China Certification and Inspections Group Company (CCIC) and Société Générale de Surveillance SA (SGS) of Switzerland were suspended for failure to inspect substandard goods before they were imported into the Kenyan market. The suspensions are immediately effective.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) introduced the Pre-export Verification of Conformity to Standards (PVoC) Program in 2005 to assure Kenyan consumers of quality goods and also safeguard the environment. Goods subject to the PVoC must obtain a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) issued by KEBS authorized inspection agents before being imported into Kenya. CoC is a mandatory clearance document for each consignment.
The two agents were appointed by KEBS in 2015 to inspect goods. The violations detected this time will see a fine of several million Kenyan shillings imposed.
