Product Certification by Inmetro
Among the many responsibilities of Inmetro, certifying that goods and services were produced according to previously established minimum requirements stands out as one of its most important activities. In this article, we will take a look at how Inmetro certifies goods and services.
What is Inmetro?
Inmetro is short for Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Normalização e Qualidade Industrial, which is the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality. This institute is accredited by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade and cooperates with the Executive Secretariat of the National Council of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality, also known as Conmetro.
Inmetros mission is to strengthen Brazilian companies, to increase their productivity through the adoption of mechanisms to improve products and service quality, as well as to promote confidence of the products commercialized in the country in Brazilian society.
The main responsibilities of Inmetro are:
- To implement national policies of metrology and quality
- To verify that the legal standards relating to the units of measurement, measurement methods and measurement instruments are fulfilled
- To guarantee the maintenance of the unit of measurement standards in Brazil
- To strengthen Brazilian participation in international activities relating to industrial metrology and quality
- To accredit national laboratories and Brazilian organizations of inspection and certification, in order for them to promote the evaluation of products and services commercialized in the country
- To develop programs and establish conformity to assess products, services and processes
Which products require a certificate
There are two different types of Inmetro certification:
- Voluntary Certifications
- Compulsory Certifications
Voluntary Certifications are granted to companies that decide by themselves that they want to have their goods or services certified by Inmetro. The decision to voluntarily apply for an Inmetro certification is usually made by Brazilian exporters to comply with international requirements. For example, the United States and the European Union demand that, for most products, a certificate stating that the product or service meets the requirements imposed by Inmetro. The complete list of products that can be voluntarily certified by Inmetro is:
- Bottled natural mineral water
- Computer goods
- Ceramic blocks for masonry
- Cachaça
- Sisal fibre
- Switches and circuit breakers
- Low voltage electrical installations
- Facilities and Equipment in the production of “Cestas Básicas”
- Materials and Equipment for civil construction
- Plywood panels for structural and non-structural use
- Dry salted pirarucu (Arapaima Gigas)
- Ceramic plates for flooring
- Ceramic tiles
- Industrial valves for facilities exploring, producing and transporting petroleum products
- Flat tempered glass
Compulsory Certifications are imposed by specific regulations issued by Inmetro, stating that a company can only commercialize or produce a product or service if it has already been duly certified. In this case, an ordinance by Inmetro will define the minimum requirements that need to be met by all companies producing specific goods or services, as well as the deadline that these companies have to work to. Compulsory Certifications are generally demanded in cases where products or services may present harm to a persons health, security or to the environment. The complete list of products that need to be compulsorily certified by Inmetro is:
- Adaptors for plugs and receptacles
- Liquid reducing agent of automotive NOx - ARLA 32
- Sterile hypodermic and gum needles for single use
- Devices for improving the quality of water for human consumption
- Gas water heaters
- Rims for adult bikes
- School supplies
- Party supplies
- Seats for audiences at sport events
- Bars and steel wire intended for reinforced concrete structures
- Drinking fountains
- Cribs
- Power cable with extruded solid insulation, made of PVC, for voltages of 0,6 and 1 kV
- All-purpose steel wires
- PVC insulated cables and flexible cords, especially for applications in connector cords of electric appliances for voltages up to 500V
- Flexible cords and cables for voltages up to 750V, with extruded PVC cover
- Flexible EPR rubber insulated cables, especially for applications in connector cords of electric appliances for voltages up to 500 V
- Feeding chairs for children
- Monobloc plastic chairs
- Boilers and pressure vessels
- Inner tubes for bike tires
- Safety helmets
- Helmets for drivers and passengers of motorcycles and similar
- Baby carts
- Bodyshell of buses
- Pacifiers
- Seamless steel cylinders intended for vehicular natural gas storage
- High pressure cylinders for storage of compressed natural gas as fuel
- Mattresses and mats of flexible polyurethane foam
- Vehicle components
- Automotive components for motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and trikes
- Components for the compression of natural gas vehicle systems and compressed natural gas
- System components for compressed vehicle natural gas
- Components of the exhaust and fuel supply system
- Conductors insulated with PVC, for voltages of 450/750V, uncovered, for fixed installations
