Before entering the market of Bahrain, you should consider that along with the national type approval regulations for telecommunications and radiocommunications equipment there are requirements of Gulf Custom Union and Gulf Common Market for electrical equipment and appliances as Bahrain is a member of GCC Standardization Organization (GSO). It means that if a product is considered to be the Low Voltage Electrical Equipment it is subject to GSO LV TR (BD-142004-01) requirements.
There are two lists for two categories of electrical equipment depending on their degree of hazard to persons, property, and environment referred to as List (1) and List (2). If the product falls under the List (2), it is subject to Gulf Type Examination certification by a Notified Body. If it is under the List (1), internal production control (Module A) will be mandatory.
Product conformity can be demonstrated either by testing against GSO standards or IEC standards which provide a “presumption of conformity”. Once the product has the evidence of its compliance to the GSO LV TR, it should be marked with the Gulf Conformity Mark in the form of Gulf Conformity Tracking Symbol.
Declaration validity is bound to the validity of standards used for the conformity assessment procedure.
GSO Certificate is valid for up to 3 years.
Any equipment or apparatus used or intended to be used for Telecommunications that are part of or connected, or comprises, a Telecommunications Network, and includes Radiocommunications Equipment, as well as radiocommunications and terminal equipment are subject to TRA Type Approval.
Please, note that previously, the Directorate of Wireless Licensing, Frequency & Monitoring (DWLF&M) in Bahrain was dealing with applications for RF devices only (i.e. WLAN, BT, RFID, NFC) and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) processed non-RF (i.e. ITE, Telecom, Fax) and WWAN (i.e. GSM, UMTS, CDMA) devices. However, starting from the beginning of 2021 all R&TTE applications must be submitted to the TRA only.
In order to get TRA Type Approval in Bahrain, a local representative is required. In addition there also should be a Declaration of Conformity (DoC) from the manufacturer where test standards according to the regulations of Bahrain are indicated. Besides, a full technical file must be provided.
The Type Approval Certificate is personal and indicates the Approval Holder.
In Bahrain, it is also possible to get a No Objection Certificate (NOC). It is granted to the Non-approval Holder who is going to import or sell the telecommunications equipment previously approved for the approval holder under the approval certificate issued to the approval holder. In this case, the non-approval holder takes all responsibilities as if he has obtained the certificate. Anyway, a non-approval holder may also apply for a Type Approval Certificate himself for the same Telecommunications Equipment previously approved for the Approval Holder.
The Type Approval Certificate is granted for three years and is subject to renewal.
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