There have been instances where the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) allowed the release of imported goods to the market prior to the issuance of test reports during the inspection of imported goods, the Auditor General has said in a report on the Role of Sri Lanka Standards Institution on Quality Product Sales in the Local Market.

There were also deficiencies in the issuance of the Certificate of Standards, management deficiencies, delay in conducting laboratory tests, minimum level of market inspections, reduction of awareness on the use- of pre-standards, and test reports, the Auditor General has said.

The Auditor General has recommended that “informing the relevant parties of the importance of obtaining the Product Certificate logo of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution to minimise the problems that may arise in connection with the above observations, further strengthening the mechanism for awarding the logo, strengthening coordination with other relevant affiliates and issuing product certification logos and this report makes recommendations on how to provide the necessary resources institutionally for conducting and laboratory testing and thereby expedite those processes.”

The report says the SLSI has been given the powers to inspect the quality of imported goods and that it is mandatory for imported goods to obtain the Sri Lanka Standards Certificate. SLSI has prepared a guideline on imported goods, it said.

According to these guidelines when a company imports a consignment of goods they will be allowed to be sold or used without inspection if there is a Certificate of Conformity obtained by that manufacturing company from a government agency, laboratory or testing institute registered with the SLSI in that country.

“However, only two foreign certification agencies for brown sugar were registered and certification agencies for canned fish were not registered,” the report has pointed out.

Moreover, the guideline says if the manufacturing company is registered with the Sri Lanka Standards Institution and obtains a Certificate of Conformity when importing goods, it will be allowed to sell or use without a sample test.

From January 2019 to June 2021, brown sugar was imported on 1014 occasions by 89 companies but no manufacturer was registered with the SLSI and obtained a Certificate of Conformity.

“From January 2019 to June 2021, canned fish was imported from 36 manufacturing companies on 1,522 occasions under 48 brand names. However, only five manufacturers and 20 brand names have been registered. 4,395,416 containers valued at US $ 92,205,253.54 were imported from 31 unregistered manufacturers.

Brown sugar has been imported on 31 occasions without adhering to any of the SLSI guidelines. However, they were allowed to be sold or used without inspection, the report has said. 6323.3 metric tons of brown sugar valued at US $ 2,391,388.95 has been released without testing, the report said.

“As imported goods are released to the market with the approval of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, it is observed that the company does not have a proper guideline or methodology to ensure that the imported goods are not released to the market until the inspection report of the Standards Institution is received.”

Although a computer database was established in 2018 to keep tabs on imported goods, so far only the data up to the point of sampling has been included in the database.

The Auditor General’s Department has observed that after the sample test, approvals based on the test results, re-sampling, refusal of goods and recommendation for re-export are not made through the relevant database till the audit date of May 2021.

“It was observed that although there should be a good interaction between the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, the Consumer Protection Authority and the Sri Lanka Customs on all imported goods, but there is no such system in place. As a result, there is a high risk of substandard goods being released into the market and instances of such substandard goods being released into the market were observed during the inspection of Sri Lanka Custom’s files. The Standards Institution had not developed a suitable methodology for follow-up in this regard.”

The SLSI has Product Certification (SLS) to assure the hygienic quality of imported foods, however, this certification is not mandatory to import goods, the report says.

The report says, “As of December 2019, the number of SLS branded items was approximately 1105, but the number of market trials was relatively low and the estimated number of inspections carried out in 2016, 2017 and 2018 are 19, 39, and 35 respectively. Furthermore, market inspections were not planned for 2019 and as a result, the audit observes that low quality products are more likely to be released into the market.”