Safety Compliance

IMPORTANT NOTE ON ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL APPARATUS

All electrical and electronic products sold in South Africa, including heat presses, printers and vinyl cutters need a LETTER OF AUTHORITY (LOA) issued by the NRCS if they are to be imported or even manufactured locally.

This LOA is ONLY given if the product has been tested and found to be safe for consumer use, not harmful to the environment and it conforms to compulsory South African safety standards and the report is not older than 3 years for a new LOA or 5 years for a renewal.

Any product which does not have an LOA and is imported into the country is liable to be seized and destroyed should the importer be unable to procure an LOA (which can take 6 months).

This can happen either at the port of entry into South Africa, but can also happen in your shop, office, or even at a trade show. There have been numerous cases where the inspectorate together with the SAPS have raided places like flea-markets, have sized and destroyed illegal products.

If two different importers are importing the same product, each needs to have their own LOA for the product to be legal, and they also have to pay a levy for each unit imported into the country.

Where an LOA was issued more than 5 years ago, that product needs to be re-tested to the current standards. A test like this can cost R 35,000 or more, which means that bottom end suppliers are unlikely to have an LOA.

All products sold by JG Electronics that require an LOA, have it.