Colombia
The various types of accreditation are for: certification entities, inspection entities,
testing laboratories, and metrology laboratories.
The competent entity on accreditation is the Suprintendency of Industry and Commerce,which
is in charge of organizing, regulating and executing activities related to accreditation.
Decree 2269 of 1993 creates the Advisory Technical Council on accreditation as an auxiliary
body to the Suprintendency of Industry and Commerce.
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.
Under Decision 376 of the Commission of the Cartagena Agreement, work is under way at the
Andean level to create the Andean Network of Accreditation Agencies, for the purpose of
bringing about multilateral acceptance of certificates of conformity.
In 1992 Colombia and Venezuela signed an accord of Mutual Recognition of Certificates of
Conformity and currently Colombia and Ecuador, through an accord signed in 1996, work towards
the harmonization of minimal requirements for the recognition of certificates of conformity.
Colombia is also part of the IAAC.