South Asian Regional Standards Organisation (SARSO)

1. The South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO), a SAARC Specialized

Body has been established to achieve and enhance coordination and cooperation among SAARC
Member States in the fields of standardization and conformity assessment and is aimed to de -
velop harmonized standards for the region to facilitate intra-regional trade and to enhance access
to the global market.

2. The Agreement on the Establishment of South Asian Regional Standards Organisation

(SARSO) entered into force on 25 August 2011 after ratification by all Member States. The
SAARC Agreement on Multilateral Arrangement on Recognition of Conformity Assessment;
and the SAARC Agreement on Implementation of the Regional Standards were signed during
the Seventeenth SAARC Summit. The Agreements have been ratified by all Member States.

3. The Second Meeting of Governing Board of SARSO (Dhaka, 2-3 April 2014) decided to
operationalize SARSO Secretariat, a SAARC Specialized Body, in Dhaka w.e.f. 3 April 2014.
The Governing Board appointed Dr. Syed Humayun Kabir as the first Director General of
SARSO for a period of three years.

4. The Director-General of SARSO made a presentation on the activities of SARSO during

the Forty-first Session of Standing Committee held in Kathmandu on 23-24 November 2014. The
Standing Committee also took note of the critical importance of SARSO in eliminating all forms
of barriers to regional trade and urged for all possible support from all Member States for effect-
ive functioning of the Organization.

5. The following Sectoral Technical Committees (STCs) have been established to facilitate
harmonization of SARSO Standards. The STCs consists of representatives from the Member
bodies and are established to carry out all technical activities for the development of SAARC
standards.

i. STC on Food and Agricultural Products

ii. STC on Jute, Textile and Leather

iii. STC on Building Materials

iv. STC on Chemicals and Chemical Products

v. STC on Electrical, Electronics, Telecom & IT

vi. STC on Conformity Assessment

List of SAARC Standards under discussion of STCs of SARSO:

S. No. Title of Proposed SARS Standard

STC on Food and Agricultural Products

1 Instant Noodles- Specification
2 Food Hygiene - General Principles - Code of Practice
3 Skimmed Milk Powder
4 Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
5 Black Tea – Specification
6 Rice
7 Wheat
8 Spices - Chillies - Whole and Ground (Powdered) – Specification
9 Spices - Cumin - Whole – Specification
10 Spices - Fenugreek - Whole and Ground – Specification
11 Spices - Curry powder- Specification
12 Spices - Cardamom – Specification
13 Spices - Turmeric - Whole and Ground – Specification
14 Spices - Fennel Seeds - whole – Specification
15 Spices - Coriander - Whole and Ground – Specification
16 Mango
17 Onion
18 Citrus Fruit
19 Potato
20 Fist and Fish Products
21 Chemical & Micro-biological Standards: Meat & Meat Products
22 Heavy Metal in Food and Food Preparation
23 Aflatoxin
24 Cereals, Pulses and Legumes
25 MRLS for Spices
26 Pesticide Residues
27 Oil Cakes and Solvent Extracted Meal
28 Fresh Beans
29 Cucumber [Kakri / Kheera]
30 Celery
31 Fresh Tomato
32 Pumpkin
33 Brussels Sprouts
34 Artichokes
35 Fresh Brinjal
36 Okra
37 Green Chillies (large)
38 Asparagus
39 Arum
40 Dry Ginger (whole)
41 Dry Garlic (whole)
42 Raw and Steamed Bones
43 Molasses
44 Wool (clipped and pulled)
45 Animal Hair
46 Eggs
47 Guava
48 Dates
49 Raped and Mustarded Seed
50 Banana
51 Animal Casings
52 Sweet Lime
53 Chowara
54 Lemon
STC on Chemical and Chemical Products
1 Toilet Soap
2 Hair Shampoo for Babies
3 Laundary Soap
4 Liquid Toilet Soap
5 Soft Soap
6 Toilet Soap for Babies
7 Tooth paste
8 Hair Shampoo
9 Household Laundry Detergent Powder
10 Cosmetic: Classification of cosmetic raw materials and adjuncts: Part 1 Dyes, colors and pigments
Cosmetic: Classification of cosmetic raw materials and adjuncts: Part 2 List of raw materials generally not
11 recognized as safe for use in cosmetics
STC on Electrical, Electronics, IT and Telecom
1 Electrical Cable (PVC insulated/sheathed)
2 Double capped fluorescent Lamp (safety requirements and performance requirements)
STC on Jute, Textile and Leather
1 Jute Bags for Packing 50 kg Food grains
2 Jute Bags for packing 50 kg Sugar
3 Jute Carpet backing Fabric
4 Jute yarn
 5 Towels and Toweling Fabric
6 Leather - Glazed kid for shoe uppers
7 Specification for Full-chrome upper leather
8 Vegetable tanned sole leather – Specification
STC on Building Materials
1 Steel Tubes and fittings
2 Hot rolled medium and high tensile structural steel
3 Ordinary Portland Cement
4 Steel tubes for Structural purpose
5 High strength deformed steel bars and wires for Concrete reinforcement
6 Structural Steel – Ordinary quality
7 Ceramic Tiles – Method of Testing
8 Pre-stressing steel wires/strands
Glossary of terms relating to Iron and Steel: Part I; General Metallurgy, Heat Treatment and Testing Glossary
of terms relating to Iron and Steel: Part II; Steel Making
Glossary of terms relating to Iron and Steel: Part III; Hot-Rolled Steel Products (Excluding Sheet and Strip)
Glossary of terms relating to Iron and Steel: Part IV; Steel Sheet and Strip
9 Glossary of terms relating to Iron and Steel: Part V; Bright Steel Bar and Steel wire
Glossary of terms relating to Iron and Steel: Part VI; Forging (including drop forging)
Glossary of terms relating to Iron and Steel: Part VII; Wrought Iron
Glossary of terms relating to Iron and Steel: Part VIII; Steel Tubes and Pipes

