UNBS scraps audit, surveillance fees for Q-Mark

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda National Bureau of Standards has reduced the cost of certifying a product, following continuous complaints from manufacturers.

UNBS has also phased out some costs altogether including Initial Audit Fees of 250,000 Shillings and Surveillance Audit Fees of 250,000.

Sylvia Kirabo, the Head of Public Relations at UNBS says that with effect from 1st July 2021 the certification and surveillance audits on Enterprises seeking to acquire the Quality Mark (Q-Mark) are free of charge.

Micro and Small Enterprises will now only pay certification fees of 500,000 Shillings while Medium and Large Enterprises will pay 1 Million Shillings to be issued with a permit to use the quality mark, valid for one year.

The UNBS has recently intensified pressure on local manufacturers, especially food processors, to get product certification for their goods before they go onto the market.

This, according to UNBS is aimed at not only improving the safety of local consumers but also ensuring that Ugandan products gain the confidence of international consumers, to grow the export markets.

Recently, the most targeted food products have been grain, especially since Kenya attempted to ban Ugandan exports over poor quality.

Earlier in the year, the UNBS responded by giving a June 30th deadline for the grain processors to acquire the quality mark, or their products will not be allowed on the market.

However, the maize producers complained that the time given was too little, considering the cost of meeting all the requirements before getting the Q-mark.

According to the UNBS changes, there is a reduction in certification fees by 350,000 Shillings for Micro and Small Enterprises and 300,000 for Medium and Large enterprises.

Enterprises will continue to pay for laboratory testing fees depending on the parameters to be analysed for their products.

“However, Enterprises involved in the manufacturing of bottled water, alcoholic beverages (excluding wine) and carbonated & non-carbonated soft drinks will pay certification fees of 1 million shillings per brand because of the additional regulatory input required to monitor their safety and quality before being put on the market,” says Kirabo.

UNBS also provides Batch Certification where Enterprises pay testing fees and 500,000 for the Batch Certificate (Certificate of Conformity).  This is a reduction from the 600,000/= previously charged for this service.

The above intervention is aimed at promoting the implementation of Quality Standards by Enterprises and help MSMEs and the Private Sector to recover from the devastating effects of COVID 19 on their businesses.

“This is also in line with UNBS mandate to promote Buy Uganda–Build Uganda (BUBU) and enhancing the competitiveness of Ugandan exports to the regional and international markets,” she says.

UNBS also provides Pre-market Approval for products that have not yet completed the certification process where MSMEs pay testing fees and 250,000 Shillings to get the Authorization Letter, while Medium and Large Enterprises pay testing fees and 500,000 Shillings for the Authorization Letter, valid for 6 months.

The new Certification Fees structure has been highly subsidized and only consider recoverable costs in terms of man-hour input for both onsite and offsite certification processes as well as administrative overheads.

UNBS has also extended the payment period from 7 days to 21 days from the date of the payment notice.

However, all fees are paid to UNBS through Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) before the audit, to allow timely issuance of a permit to use UNBS Quality Mark immediately after the certification decision is made.

According to UNBS guidelines, a Micro-Enterprise is employing a maximum of four people, with annual sales or revenue turnover of not more than Ushs10 million, while its total assets to not exceed Ushs10 million.

Small Enterprise employs a maximum of 50 people and annual sales or revenue turnover does not exceed Ushs100 million, while its total assets are worth a maximum of 100 million shillings.

An enterprise is categorised as “Medium” when it employs up to 100 people, records annual sales or revenue turnover of not more than 360 million shillings and has total assets of not more than 360 million shillings.

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