The customer had been exporting to Saudi Arabia for two consecutive years. The first year went smoothly, and in the second year they followed the old process and booked shipping space and shipped directly.
The SABER PC certificate is valid for 1 year. The customer understood it as a "project cycle" and mistakenly believed it was valid long-term. When applying for SC after the goods arrived at the port, the system reported an error, and only then did they discover that the PC had expired 47 days ago.
Immediately verified whether the 3 models were still within the coverage of the original PC, confirmed that retesting was not required. Simultaneously initiated PC renewal and a standard version review of the original reports (the EN 60335-1 version was still current). Coordinated with the Saudi importer to submit a port detention explanation to customs and apply for an extension. On the day the PC renewal was completed, submitted 12 SC applications, processing them in two batches to avoid a second queue.
The PC renewal was completed in 4 working days, all SC certificates were issued, and the goods were released after 9 days of port detention. The total detention and storage fees amounted to approximately 23,000 yuan.
An expiry reminder must be established for PC validity, and it is recommended to initiate renewal 45 days in advance. Verify certificate status before booking shipping space; this is an order of magnitude cheaper than remedying the situation after arrival at port. For multi-model products, a ledger should be established by model to avoid "some models expired" being overlooked.