Taiwan: EMC and the BSMI

By Roland W. Gubisch

ITS Intertek Testing Services (Boxborough, MA)

In a process of several steps that began January 1, 1997, new regulations for products either imported into Taiwan or marketed there are being phased in. At present, only RF emissions are regulated. No immunity standards have been selected, though the EMC control scheme provides for their eventual adoption after feedback from manufacturers and industry.

History and Administration

The first EMI laboratory in Taiwan was established by the Union Research Institute about 20 years ago to assist local manufacturers in meeting the newly created FCC Part 15 regulations. Since that time, Taiwan has experienced enormous industrial growth and has begun to suffer the effects of unregulated electromagnetic interference on its own communication and safety services. There are presently about 20 EMC laboratories in the country.

On September 27, 1995, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) published an administrative decree titled the "Commodity EMC Regulation," which formalized the control of EMC. Regulatory authority is derived from the Commodity Inspection Act of 1996, which made the Bureau of Commodity Inspection and Quarantine (BCIQ) responsible for issuing EMC type-approval certificates and for granting laboratory accreditation. Prior to assuming responsibility for EMC regulation, the BCIQ oversaw the quality inspection of imported and exported goods and promoted ISO 9000 quality systems within Taiwan.

On January 26, 1998, the BCIQ was reorganized as the Bureau of Standards, Metrology, and Inspection (BSMI) in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The BSMI has seven departments:

Standards.
Chemical and agricultural products.
Administration of electrical and mechanical products.
Metrology.
International relations.
Inspection, with 10 sections.
Metrology inspection.

Approval of radio-transmitter products is a separate process governed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and the Directorate General of Telecommunications (DGT). The low-power radio rules in Taiwan are very close to those of FCC Part 15, including restricted frequency bands and limits for periodic (i.e., remote-control and alarm) transmitters.

Standards

The justification for the Commodity EMC Regulation is similar to that for the EMC Directive in the EU. Its core provisions are to protect radio communications from RF interference and to prevent product operation from suffering from RF emissions.

By law, only Chinese National Standards (CNSs) may be used as inspection standards. Again, to date there are only emissions standards, based on IEC and CISPR (see Table I).

CISPR Standard	Covers	Chinese Natl Std
CISPR 11	ISM equipment	CNS 13306
CISPR 13	Radios/TVs	CNS 13439
CISPR 14	Appliances	Products covered by IEC 335
CISPR 22	ITE/telecom	CNS 13438
CISPR 16 + ANSI 63.4	Methods	CNS 13306
Table I. Chinese National Standards and corresponding CISPR standards.

Product Category	EMI Compliance Mandatory
• Copiers	January 1, 1998
• ITE (personal computers) • Fax machines • TVs/radios	July 1, 1998
• Appliances	July 1, 2000
• ISM and lighting devices	July 1, 2001
Table II. Implementation schedule for the Commodity EMC Regulation.

Timing

The present schedule for implementation of the Commodity EMC Regulation in Taiwan is shown in Table II. Immunity standards will likely be imposed in 2001.

Demonstrating Conformity

Manufacturers must undergo a two-step process to secure an EMC type-approval certificate from the BSMI and thereby gain access to the Taiwan market. First they must obtain an EMC type test from a BCIQ-accredited test laboratory; then they must submit the test report and additional documentation to the BSMI for issuance of the type-approval certificate. This process is illustrated by the flowchart that is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. EMC type-approval application steps.

BSMI-Accredited Test Laboratories

Accreditation of EMI laboratories began in October 1995. The accreditation criteria include conformance with the international standard for the operation of test and calibration labs, ISO/IEC Guide 25, as well as the following:

Existence of a suitable quality manual.
Implementation of standard operating procedures.
Adequate test instruments and calibration system.
Conforming site-attenuation data.
Established procedures for internal audits.

The BCIQ conducted a number of on-site audits to accredit EMI laboratories in Taiwan and around the world, but few laboratories in the West were prepared to submit a Chinese-language version of their quality manuals for the sake of an audit.

Fortunately, on March 16, 1999, Taiwan became the first APEC partner to exchange a letter of agreement with the United States, launching the APEC Telecom MRA. Under the MRA, laboratory accreditations are mutually accepted.

NVLAP and A2LA have begun the process of accrediting U.S. labs to BSMI EMC requirements, permitting domestic manufacturers to obtain all the necessary BSMI testing and type-approval filing locally.

Application for EMC Type Approval

In addition to two copies of a valid EMI test report, the manufacturer or importer must also submit to the BSMI the following document package (in Chinese) to obtain a type-approval certificate:

Completed application form.
Product sample (if requested).
Two copies of a product catalog.
Sufficient 4 x 5–in. color photos of the product to show its appearance and construction, as well as component placement in the chassis and nature of the chassis assembly.
Instruction manual and technical specifications.
Block diagram showing all oscillator frequencies.
Circuit diagram.
Application fee.

The applicant must supply any missing information within 60 days of the original submission or else risk its dismissal. Changes or modifications to the product after issuance of the certificate are not permitted without issuance of a new certificate reflecting those modifications.

Enforcement

The BSMI intends to audit products offered for sale in Taiwan to ensure that they conform to the type approval. Nonconforming products will be withdrawn from the market and their type-approval certificates revoked.

Aside from nonconformance, other reasons for the revocation of a type-approval certificate include the following:

False labeling that is not corrected immediately.
Failure to promptly provide a sample to the BSMI when it is requested.
Failure to pay a processing fee in a timely manner.
Fraudulent acquisition of a certificate or improper use of same.

Revoked type-approval certificates must be returned to the BSMI within 30 days of the bureau's request.

Summary

Taiwan established a formal EMI regulatory program that commenced on January 1, 1997. In both scope and detail, the program is similar to the certification process under U.S. FCC rules. Immunity standards will likely be added to the requirements in 2001.

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