«The torture is over»: the national government has removed a state barrier that made imported electrical products more expensive

The Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation, Federico Sturzenegger , welcomed the elimination of bureaucratic requirements that complicated the import of electrical products and household appliances. Thenational government ended the obligation of local certification when products meet international standards, which will speed up the arrival of technology and reduce costs.

"The torture of electrical certification is over!" exclaimed Sturzenegger when announcing the measure, which was published in the Official Gazette under Resolution 16/25. He also explained that until now, in order to import products such as an Apple computer, a national certification was required to prove that its electrical system was safe, even though these devices are sold worldwide with strict quality controls.

The national official especially criticized a 2021 resolution signed during the government of Alberto Fernández, which imposed requirements even on equipment with LED lighting. "To top off the madness, the Secretary of Commerce of Alberto Fernández and Paula Español signed Resolution 1038/21 in which it was also required for equipment with LED lighting (a label) stating that, due to their low voltage, they do not constitute any risk to humans!" he said.

The new regulations eliminate previous regulations and allow any product with recognized international certifications, such as CE (Europe), UL (USA), Inmetro (Brazil) and others, to enter without the need for local approval. "If the equipment you are importing has the logos CE (Europe), EAC (Eurasia), CCC (China), UKCA (Great Britain), NOM (Mexico), SEC (Chile), Inmetro (Brazil), UL (USA, among several others), etc., no approval or certification from the State is needed anymore. Customs has nothing to say or ask of you," he explained.

In addition, the measure frees products with a voltage of less than 50V from any control, simplifies certification for national products and eliminates the intervention of Customs in these procedures. The use of new types of certified plugs and adapters will also be permitted. "To illustrate what we are talking about, it is enough to mention that before 16/25 a refrigerator from a leading global producer had to go through a national certification body to obtain a marketing authorization, receive an audit at its plants abroad and send samples for testing once a year, in addition to adapting the plugs," Sturzenegger exemplified.

The government assures that this decision will facilitate the importation of quality products without extra costs, which will benefit consumers and companies. "Congratulations to the entire team of the Ministry of Commerce headed by Esteban Marzorati, who continues to break down the barriers that have been erected for so many years," said the official. He also thanked those who sent complaints to "Reportá la Burocracia" and contributed to promoting the change.

The torture of electrical certification is over! Let's see if the nonsense can be understood with an example: if you wanted to import an Apple computer, of which millions of units are sold in the world, you had to obtain a local certification that demonstrated that its electrical system… pic.twitter.com/GSdUt6981o

— Fede Sturzenegger (@fedesturze) February 25, 2025