ICC VERIFICATION SYSTEM. Neil Catahay, chief of the Standards Conformity Division of the Department of Trade and Industry Bureau of Philippine Standards on Thursday (July 18, 2019) briefs the participants about the new system to hasten the verification of certified products. The system will make it possible for consumers to verify the authenticity of an Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) and is now available through an application that can be downloaded to Android phones. (PNA photo by Perla G. Lena)
ILOILO CITY -- A system that will make it possible for consumers to verify the authenticity of Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) stickers is now available using an application that can be downloaded to Android phones.
Manufacturers, importers, traders, and retailers from Western Visayas and Cebu gathered in a hotel in this city on Thursday for an orientation about the ICC Verification System and the Product Certification Information Management System (PCIMS) to hasten the verification of certified products.
With the new system, the verification to determine whether or not the product is certified by the BPS (Bureau of Philippine Standards) will no longer be done manually, said Neil Catahay, chief of the Standards Conformity Division of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) BPS.
The application -- ICC Verification System -- is available in Playstore for Android devices. Once downloaded, it can be used immediately, he added.
The application is a QR Code scanner. Upon purchase of products that are covered by a mandatory certification, the consumer is advised to look for the certification mark.
Just put the scanner in front of the QR Code and the “critical information necessary to verify whether or not the product affixed with sticker is really certified by the BPS,” he said.
“They can just check with the packaging of the product if the information is consistent,” he said.
If no details will appear, then a notification will appear showing the hotline number for the consumer to be able to immediately coordinate with the DTI for appropriate action.
Mandatory products are required to undergo a certification process prior to the distribution. There are 74 products covered classified into electrical products; mechanical building and construction and chemical, consumer and other products.
He added that they are now in the process of enhancing the system to be able to implement the QR Code System for products bearing the Philippine Standard (PS) safety certification mark.
“Hopefully it will be within the year to simplify the monitoring and checking,” he added. (PNA)
