The Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) will officially implement a new regulation starting July 1, 2026: for all imported electronic products applying for a SASO Certificate of Conformity (CoC), the manufacturer’s official website must establish a dedicated ‘Saudi Compliance Section’ and fully provide Arabic energy efficiency labels, a map of local service centers, an Arabic customer service entry point, and a commitment to maintain spare parts inventory for 3 years. This requirement directly affects export enterprises to Saudi Arabia in consumer electronics, small home appliances, IT equipment, lighting fixtures, and related sectors, and is a mandatory pass/fail item in SASO’s online certification review.

Event Overview

On April 28, 2026, the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) issued the SASO IEC 62301:2026 Supplemental Directive, clarifying that from July 1, 2026, all imported electronic products newly applying for SASO CoC certification must have a dedicated ‘Saudi Compliance Section’ on the manufacturer’s official website. The section must include four mandatory items: (1) an Arabic version of the energy efficiency rating label (including the official SASO QR code); (2) an interactive map of locally authorized service centers registered with SASO; (3) a direct entry point for 24-hour Arabic live/online customer service; and (4) a clear statement confirming the maintenance of local inventory in Saudi Arabia for key spare parts for no less than 3 years. The above content has been incorporated into the mandatory checkpoints of SASO’s online CoC review system. If any required element is missing from the official website or the information is incomplete, the CoC certification will be directly rejected.

Which market segments will be affected

Direct trading enterprises

As CoC certification applicants and the primary parties responsible for customs clearance, direct trading enterprises must ensure that the official websites of the brands they represent meet all technical and language requirements. The impact is reflected in: increased risk of longer certification cycles; higher failure rates in document review; and shipment disruptions caused by delays in official website compliance upgrades by some overseas manufacturers.

Processing and manufacturing enterprises (OEM/ODM)

Although they do not directly undertake CoC applications, as providers of product technical parameters and energy efficiency data, they need to cooperate with brand owners to complete Arabic label data generation, QR code binding, and spare parts list standardization. The impact is reflected in: the need to additionally provide original energy efficiency test reports in SASO-compliant format (including Arabic summaries); and some enterprises being required to sign joint commitment letters for spare parts supply.

Channel distribution enterprises (distributors, importers)

As the parties responsible for performance in the end market, they must submit official website compliance self-inspection records to SASO and embed links to the compliance section on sales pages. The impact is reflected in: product detail pages on e-commerce platforms needing synchronized updates of Arabic energy efficiency information; offline stores needing to display QR codes for local service centers and customer service channels; and failure to fulfill notification obligations potentially affecting the results of subsequent market regulatory inspections.

Supply chain service enterprises (certification consulting, local representatives, translation service providers)

The business demand structure is undergoing significant changes: demand for localization services for Arabic technical documentation is increasing; the construction and maintenance of SASO compliance sections are becoming new service modules; and local representative agencies need to undertake verification of service center map data and witnessing work for spare parts inventory declarations. The impact is reflected in: the difficulty of sustaining a single certification agency service model, requiring integrated capabilities such as webpage development, multilingual technical translation, and localized operations and maintenance.

What key points should relevant enterprises or practitioners focus on, and how should they respond at present

Immediately review the compliance status of existing partner brand websites

Using July 1, 2026 as the deadline, work backward 6 months and prioritize identifying major brand models that have completed SASO registration but have not yet launched a compliance section; focus on checking whether the QR code links to the official SASO verification platform, whether the Arabic label matches the actual tested energy efficiency rating, and whether the service center addresses fully match the SASO authorization directory.

Distinguish between the ‘policy effective date’ and the ‘actual enforcement buffer period’

From observation, SASO has not set a transitional period clause, but historical experience shows that first-quarter reviews may focus more on formal checks (such as whether the section exists and whether the QR code is scannable); substantive data verification (such as proof of spare parts inventory and customer service response timeliness) may be strengthened from Q4 2026. What deserves greater attention at present is the monthly updated ‘high-risk product category list’ on the SASO official website, which already includes three categories: LED driver power supplies, wireless chargers, and smart air conditioner controllers.

Launch a collaborative mechanism for Arabic technical content in advance

Avoid having the marketing department translate energy efficiency labels unilaterally—R&D/testing departments need to provide original energy efficiency parameters (such as standby power consumption and annual electricity consumption), safety compliance laboratories need to provide SASO-recognized test report numbers, and the legal department needs to review the wording of spare parts inventory commitments. It is recommended to establish a cross-departmental ‘Saudi Compliance Response Task Force’ to uniformly produce Arabic document packages for official website deployment.

Include the compliance section in the unified management scope of digital assets

From an analytical perspective, the essence of this requirement is to bring manufacturers’ digital infrastructure into the extended scope of regulatory oversight. Enterprises should not treat it as a one-time webpage construction task, but should establish a continuous update mechanism: changes to service centers must be synchronized to the official website map within 72 hours; new models must complete the launch of corresponding Arabic labels 5 working days before CoC application; and customer service entry points must retain complete conversation logs for at least 6 months for inspection.

Editorial Viewpoint / Industry Observation

Observably, this directive is not an isolated technical update, but a key implementation step in SASO’s push for ‘full-chain localized regulation’—extending from product physical compliance to compliance of digital service interfaces. It is more like a clear institutional signal: Saudi Arabia is systematically raising the threshold for localized service capabilities of imported products, rather than merely strengthening market entry inspections. At present, the industry needs to continue paying attention to two points: first, whether SASO will extend similar requirements to other Gulf countries (such as the UAE’s ESMA and Qatar Metrology); second, whether the ‘3-year spare parts inventory’ in actual audits will require enterprises to provide warehousing contracts or customs inbound storage documents. These details have not yet been clarified in the current directive and remain variables to be observed.

Conclusion

This policy marks a shift in Saudi market compliance focus from ‘single-point certification’ to ‘full-cycle digital fulfillment’. Its industry significance does not lie in adding one more procedure, but in forcing export enterprises to restructure their technical communication systems and local service architecture for the Middle East market. At present, it is more appropriate to understand it as a strongly binding regulatory upgrade rather than a temporary administrative reminder; enterprises should advance preparations according to definitive rules and should not expect extensions or exemptions.

Information source note

Main source: official announcement on the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) website, SASO IEC 62301:2026 Supplemental Directive (publication date: April 28, 2026; effective date: July 1, 2026). Matters requiring continued observation: whether SASO will issue implementation details or third-party verification guidelines regarding ‘local spare parts inventory’; and whether this requirement applies to existing products already holding valid CoC certificates (the directive does not clearly state retroactive application to prior cases).