In 2021, Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) blocked the entry of more than 1.8 million substandard products that do not meet the mandatory standards set for safety and energy efficiency. Size-wise, these non-compliant products has increased by 27% when compared to the size of non-compliant products that were blocked in 2020.
The non-compliant products that were re-exported during 2021 included lighting products, refrigerators, conditioners, washing machines, blowers, heaters and tires. The Authority stated that it had mandated the importers of such products to re-export them abroad.
The number of the blocked products for non-compliance with Saudi standards included 1,706, 653 lighting products, 49, 423 products of air conditioners, washing machines, blowers, refrigerators and heaters, and 105, 881 tires in total.
With these measures, ZATCA hopes to ensure that only products that meet the established standards are allowed into the country, with a focus on energy-intensive commodities. All of these initiatives are carried out in tandem with the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, and the Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization (SASO).