Colombia
Decree 2269/93 created the National System for Standardization, Certification and Metrology. As a result of this decree some regulatory provisions have been issued, such as:
- Resolution 140/94 of the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce which lays down provisions on accreditation, certification, and conformity assessment, regulating the conditions that must be met by certification and inspection organizations and testing laboratories to receive accreditation.
- Decree 300/95, signed by the Ministers of Finance and Public Credit, Economic Development and External Trade, which establishes the procedures to be followed by importers in order to show conformity of their products with the Mandatory Official Colombian Technical Standards.
- Decree 1112/96, which creates the National System of Information on Standardization's Measures and Procedures for Conformity's Evaluation, and establishes the general criteria for the issuance of technical regulations. Signed by all Ministers related to the issuance of technical regulations.
- Resolution 547/96, of the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, which establishes the compulsory registration of producers and importers of goods and services which are subject to fulfil mandatory technical standards or technical regulations.
- Resolution 343 of the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce which defines the modalities of certification to demonstrate the fulfilment of the mandatory official Colombian technical standards and technical regulations.
The Testing Laboratories are accredited by the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce and form the National Network of Accredited Laboratories, which currently has more than 24 properly accredited testing laboratories in different areas.
The National Institute for Supervision of Drugs and Food (INVIMA) and the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) have special responsibility for establishing the conditions that must be met by the agencies that wish to be accredited as certification agencies, inspection agencies, and testing laboratories to certify conformity in terms of food, drugs and cosmetics, plant and animal health. For the development of such activities, the ICA and the INVIMA advance work in those areas under the advise of the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, establish the minimal requirements for the accreditation of the bodies and laboratories under their area of capacity, and recognize the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce as the only body of accreditation.
The Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, the ICA and the INVIMA are national in scope and financed by the Government. The agencies for certification, and for inspection, and the testing laboratories may be public or private, but are always supervised by the entities that accredit them.
Under Decision 376 of the Commission of the Cartagena Agreement, at the Andean level, work is under way to create the Andean Network of Accreditation Agencies, to win multilateral acceptance of certificates of conformity.