MUSCAT: With effect from May 1, 2023, imports of Electric Vehicles (EV) and related parts and accessories will be governed by the technical standards and specifications set out by the Gulf Standardization Organisation and ratified by Ministerial Decision 45/12023 issued by the Omani Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion. The measure seeks to entrench the adoption of the Gulf standard as an Omani standard to ensure that a future EV sector in the country stays abreast of global technological developments in the field.
Consequently, manufacturers and importers of EV vehicles and parts are required to submit a certificate of conformity approved by the Gulf Standardization Organization, as a condition for the release of new electric vehicles, in order to verify that the companies that manufacture electric vehicles have applied the technical regulations for this product.
Engineer Yaqoub bin Saleh al Saadi, a mechanical engineer in the Compliance Department of the General Directorate of Standards and Metrology at the Ministry, said: “The application of this standard comes with the aim of creating a new sector for electric car spare parts and maintenance services workshops, skilled national labor, advanced technology, vehicle charging stations, and opportunities localizing modern industries and strengthening supply chains”.
He added that the standard supports the shift from vehicles powered by fossil fuels to reliance on new and renewable energy, in a way that serves the trend towards a green economy and keeps pace with the country's efforts and policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions resulting from fuel combustion to achieve zero carbon neutrality.
He pointed out that the societal objective of the standard is to determine the safety of the technical requirements for electric vehicles for the safety of the driver and passengers. By reducing accidents, deaths and electric shocks that can be caused by leakage of electricity from batteries, and leakage of battery components in the passenger compartment. — ONA
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