MRECA says the industry needs 1 year to transition
KUALA LUMPUR, 8 April 2022 – The Malaysia Retail Electronic Cigarette Association (MRECA) today urged the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs to give vape players at least one year to fulfill and comply with the standards for vape devices which was announced recently.
MRECA’s comments comes following the KPDNHEP statement that said local manufacturers and importers of vape devices must undergo certification from SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd and that products must be applied with MS Sirim labelling from Sirim QAS International Sdn Bhd, with effect from 3 August 2022.
This requirement under the Trade Descriptions (Certification and Marking) of Electronic Cigarette Devices Order 2022 was gazetted on April 5, 2022.
Insufficient time
Datuk Adzwan Ab Manas, President of MRECA says, “Four months is insufficient for all the industry players to comply.
“While the SIRIM guidelines itself state that the certification and testing process takes approximately 80 working days, this is not the same when it comes to having hundreds of companies trying to get certifications for thousands of products.
“It will be very challenging for SIRIM QAS to complete certification for so many players in such as short span of time.”
“Further, our members have also undergone similar process and it took six to eight months just for one product from one company to complete the testing and certification process. Therefore this is going to be difficult for the industry to comply by August 3, 2022.”
Datuk Adzwan also says, the authorities did not consider the time needed for industry players to make changes to the production lines for products to adhere to the labelling requirements as products would need to be labelled with SIRIM label that comes with a serial number which would only be granted after the testing and certification process is completed.
In addition, some industry players have more than 4 months inventory stocks in warehouses and this would mean the industry players would suffer losses.”
“Taking into consideration all these factors, we believe the industry needs one year to be fully transitioned. I am certain that the vape players in Malaysia will do whatever that is necessary to get their products certified. Therefore, it is only right that the government is fair to them by giving them sufficient time to undergo the necessary steps.”
MRECA urges relook
In addition to requesting for additional time, MRECA also urged the government to relook and review the standards as they are outdated.
“The standards announced were developed close to five years ago. Since then, the vape industry has seen multiple transformations that have improved the quality of vape devices.
“Therefore, we believe that the set of standards must be reviewed and updated, whille also ensuring that they are in line with international practices.”
“The vape industry in Malaysia is made up of local entrepreneurs and has the potential to grow into a significant contributor to the country’s economy.
“It is therefore crucial that the industry is given the right support, information, and capacity to develop stronger. Otherwise, we may lose the opportunity to grow the industry to its true capability,” Datuk Adzwan concluded.