6. The following Standards have been approved by the Fifth Governing Board Meeting of
SARSO held from 28 February-01 March 2017 in Dhaka, Bangladesh:

SARSO STC on Food and 1. Biscuits-Specification

Agricultural Products 2. Refined Sugar-Specification
3. Code of Hygienic Practice for Dairy Industry

7. The following Standards are at the final stages of approval:

SARSO STC on Jute, Textiles and 1. Hessian – Specification

Leather 2. Cotton Drill – Specification
3. Cotton Twill – Specification
4. Jute twine – Specification

8. All standards finalized by SARSO will have a distinct identity and will be known as
SAARC Regional Standards (SARS) with a specific number like SARS 0001. The first five
numbers will be reserved for important symbols of SAARC and SARSO such as SAARC Flag,
SAARC Logo, SARSO Mark etc.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

9. Cooperation Agreements have been signed between SARSO and the International Organ-
ization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for
mutual collaboration and cooperation in the field of Standardization. The ISO Council has also
recognized SARSO as the Regional Standards Organization for the South Asian region as per the
Council Resolution 24/2015. The cooperation agreement with CEN/CENELEC (European Re-
gional Standards Organization) is being finalized.

COOPERATION UNDER SAARC-PTB MOU

10. Within the framework of its international technical cooperation, funded by the German
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the National Metrology Institute of Ger-
many PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) has been supporting the process of regional
collaboration in quality infrastructure within SAARC since 2004. Based on a Memorandum of
Understanding with the SAARC Secretariat, the ultimate objective of this cooperation is to re-
duce barriers of trade and facilitate regional economic integration. Since the signing of SAARC-
PTB MOU in November 2003, PTB-Germany has been extending useful cooperation to Member
States in the field of quality infrastructure which include metrology, standardization, testing, cer-
tification and accreditation. PTB has also been making efforts at raising awareness on Standard-
ization in the region. The SARSO has been coordinating the activities under the SAARC-PTB
MoU since its establishment.

Accreditation:

11. Five Meetings of SAARC Expert Group on Accreditation (SEGA) have been held in
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh with the financial and technical support of
PTB under the SAARC-PTB MOU. The Meetings of SEGA are followed by National Awareness
Workshops on Accreditation. The Fifth Meeting of SEGA was held in Bangladesh on 8-9 Octo-
ber 2016 followed by National Awareness Training for Regulators on Accreditation on 10 Octo-
ber 2016 and an Awareness Training on Halal on 11 October 2016. The Third Review and Plan-
ning Meeting of SEGA was held in Bhutan on 06-07 April 2016.

Metrology:

12. Metrology is one of the key cooperation areas under the SAARC-PTB MoU, under which
a regional planning workshop has been organised in New Delhi, in November 2010. During the
workshop, it was agreed that in order to facilitate exchange of information and continuous dia-
logue among SAARC Member States, regional Coordination Meetings may be held approxim-
ately once in a year to provide a forum for mutual update on developments in scientific metro-
logy on national and regional level. The first three coordination meetings were organized in
Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. The Fifth Coordination Meeting on Regional
Cooperation in Metrology was held in Thimphu, Bhutan and was organized by Bhutan Standards
Bureau on 13-14 October 2016 with the financial assistance of PTB-Germany and technical as-
sistance of National Physical Laboratory (NPL), India. The Coordination Meeting aimed to re-
view, adapt and update the activities and frame coordination mechanisms in metrology for the
next phase of the project.

