Updates On The Imposition Of Mandatory Standards For Imports Of Selected Construction Materials

The Customs (Prohibition for Imports) Order has been gazetted on 18 November 2013, and more than two months grace period is given after the date of gazette to ensure industries are ready to comply with the requirement. The mandatory standards requirement will be fully enforced in 31 January 2014.

MITI has decided to give two months flexible period (between 31 January to 31 March), to facilitate the importers. In this transition period, instead of a Full-Type Test, importers are only required to fulfil Critical Test requirements. Once the CTR is obtained, CoA can be issued. This is conditional on importers signing a letter of understanding (akujanji) to certify that the imported products are compliant to Malaysian Standards.

Starting 1 April 2014, all imports of these selected construction materials would need to comply fully with the CoA requirements. As such, importers are advised to take into consideration the durations needed for the whole CoA application process and ensure that after this date, they have their COA application approved at the time their shipment reaches points of entry.