On 21 February 2023, the Decision on Management of Telecommunications and ICT Equipment No.3583/MTC which was issued on 13 December 2022 by the Ministry of Technology and Communications ("MTC") ("Decision"), was published in the Official Gazette of Lao PDR. The Decision applies to individuals, legal entities or organisations, both domestic and foreign, conducting the production, importation, exportation, use and distribution of telecommunications and information and communications technology ("ICT") equipment (collectively, "Equipment") in Laos. It replaces the Decision on Inspection and Certification of Technical Standards ICT Equipment No.2118/MTC dated 8 August 2018.
The Decision defines the principles, regulations and measures regarding the management of telecommunications and ICT equipment.
Equipment are categorised into two categories: (i) those that must be certified and declared compliant with technical regulations; and (ii) those that only need to be declared compliant with technical regulations.
The technical inspection (which relates to the technical parameters set by the Technical Regulation Inspection Office designated or approved by MTC) of Equipment is the inspection of a sample equipment or a test of a specific model or version (Type Testing) that the applicant has sent to the Technical Regulation Inspection office for inspection. The sample represents the same model or version of equipment that will be produced, imported or exported. The Equipment must be inspected before their production, importation, export, use, and distribution in Lao PDR.
The six main categories of inspection are as follows:
- Inspection of use of radio frequency (RF);
- Inspection of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC);
- Inspection of electromagnetic field (EMF);
- Safety inspection on specific absorption rate (SAR);
- Checking the connection; and
- Electrical safety inspection.
Technical regulation verification will be conducted after the Equipment have passed the technical regulation inspection. Once they are verified to be compliant, the following will take place:
- Issuance of a technical regulation certificate (Type Approval Certificate);
- Declaration of compliance with technical regulations (Declaration of Conformity (DoC)); and
- Use of a technical regulation label.
Individuals, legal entities or organisations that intend to import Equipment must undergo inspection and have their equipment certified by MTC first (except for the equipment specified in Article 26 of the Decision) before they can import such equipment. A licence to import the Equipment shall be issued after the inspection and verification under the technical regulations.
