In the effort to promote quality and safety of locally manufactured products, and assure competitiveness of local industries, we offer various training and consultancy services in the areas of standardization, quality assurance, metrology and testing including:

Inspection is visual examination of products, services and installations. Simple instruments, tools and gauges are used during inspection. For example, bulk commodities like food grains, rice, spices, etc, normally undergo inspection and their acceptance is based both on the inspection report and other evidence of conformity such as a laboratory test report on the product samples drawn during inspection. The overall aim of inspection is to reduce risk to the buyer, user or consumer, of the item being purchased.

UNBS has put in place an Import Inspection and Clearance Scheme. The scheme is governed by the UNBS Imports Inspection and Clearance Regulations of 2003. The scheme requires all imported products whose standard specifications were declared compulsory to be inspected for conformity to the relevant standards before release onto the domestic market.  Inspection is done by inspectors from UNBS at the entry points.

Where necessary, UNBS draws samples of the product for laboratory testing. If the product does not meet the critical minimum requirements for health, safety and performance as set out in the relevant Uganda Standards, such product is prohibited entry on those grounds and seized for destruction or re-exportation at the importer’s expense.

This scheme was put in place for the purpose of achieving the following objectives:

• Protecting the public against substandard products that can endanger public health, safety and the environment;
• Prohibiting the entry into the country of sub-standard and counterfeit products;
• Protecting local manufacturers against unfair competition from imported products which do not comply to national standards; and
• Establishing a quality import inspection regime that is in harmony with that of member states of the East African Community.

Categories of products inspected

Procedure 

Metrology is the science of measurement. The Metrology Division of UNBS is divided into two sections: legal metrology; and industrial and scientific.
The role of the legal metrology section is to enforce the Weights and Measures Act 1963 with related amendments and subsidiary legislation.

UNBS has adopted the ISO 9000 Quality Management and Quality Assurance series of International Standards as Uganda Standards, US ISO 9000 for quality management systems (QMS). The UNBS has established a method of assessment and certification of QMS in the manufacturing and service industries.

The UNBS Information Resource Centre is a repository for information on standardization and quality management. The Centre provides information to: inter alia: industries, business community, government ministries and agencies, researchers, and academia.

The objective of the Information Resource Centre is to provide an efficient information service on national, regional, foreign and international standards; quality management; metrology; and laboratory testing.

The Centre operates as the national enquiry point on World Trade Organization Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade; and National Member of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Information Network (ISONET).

The Information Resource Centre is open to the public from Monday to Friday from 8.00am-1.00pm; and 2.00pm-5.00pm. It is closed on public holidays and weekends.

Domestic and imported products are tested for conformity to Uganda Standards and other specifications. These are carried out by the appropriate UNBS laboratories: chemistry, microbiology, mechanical, building materials and electrical laboratories.

Market surveillance is a set of activities carried out and measures taken by UNBS to ensure that products comply with the requirements set out in relevant standards and do not endanger public health, safety or any other aspect of public interest protection.

In Clause 2, Section (1) (f) of the UNBS Act, UNBS is mandated to enforce standards in protection of the public against harmful, dangerous and sub-standard products, while Clause 20 of the Act prohibits the manufacture, sale, distribution or holding for the purpose of selling any product that does not meet compulsory Uganda standards.

Despite efforts made by UNBS, sub-standard products have continued to represent a permanent threat to public health and safety. UNBS has continued to receive complaints from the public, business community and consumer organizations about sub-standard products. Some of these products are hazardous to the public and environment.

Pursuant to the above clauses, UNBS has put in place a market surveillance system to curb the proliferation of sub-standard products that can endanger public health and safety and the environment.

The purpose of the UNBS market surveillance system is to ensure that illegal and unsafe products are not allowed to be put and remain on the domestic market and fair market conditions prevail on the domestic market. Manufacturers, importers and suppliers who follow the rules and bear the administrative costs and delays related to compliance with standards should not be disadvantaged compared to those who do not comply with the requirements set out in relevant standards.

A toll free line 0800 133 133 is available to the public for anyone with information about sub-standard products to report in confidence to UNBS. UNBS calls upon the public to volunteer information on whoever is engaged in sale, distribution or manufacture of dangerous, sub-standard and expired products.

For more information, please contact:

A Uganda Standard is a document declared as such by the National Standards Council. It may either be a specification, a code of practice or specify other aspects such as terms and definitions, symbols, sampling and test methods and quality systems.

The work of preparing Uganda Standards is carried out through Technical Committees. A Technical Committee is established to deliberate on standards in a given field or area and consists of representatives of Consumers, Traders, Academicians, Manufacturers, Government and other stakeholders. Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stake holders and the general public for comments, which are reviewed before recommending them to the National Standards Council for declaration as National Standards.

The Fuel Marking and Quality Monitoring Program were introduced in Uganda in 1999 by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) in collaboration with the Fuel Marketing Companies and Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS). Under the Petromark Technology supplied by Global Fluids International (GFI) two types of markers are used: Petromark T1 for marking PMS (petrol) and AGO (diesel) and Petromark T2 for marking BIK (paraffin)