The Ecuadorian Standardization Service (INEN) is part of the Ecuadorian Quality System and plays an important role in regulation, standardization and metrology. It also participates in administrative proceedings carried out by the Sub-Secretary of Quality for infringements.
INEN is responsible for conducting inspections to verify compliance with technical standards before and during an administrative proceeding. The first inspection, which can be ex officio or by complaint, is intended to determine the conformity or not of a product with the corresponding technical standards. If the result is “non-compliant”, the Sub-Secretary of Quality will bring a sanctioning administrative proceeding.
As an example, in the controls carried out in compliance with the Ecuadorian Technical Regulation RTE INEN 284 "Quantity of product in prepackaged / pre-encased", a term of 30 days is granted for the company to amend or justify the nonconformities detected in the first inspection. At the end of the 30-day term, INEN carries out the second technical inspection and if the non-conformity still exists, the Sub-Secretary of Quality can apply the sanctions provided in the Law of the Ecuadorian Quality System.
The 30-day term granted to execute corrective actions is sufficient in the case of national products, but it is not sufficient for foreign products. This situation has caused several companies to be sanctioned without considering the time, costs, and other eventualities that importing products entails.
When applying sanctions, the Sub-Secretary of Quality takes into account the reoccurrence of such nonconformities, so it is very important that companies make the necessary changes and file the required technical justifications, as well as their legal arguments before the second verification.
As derived from the preceding paragraphs, the function of INEN is to ensure compliance with mandatory technical standards whose main objective is to protect consumers.
INEN is part of several international organizations and applies international standards or parameters in the controls it performs; an aspect that has contributed to the acquisition of new skills, the application of new guidelines, and the accumulation of experience in the execution of its work. This office has put emphasis on the above-mentioned quality controls, especially regarding the net content of a product. To do so, it has adopted a monthly schedule to perform random inspections and verifications for each type of product.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.