board, or its designee, indicating the characteristics of measuring instruments, the processes associated therewith, and the manufacturing methods thereof as well as provisions which specifically include the terms and definitions, requirements, specifications, conditions, and recommendations that regulate metrology and the costs that must be paid.

Measurement: A set of procedures carried out to determine the value of a certain quantity.

Calibration: A set of operations and procedures that establish, under specified conditions, the value of a measured quantity with the aim of determining its true value by obtaining the most accurate value of such quantity which is as close as possible to the true value, using available instruments and capabilities, accompanied with the measurement uncertainty to give the measurement result.

Calibration Certificate: A document in which calibration results are recorded.

SI Units (International System of Units): A system of measurement quantities and their names and symbols, including a set of prefixes and their names and symbols, together with the rules of their use, as approved by the General Conference on Weights and Measures.

Metrology: The science of measurement, including scientific, industrial, and legal metrology.

Scientific Metrology: The part of metrology concerned with measurement units and primary standards as well as the laboratories concerned with their realization, maintenance, and development.

Industrial Metrology: The part of metrology concerned with metrological activities in industrial and technological production.

Legal Metrology: The part of metrology concerned with measurement units and measuring instruments as well as their technical and legal requirements.

Metrological Supervision: Activities carried out to ensure the conformity of the manufacture, import, sale, display, maintenance, installation, and use of measuring instruments as well as the adherence of prepackaged products to the mandatory requirements provided for in the Law, the Regulations, and the technical documents.

Metrological Traceability: A property of a measurement result whereby the result can be related to a reference through a documented unbroken chain of calibrations and comparisons, each contributing to the measurement uncertainty.

Uncertainty: A key concept of metrology used by persons working in the field of measurement and calibration, which refers to an integer that accompanies the true value of a measured quantity and provides space (area) on both sides of said value.

National Standards: Standards issued pursuant to a decision by the Organization to serve as the basis for fixing the value of all other standards of a given quantity in a certain country; such standards are traceable or equivalent to international standards.

International Standards: Standards recognized under an international agreement and used worldwide to serve as the basis for fixing the value of all other standards to be linked to SI Units.

Reference Standards: Standards that meet the highest levels of metrological quality at a given location.

User: An establishment that owns or uses measuring instruments.

Manufacturer: Any establishment that manufactures a prepackaged product or measuring instrument or assigns the manufacture thereof to another establishment and then markets the same under its name or trademark.

Authorized Representative: Any establishment founded in the Kingdom that is authorized by a manufacturer located outside the Kingdom to act on its behalf in accordance with applicable legal procedures.

Importer: Any establishment that imports a prepackaged product or measuring instrument from outside the Kingdom.

Distributor: Any establishment in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer and the importer, which makes available on the market a prepackaged product or measuring instrument.

Economic Operator: A manufacturer, authorized representative, importer, or distributor.

Licensed Entities: Establishments licensed by the Organization to perform metrological supervision activities.

Designated Entities: Public or private entities entrusted with the tasks of maintaining and developing some of the national standards.

Prepackaged Product: A product placed in a box or packaged in any way, such that it cannot be altered or substantially modified without opening the box or package; the nominal or actual quantity of the product shall be indicated on its label before offering it for sale.

Measuring Instrument: A device used to make quantitative measurements, whether solely or in conjunction with other devices.

This Law aims to:

1. promote the institutional framework for measurement in the Kingdom;

2. enforce the use of measurement units that are compatible with SI Units;

3. ensure the metrological traceability of all measuring instruments used in the Kingdom to SI Units;

4. direct and support research and development activities in the field of metrology; and

5. facilitate the exchange of goods between the Kingdom and other countries with regard to measurement and calibration.

The provisions of this Law shall apply to all measurement and calibration operations carried out in the Kingdom, including those related to prepackaged products that are sold, manufactured, used, or displayed regardless of their origin, whether local or imported.

An entity may not engage in any metrological supervision activity without obtaining a license from the Organization.

Economic operators and users shall ensure that the measuring instruments and prepackaged products in the Kingdom conform to the mandatory requirements provided for in this Law, the Regulations, and the technical documents.

Measurement and calibration laboratories shall satisfy the following requirements in order to achieve metrological traceability for the calibration of measuring instruments:

1. The national standards must obtain a calibration certificate or international comparison report issued by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, or by any calibration center (institute) recognized thereby, to establish traceability to international standards.

2. The calibration certificate or international comparison report of the national standards maintained by the Center or the designated entities must be valid, include uncertainty of values, and be traceable to SI Units.

3. Calibration of the reference standards of the Center and the designated entities must be made in their laboratories and accompanied by uncertainty of values to establish traceability to the national standards.

4. The calibration certificates of the reference standards of measurement and calibration laboratories must include uncertainty of values and be traceable to the national standards.

5. Calibration of measuring instruments must be made in measurement and calibration laboratories, and the calibration certificates must include uncertainty of values and be traceable to the national standards.

6. Accreditation must be obtained from the Saudi Accreditation Center to establish traceability to the national standards.

1. SI Units shall be adopted as a basis for the measurement units used as a reference in all measurements in the Kingdom. Said units shall be based on the following base units:

a) Length: Meter.

b) Mass: Kilogram.

c) Time: Second.

d) Temperature: Kelvin.

e) Electric Current: Ampere.

f) Amount of Substance: Mole.

g) Luminous Intensity: Candela.

2. The Board may approve the request of public or private entities to apply measurement units other than the units provided for in paragraph (1) of this Article, based on a recommendation from a technical committee it forms for such purpose, in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the Regulations and technical documents.

Metrological supervision activities shall include the following:

1. Type approval.

2. Initial verification.

3. Periodic verification.

4. Post-maintenance verification.

5. Self-verification.

6. Review and supervision of the activities carried out by licensed entities.

7. Review and supervision of the activities carried out by users and economic operators.

The Organization may entrust metrological supervision activities or part thereof to licensed entities.

Inspectors, to be appointed by the Board, shall collectively or individually detect and record violations of the provisions of this Law, the Regulations, and the technical documents. To this end, the inspectors may:

1. enter and inspect, at any time, the facilities of licensed entities, economic operators, and users as well as their warehouses, storage places, means of transport, or the like;

2. prepare reports to establish violations;

3. hear the violator’s statements and record them in a report;

4. close the location where a violation is committed in cases requiring such action as specified in the Regulations; the location shall remain closed until the detection and recording procedures are completed, provided that the closure period does not exceed five business days;

5. seize the measuring instruments and prepackaged products in violation, or suspected to be in violation, of the provisions of this Law, the Regulations, or the technical documents, and seize any documents related thereto;

6. take samples of the measuring instruments and prepackaged products in violation, or suspected to be in violation, of the provisions of this Law, the Regulations, and the technical documents; and

7. access and obtain copies of all documents, records, files, complaints, invoices, and any other documents related to the violation; documents may not be withheld from the inspectors under any circumstances.