Importers find Polish safety regulations akin to a "B" movie
The Polish government requires products or components being imported into Poland to receive a "B" safety certificate. European Union countries have argued that the certificate adds to the cost and time of exporting products to Poland and is not needed because these goods have already received a "CE" safety certificate from the EU.
Negotiations to harmonize the regulations have been ongoing since 1994, but after the EU and Polish government reached an agreement in February 1995 to phase out the need for "B" certificates, little progress has been made to actually implement the agreement.
"I'm concerned to see the agreement between the EU and Polish government converted into a published regulation," said Tony Gooch, director of trade promotion at the British Embassy.
Companies seeking a Polish B certificate must pay a fee for the procedure and for laboratory testing and must wait up to three months to receive permission to bring goods into Poland.
Trade boards and commercial counselors argue that the B certificates are one of the greatest obstacles to the development of trade and increased access to the Polish market, although they have also said the negotiations on the matter have speeded up the process somewhat.
The need for the certificates affects both companies exporting finished goods into the Polish market and firms importing components that will be used to make products destined for export out of Poland.
"Why can't the Polish government accept the CE certificates already in use in EU member countries?" asked Johen Goetz, the head of the economic division at the German Embassy. "The products have already been tested under high standards, so why the additional testing?"
Although a final agreement has yet to be reached on the issue, the EU is continuing to press the matter.
Dutch Agriculture Minister Jozias Van Aartsen is in Poland at the moment to discuss with Polish ministers problems related to trade issues between Poland, the Netherlands and other EU member countries. The issue of B certificates is on the agenda for the meetings, along with customs and transportation problems, according to Casper Veldkamp, Dutch embassy secretary.
EU officials are also expected to raise the B certificates' issue when the Polish government will attend a meeting of the European Commission on July 16, according to an EU official.
Although not yet finalized, the negotiations between Poland and the EU have resulted in some concessions from the Polish government, trade board officials said. One is that a temporary agreement has been put in place so that products can be sold without completion of the certification procedure if a producer can prove that a product has been submitted for testing.
"For the moment the temporary agreement helps," said Michel Bardet, commercial counselor with the French Embassy. "But it still costs French companies, trading with Poland, money and time. There is the additional problem of frustration."
According to the Swedish Trade Council, complaints from companies they work with have overwhelmingly focused on the problem of B certificates, said Eva Nilsson, commercial counselor with the agency.
The actual cost of a certificate depends on the number of products a company is producing, and the expense increases with the number of components that may be used to manufacture a product.
The Polish Center for Testing and Certification (PCBC), which administers the B certificate program, quotes a price range of zl. 400-zl. 900 ($151-$340), depending on the product. For example, the cost of a certificate for a computer printer is zl. 750 ($283).
But before a certificate is issued, the product must be tested. And the cost to have a printer tested also varies. One laboratory quoted a price of zl. 1,200 ($453), while another said it would cost up to zl. 2,000 ($755).
The testing period takes up to three weeks and it takes up to three months to have the certificate issued after testing.
The delay in finalizing the agreement initialed by the EU and the Polish government is not clear. But one source close to the EU said bureaucratic in-fighting is the cause. The PCBC is deliberately dragging its heels on the finalization of the agreement so that it and its workers do not lose the work that this procedure generates.
Janusz Bardowski, director of the PCBC, did not return calls for comment on the issue by press time.
Negotiations to harmonize the regulations have been ongoing since 1994, but after the EU and Polish government reached an agreement in February 1995 to phase out the need for "B" certificates, little progress has been made to actually implement the agreement.
"I'm concerned to see the agreement between the EU and Polish government converted into a published regulation," said Tony Gooch, director of trade promotion at the British Embassy.
Companies seeking a Polish B certificate must pay a fee for the procedure and for laboratory testing and must wait up to three months to receive permission to bring goods into Poland.
Trade boards and commercial counselors argue that the B certificates are one of the greatest obstacles to the development of trade and increased access to the Polish market, although they have also said the negotiations on the matter have speeded up the process somewhat.
The need for the certificates affects both companies exporting finished goods into the Polish market and firms importing components that will be used to make products destined for export out of Poland.
"Why can't the Polish government accept the CE certificates already in use in EU member countries?" asked Johen Goetz, the head of the economic division at the German Embassy. "The products have already been tested under high standards, so why the additional testing?"
Although a final agreement has yet to be reached on the issue, the EU is continuing to press the matter.
Dutch Agriculture Minister Jozias Van Aartsen is in Poland at the moment to discuss with Polish ministers problems related to trade issues between Poland, the Netherlands and other EU member countries. The issue of B certificates is on the agenda for the meetings, along with customs and transportation problems, according to Casper Veldkamp, Dutch embassy secretary.
EU officials are also expected to raise the B certificates' issue when the Polish government will attend a meeting of the European Commission on July 16, according to an EU official.
Although not yet finalized, the negotiations between Poland and the EU have resulted in some concessions from the Polish government, trade board officials said. One is that a temporary agreement has been put in place so that products can be sold without completion of the certification procedure if a producer can prove that a product has been submitted for testing.
"For the moment the temporary agreement helps," said Michel Bardet, commercial counselor with the French Embassy. "But it still costs French companies, trading with Poland, money and time. There is the additional problem of frustration."
According to the Swedish Trade Council, complaints from companies they work with have overwhelmingly focused on the problem of B certificates, said Eva Nilsson, commercial counselor with the agency.
The actual cost of a certificate depends on the number of products a company is producing, and the expense increases with the number of components that may be used to manufacture a product.
The Polish Center for Testing and Certification (PCBC), which administers the B certificate program, quotes a price range of zl. 400-zl. 900 ($151-$340), depending on the product. For example, the cost of a certificate for a computer printer is zl. 750 ($283).
But before a certificate is issued, the product must be tested. And the cost to have a printer tested also varies. One laboratory quoted a price of zl. 1,200 ($453), while another said it would cost up to zl. 2,000 ($755).
The testing period takes up to three weeks and it takes up to three months to have the certificate issued after testing.
The delay in finalizing the agreement initialed by the EU and the Polish government is not clear. But one source close to the EU said bureaucratic in-fighting is the cause. The PCBC is deliberately dragging its heels on the finalization of the agreement so that it and its workers do not lose the work that this procedure generates.
Janusz Bardowski, director of the PCBC, did not return calls for comment on the issue by press time.