- Connections of malleable iron for conducting fluids
- Intermediate bulk containers used for the transport of dangerous goods
- Disposable plastic cups
- Flexible cords with extruded insulation of polyethylene chlorosulfonated, for voltages up to 300 V
- Circuit Breakers
- Fixing devices for containers
- Restraint systems for children
- Large packaging used to transport dangerous goods
- Reconditioned or remanufactured packaging used in road transportation of dangerous goods
- Equipment for solar water heating
- Equipment for water consumption
- Standard ICP - Brazil equipment for digital certification
- Rubber insulating gloves
- Facemasks for particle filtering
- Vehicle shafts
- Packages for land transport for safety matches
- Packaging intended for bottling alcohol
- Electrical equipment for explosive atmospheres, in conditions of flammable gases, vapors and fuel dusts
- Electrical equipment for use in the health surveillance system
- Equipment of single use for transfusion and gravitational infusion
- Single-phase voltage stabilizers, with alternating voltage output with a nominal voltage of up to 250 V in powers of up to 3kVA / 3KW
- Fire extinguishers
- Construction of vehicles for urban and highway collective transport
- Wires, electric cables and flexible cords
- Regular and gas ovens for domestic use
- Commercial electric ovens
- Microwave ovens
- Security matches
- Fusibles of plug and cartridge type
- Breast implants
- Pressure gauges for fire extinguishers
- Switches for household and similar fixed electrical installations
- Liquids used in the hydraulic braking system of motor vehicles
- Gloves for surgical and non surgical procedures - natural and synthetic rubber
- Baby bottles and baby bottle nipples
- Plasticized PVC hoses for domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) installations
- School furniture - chairs and tables
- Pressure cookers
- Metal cookware
- Vehicle lifting platforms
- Vehicle tires
- Male preservatives
- Electronic reactors fed in alternate current for compact, straight or circular fluorescent tubes
- Transportable containers for LPG
- Low-pressure regulators for LPG gas flow with capacity of up to 4 kg/h
- Safety of household appliances and similar devices
- Safety of toys
- Single use hypodermic syringes
- Underground storage tanks for fuel in gas stations
- Air storage tanks for petroleum products and other fuels
- Carbon steel pipes for use in conducting fluids
- Underground nonmetallic tubing for automotive fuel
- Containers carrying vehicles
- Table and wall fans as well as air circulators or equipment commercialized for this purpose
- Laminated safety glass for windshield of motor vehicles
Different certification methods
There are eight different methods of certifying goods by Inmetro:
- Ensaio de Tipo - valid for one item forming part of a product
- Ensaio de Tipo in conjunction with testing samples of the product ready to be commercialized in stores. This is a more broad certification as it states that the minimum necessary requirements continue to be met by the producer. It comprises of testing samples taken from stores
- Ensaio de Tipo in conjunction with testing samples taken from the producer. It comprises of testing samples taken directly from the producing plant
- Ensaio de Tipo in conjunction with testing samples that are ready to be commercialized and samples taken directly from the industry. It combines the two last certification methods by Inmetro
- Ensaio de Tipo, Avaliação e Aprovação do Sistema de Qualidade do Fabricante - supervision via audits with the producer and testing samples taken from stores and the producing plant. This is the most common method used in the Conformity Assessment in the Brazilian System
- Avaliação e aprovação do Sistema da Qualidade do fabricante - a method through which the capacity of an industry to meet the requirements of the production of goods is tested according to a given specification.
- Ensaio de Lote - multiple samples of a batch are tested in order to assess batch conformity regarding a given specification
- Ensaio 100% - a method in which each of the items are tested to assess their conformity regarding a given specification
Imported goods
Inmetro regulations are also imposed on imported goods. In this case, the product must either be certified by:
- A foreign regulatory agency that is acknowledged by Inmetro
- Inmetro, upon arriving in Brazil
In cases where products or services have already been certified by a regulatory agency acknowledged by Inmetro, the importer needs to submit their Import License to Inmetro, as well as the goods conformity certificate to one of the entities accredited by Inmetro in Brazil. The complete list of entities accredited by Inmetro can be found here.
For all products that are subject to Compulsory Certification by Inmetro, a special license is needed in order to import them. For all cases present in Regulation Number 354 by Inmetro, a Declaração de Liberação para Importação de Produtos, Portuguese for Declaration of Release for Import of Products, is to be requested from Inmetro. The application for this Declaration must include:
- Basic information about the importing company
- Purpose of the product
- Import License
- Catalog with photo or sample of the product