Matters relating to cooperation in the field of Customs

13. The Ninth Meeting of the SAARC Sub-Group on Customs Cooperation (Colombo, 20-
21 June 2013) discussed matters relating to harmonisation of requirements of Mandatory and
Additional Documents for customs clearance; inter-operability of Systems being followed by
customs administrations in Member States; preparation of a simplified form for Customs Declar-
ation for trade in goods in the SAARC region; harmonisation of 8-digit tariff lines in the Member
States; and Capacity Building. The Meeting also discussed matters relating to examining the pos-
sibility of accepting the electronic copies of the SAFTA Certificates of Origin received from im-
porters for clearance of consignments; exploring the possibility of having a seven-day working
week in case of congestion of consignments at the customs border points; and considering the
possibility of having a Single Joint Customs Point for speedy movement of consignments across
the Member States. Preceding the Ninth Meeting of the Sub-Group, a Training Programme on
Customs Matters was conducted on the topic of Application of General Interpretative Rules
(GIRs) in Commodity Classification and Amendments in HS 2012. The Tenth Meeting of the
Sub-Group on Customs Cooperation will be held in Lahore, Pakistan in 2017, preceded by a
Training Programme on Customs Enforcement Matters.

Cooperation in the field of Statistics

14. In accordance with the decision of the Thirtieth Session of the Standing Committee (Is-
lamabad, 18-19 July 2004), cooperation among the Member States commenced in the field of
statistics. So far eight Meetings of Heads of SAARC Statistical Organisations have been held
with a view to finalize standard formats for exchange of statistical data in various economic and
social fields. In order to effectively promote cooperation in the field of statistics in a structured
manner, seven SAARCSTAT Technical Sub-Groups have been formed in various fields.

15. The Meetings of SAARCSTAT review the progress, inter-alia, in SAARCSTAT website,
publication of SAARC Statistical Yearbook, publication of SAARC Catalogue of Statistical Pub-
lications, SAARC Directory of Statistical Experts, SAARC Classification, Project on Concepts,
Definitions and Standards of Health Statistics for the SAARC region, development of institu-
tional framework for Data Collection on Trade in Services and discussion on SAARC forum for
Disability Statistics.

16. As mandated by the Thirty-eighth Standing Committee, a Study for development of web-
based, user-protected interface and institution of a designated Statistics Cell in the SAARC Sec-
retariat was finalized with the financial and technical assistance of ADB. The Consultant appoin-
ted for SAARCSTAT Study completed the second phase of the work relating to SAARCSTAT
Web Portal Development as per the recommendations contained in his earlier Study which have
been approved by the Fifth Meeting of SAARCSTAT (Maldives, 4-5 November 2012). The
SAARCSTAT Web Portal was launched during the Sixth Meeting of SAARCSTAT (Kath-
mandu, 12-13 June 2014).

17. In order to enable Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PSB), the Coordinator of Web Portal, to
maintain and update the SAARCSTAT Web Portal in an effective manner, PBS requested for a
Meeting of concerned officials with the former Lead Consultant on SAARCSTAT Web Portal
appointed by ADB for exchange of views and understanding modalities of transfer of data and
other technical issues. ADB agreed to extend financial assistance for the Meeting in Kathmandu
at the SAARC Secretariat headquarters. Accordingly a SAARCSTAT Web Portal Meeting was
held at the SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu on 29-30 June 2015.

18. The Forty-first Standing Committee held in Kathmandu on 23-24 November 2014 con-
sidered and approved the Report of the Sixth Meeting of Heads of SAARCSTAT held in Kath-
mandu, 12-13 June 2014. It noted that for expansion of cooperation in the field of statistics (i) a
Study on SAARCSTAT Website has been completed by Consultant Dr. S.K. Nath with financial
and technical assistance of ADB and that the Website is being hosted and updated by Pakistan
with inputs from all Member States; (ii) SAARC Statistical Yearbook 2012 has been published
by Bangladesh; (iii) a Leaflet “SAARC in Figures” has been published by Nepal; and (v) Direct-
ories of Statistical Publications and Statistical Experts have been compiled and published by the
Maldives.

19. As recommended by the Seventh Meeting of SAARCSTAT, SAARC-ADB First Training

Programme/Workshop of Nodal Points on Updating the SAARCSTAT Web Portal was held in
Pakistan on 15-16 February 2016. The Meeting also recommended that India, being the Coordin-
ator of SAARCSTAT Technical Sub-Group on Capacity Building, may conduct such training
programmes on a yearly basis at its facilities in India, preferably at DGCIS, Kolkata. This would
immensely help the statistical organizations of SAARC Member States in updating the trade and
other statistical databases on the SAARCSTAT Web Portal. The Meeting underlined the import-
ance of making fast progress towards enabling Focal Points in all Member States in uploading
the updated data in respect of their countries on the Web Portal so that it can serve its mandated
purpose of providing latest statistical information and data of all Member States. SAARC-ADB
Second Training Programme/Workshop of Nodal Points on Updating the SAARC-
STAT Web Portal is expected to be held in Kolkata, India in 2017.

20. The Eighth Meeting of SAARCSTAT was held in New Delhi on 29-31 August 2016
which reviewed the progress of cooperation in the field of statistics.