Armenia brings registration of declarations of conformity in line with European requirements

Bodies that register declarations of conformity in Armenia will have to obtain a separate attestation from the National Accreditation Body (ARMNAB) and pay ARMNAB an annual fee of at least 850 thousand drams (about $2.4 thousand) for as long as the attestation is valid. The requirement is set out in a draft order of the Minister of Economy, prepared by the ministry and ARMNAB. The change is meant to resolve a nonconformity found during an assessment by the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA), which could hold back ARMNAB’s full membership of EA.

A declaration of conformity is a document in which a manufacturer or importer confirms that a product meets the technical regulations of Armenia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Declarations are currently registered by product certification bodies accredited by ARMNAB.

According to the explanatory note, EA found that this arrangement does not meet the principle of separating functions applied in the European system. The main function of certification bodies is to issue certificates of conformity, while registering declarations is a separate process that the authors propose to assign to bodies attested for that purpose. EAEU rules allow declarations to be registered either by an accredited certification body or by a body authorized by the member state (Eurasian Economic Commission Board Decision No. 41 of March 20, 2018).

The order will take effect one month after official publication. Within the following month, certification bodies that register declarations must apply to ARMNAB to remove declaration schemes from their scope of accreditation. In return they will receive an attestation certificate valid until their accreditation certificate expires, and accreditation procedures already under way will continue as attestation.

The fee for administering the attestation process is 750 thousand drams plus a surcharge based on the number of product groups in the EAEU Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity: 100 thousand drams for 1–5 groups and 10 thousand for each additional group. The annual fee is calculated by the same formula and paid in four equal quarterly installments.

Assessments are charged separately per person-day, at 14 thousand drams a day for an accreditation expert and 10 thousand drams for a technical expert. The registering body covers the assessment team’s travel and transport costs. Fees paid are not refunded regardless of the outcome, except the administration fee if the assessment team has not yet been approved.

A registering body must be registered in Armenia, have a management system that ensures impartiality, and must not design, manufacture or sell products whose declarations it registers. Its experts must hold a qualification certificate from a body accredited to ISO/IEC 17024. Applications are filed through ARMNAB’s e-accreditation electronic system.

Each stage has a deadline: document review takes 15 working days, the on-site assessment up to 4 days, and nonconformities must be corrected within 30 working days at most. A three-member commission, selected by the electronic system and excluding anyone involved in the assessment, decides within 3 working days. Attestation is granted for four years, with a periodic assessment in the first 12 months and then at least once every 18 months.

According to the explanatory note, the draft does not change state budget revenue or spending. It follows from the government’s 2021–2026 action program, which targets multilateral recognition agreements with EA, the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

Background

EA has approved ARMNAB’s accession to the EA Multilateral Agreement (EA MLA). According to Armenia’s Ministry of Economy, the decision was taken at the 55th meeting of the EA Multilateral Agreement Council (MAC) in Roissy-en-France, France.

The council reviewed the results of ARMNAB’s peer evaluation and approved ARMNAB as an EA MLA signatory in the following key areas:

• Testing laboratories (EN ISO/IEC 17025)
• Calibration laboratories (EN ISO/IEC 17025)
• Management system certification (EN ISO/IEC 17021-1)

The official signing ceremony will take place at the end of November during the EA summit. The agreements will lower costs for both manufacturers and importers by reducing or removing the need to reassess products and services in another country, supporting the free movement of goods.

The Ministry of Economy has drafted a program to partly reimburse testing laboratories for the cost of international accreditation. ARMNAB-accredited laboratories that obtain accreditation from a body that is a signatory to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ILAC MRA) may be reimbursed up to 70% of costs, capped at 5 million drams (about $13.8 thousand), or up to 2 million drams when extending their scope of accreditation. According to the explanatory note, 6 million drams is planned for 2026 and 16 million drams a year from 2027, with the program running until November 10, 2030.

Since June 2026, Russia has restricted imports of Armenian plant and animal products. The Central Bank of Armenia estimates that the restrictions cover products whose exports amounted to about 1.2% of GDP in 2025. Most production of flowers, fish products and stone fruit is exported to Russia, and options to redirect it to other markets in the short term are limited.

Temporary EU trade preferences for Armenian goods took effect on October 10 and will apply for two years. According to the European Commission, they liberalize almost 80% of Armenia’s exports to the EU, including nearly all exports of fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers hit by the Russian restrictions, and more than 91% of exports of beverages and spirits.

The preferences are meant to support Armenian producers and exporters after Russia’s recent trade restrictions. The Commission expects the measures to ease access to the EU market and contribute to the resilience of Armenia’s economy.

The preferential regime includes conditions and safeguards in case imports harm EU producers. The preferences are part of a broader support package for Armenia announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.