ISLAMABAD, March 23: The government is considering to launch a national laboratory accreditation scheme to determine and approve the competence and reliability of different laboratories testing goods or materials meant to be exported.

An official source told Dawn that the scheme was necessitated as the international agreements required the goods to be exported strictly in accordance with the specifications after having rigorous quality control approval.

The source said the relevant authorities of different countries where the goods had to be exported often demanded that such products should be tested for compliance with appropriate specifications or according to their regulations.

Under the scheme, different laboratories would be formally recognized or accredited to carry out specific tests after ascertaining about their capabilities and overall quality system. The laboratories then would be able to test and certify products with ISO 17025.

The source said the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) in this regard would help the laboratories by providing the services of proficiency testing twice a year, and on site assessment once every two years, suggesting corrective actions identified by the assessment in a timeframe.

The source said with advancement in technology, the world was fast turning into a global village where the traditional ways of production, manufacturing and trade were changing at a faster pace every day. He said the new sophisticated norms of international trade were being enforced by the international community in terms of signing of agreements and establishing procedures to uphold approved production practices.

He said after the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO), it was obligatory upon the signatories to accept test reports and product conformity certificates from the country of origin of the products, provided that they were satisfied with the competence and reliability of the testing laboratories in the exporting country.

In this regard, ISO 17025 will help facilitate world-wide acceptance of certificates from laboratories that comply and improve the standing international mutual recognition agreements.

He said this would be achieved only through the process of accreditation of laboratories.