According to Argentine regulations, all electronic and electrical products with AC voltage between 50 and 1000Vac or DC voltage between 50 and 1500Vdc are required to undergo mandatory safety certification. Certification modes mainly include type certification, batch certification and mark certification. Depending on the product type, customers can choose any of the following modes:
* Type certification/batch certification: type test + post-certification supervision inspection
* Mark certification: type test + factory inspection + post-certification supervision inspection
The product evaluation standards are mainly based on the Argentine national IRAM standards (most of which are formulated with reference to IEC standards), or on the basis of IEC standards with Argentine national differences. For electronic products, most home appliances and some lighting products, Argentine certification bodies accept valid CB certificates + complete CB test reports issued by certification bodies with mutual recognition agreements.
In order to ensure the public’s safe use of electrical appliances, Argentina requires that electrical products sold on the market must meet the corresponding safety regulations. Argentina promulgated a resolution on February 16, 1998 to establish a mandatory certification system to ensure that electrical products sold in the Argentine market meet the minimum safety requirements.
The implementation of the system is divided into three stages:
Phase 1: Certificate of Conformity
The certification in this stage is similar to the European CE certification. All electrical products entering the Argentine market must have a certificate of conformity, which we usually call a CE certificate.
Phase 2: Type Approval
The product must be tested in an IRAM accredited laboratory and obtain a type approval certificate issued by it. Type approval only requires safety testing and does not require factory inspection, but no safety certification logo can be used on the product.
Phase 3: Product Certification
At this stage, all products sold in the Argentine market must obtain the national certification mark. Certified products can use the “S” mark.
Currently, Argentina’s certification is transitioning to the third stage, the product certification stage, and type approval certificates are still acceptable in Argentina. However, in 2001~2002, products will gradually complete the transition to the certification stage.
