The safety authority of Singapore SPRING is seeking public feedback on the proposed changes to the product safety regulations. Members of the public can share their views on these proposed changes from August 14 to September 13.
The amendments are being made in the Consumer Protection (Safety Requirements) Regulations (CPSR) and Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (Conformity Assessment) Regulations (SPIBR).
Releasing a press statement today, SPRING said, “The proposed amendments are aimed at ensuring that the regulations take into consideration new products and technologies that have been introduced into the market.”
It is pertinent to mention that as the Safety Authority, SPRING administers the CPSR whereby 45 categories of household electrical, electronic and gas appliances and accessories, also known as Controlled Goods, have to meet the specified safety standards, be registered with SPRING, and affixed with the SAFETY mark before they can be sold in Singapore.
The proposed amendments cover the following:
a) Broadening the scope of Controlled Goods regulated under CPSR to cover new products: For example, the existing product category ‘hair dryer’ will be reclassified to ‘hair care appliances’, expanding the scope of the product category to include hair straighteners, stylers, and curlers which have been assessed to be of considerable risk. With the broadened scope, consumers will be assured of the safety of new products covered in these categories.
b) Streamlining of categories and removal of obsolete products: For example, product categories like ‘audio product’, ‘high-fidelity set’, ‘laser disc set’ and ‘television or video display unit’ will be reclassified as ‘audio and video products’ while obsolete products including ‘videocassette recorder (VCR)’, ‘immersion water heater’ and ‘mobile split air-conditioner’ will be removed from the product categories.
c) Adopting a tiered-risk conformity assessment framework: A tiered framework is proposed to determine the conformity assessment for each product category of Controlled Goods, depending on its risk level. The risk levels will be classified as remote, low, medium or high.
The proposed amendments will enable suppliers to issue a Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) for low-risk Controlled Goods. This will result in reduced time to market and savings in certification costs for goods in the low-risk category.
SPRING has invited members of the public to share their views and comments on the proposed amendments. These submissions can be shared with SPRING through email at safety@spring.gov.sg by 13 September 2017.