Friends who run factories for the Saudi market have almost certainly heard of SASO, but many people stumble on SABER. Simply put, SASO is Saudi Arabia's standards organization, and it sets the rules; SABER is the electronic platform that enforces these rules. In the past, you could clear customs with a SASO certificate (that is, CoC), but now you cannot. You must go through the SABER system, first obtaining a Product Certificate (PC, product certificate), and then a Shipment Certificate (SC, shipment certificate). Without these two electronic documents, when the goods arrive at Dammam or Jeddah port, they cannot be found in the customs system and will be directly blocked, and the daily storage fees are enough to make your heart ache.
So what needs to be done? The scope is very broad, covering almost most consumer goods and industrial products. Common items such as home appliances, lighting, plugs and sockets, auto parts, building materials, toys, and even food-contact materials are all on the controlled list. You only need to remember one thing: as long as your product is on SASO's list of technical regulations, it must go through SABER. Do not think about slipping through. Saudi customs now has very rigid system integration; without a certificate, you cannot even submit a declaration.
The most common pitfalls—I have seen too many factories suffer losses. The first pitfall is "using an old certificate as a new one." Some intermediaries fool you with an old SASO CoC, saying it can be used, but in the end it cannot be linked at all in the SABER system, because the PC certificate has a validity period, usually one year, and it needs to be based on a valid test report. The second pitfall is "the test report does not match." Saudi Arabia recognizes reports issued by ISO/IEC 17025 laboratories, and the standard must be the version adopted by SASO, such as the SASO IEC 60335 series. If you take a GB report or an EN report and apply directly, there is a high probability it will be returned. The third pitfall is the most hidden—product labels and instructions. Arabic labels, energy efficiency labels (such as Saudi energy efficiency EER), G-mark (Gulf conformity mark)—the SABER application system will require uploaded images, and if you casually put on an English label, the reviewer will reject it at a glance.
On timelines, do not believe talk of "certificate issued in three days." Under normal circumstances, if your documents are complete and the test report has no problems, the PC certificate takes about two to three weeks, and the SC shipment certificate takes as fast as two to three days. But the premise is that you need to set aside time for rectification. I suggest you start at least one month before shipment, first get the product test report and Arabic labels done, and then register on the SABER system. Remember, SABER is not a formality; it is a hard threshold at Saudi customs. Doing your homework in advance is a hundred times better than panicking after the goods arrive at port.