Describes the country's standards landscape, identifies the national standards and accreditation bodies, and lists the main national testing organization(s) and conformity assessment bodies.
Last Published: 7/21/2019

Turkmenistan has made small steps to transition to international trade standards. “Turkmenstandartlary” is the Main State Standards Service that regulates and oversees the entire processes of conformity assessment, product certification and publication of technical regulations. Products made in Turkmenistan are labelled with a barcode that starts with number 483.

Overview

Turkmenistan uses National Standards of Turkmenistan (TDS) and General Interstate Standards (GOST). GOST standards are developed and maintained by the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC) composed of 12 FSU countries and incorporate former Soviet standards. Standards and metrology are governed by the Law on Standardization and Metrology of 1993 and a series of by-laws.

Standards

Turkmenstandartlary is the regulatory agency for standards and metrology in Turkmenistan. There are no other standards organizations in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan became a correspondent member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1993. In 2015, Turkmenistan created a national organization for bar coding and in May 2015 GS1, a global standards organization, issued a GS1 country prefix of 483 for products made in Turkmenistan. 
Testing, Inspection and Certification

Conformity Assessment

All imported goods must be certified as adhering to quality standards set by Turkmenstandartlary.  Bilateral agreements on the acceptance of national state certificates may enjoy mutually simplified procedures on issuing conformance certificates for imported/exported goods. The United States and Turkmenistan do not have an intergovernmental agreement on standards, metrology and certification.

Product Certification

Turkmen legislation requires that products be certified. Gauging equipment also needs to be calibrated by Turkmenstandartlary.  In 1998, Turkmenistan introduced a sanitary certification requirement for food products imported into Turkmenistan. The State Sanitary and Epidemiological Inspectorate (SSEI) conducts tests of imported food products to issue certificates of conformity. Certificates of conformance for food products must be accompanied by a Russian-language product description. In March 2019, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan (UoIE) inaugurated and officially opened Hil Standart’s Microbiology Laboratory, the first private sector food safety laboratory in Turkmenistan.

Accreditation

Turkmenistan joined the International Standard Association in 1991, and in 1992 began to adhere to the Interstate Council on Standard, Metrology and Certification that covers CIS countries.

Publication of Technical Regulations

Turkmenstandartlary publishes national standards updates. Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to notify to the WTO proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that could affect trade. Notify U.S. (www.nist.gov/notifyus) is a free, web-based e-mail registration service that captures and makes available for review and comment key information on draft regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Users receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are added by selected country(ies) and industry sector(s) of interest, and can also request full texts of regulations. This service and its associated web site are managed and operated by the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Turkmenistan is not a WTO member.

Contact Information

Main State Standards Service “Turkmenstandartlary”
12 Galkynysh Ashgabat,
Turkmenistan, 744004
Tel: (993-12) 49-58-59
Fax: (993-12) 51-04-48
 

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