Manufacturers of electronic devices using Bluetooth technology might be able to roll out their products more quickly after the National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday decided to simplify the product certification procedure.
The new rule, which is scheduled to take effect in July, would apply to computer mice, keyboards, speakers, headsets, “selfie sticks” and stylus pens that use Bluetooth, the NCC said.
Manufacturers of Bluetooth devices were previously required to obtain type approval or a declaration of conformity from domestic laboratories recognized by the NCC, which was a strict and cautious process involving tests on many items, commission Frequency and Resources Department Deputy Director Chen Chun-mu (陳春木) said.
The laboratories would then issue certificates to the manufacturers if their products were tested to be safe, Chen said.
Amendments to NCC rules would allow manufacturers of low-power electronic devices that cause less electronic interference to submit a more simplified version of the declaration of conformity, he added.
“In addition to the simplified version of the declaration of conformity issued by laboratories in Taiwan, we will recognize the same document issued by laboratories in other nations, so long as their regulations are similar to ours, such as those of the US Federal Communications Commission,” Chen said.
He said that the simplified, procedures would reduce the time manufacturers need for certification from one month to one week, so that products could reach stores sooner.
Manufacturers applying for a simplified declaration of conformity would be charged NT$2,000 in certification fees, whereas they were paying NT$9,800 under the old rules, Chen said.
The commission started discussing relaxing certification procedures for small, low-power electronic devices in 2015 and was originally determined to waive all certification requirements for manufacturers of these devices, Chen said.
However, as some manufacturers feared that it would cause ill-quality products to inundate the market, the commission last year required that manufacturers of computer mice, keyboards, speakers, headsets, “selfie sticks” and stylus pens submit a declaration of conformity, which is a less strict certification than type approval, he said.
Chen said the amendment approved yesterday further relaxes procedures by allowing manufacturers to provide a more simplified version of the declaration of conformity.
In addition to the six stated devices, the commission would regularly review the list of items that require only the simplified version of the declaration of conformity, he added.
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