The Rulebook on Establishment of the List of Serbian Standards regarding the General Product Safety, which represents a by-law passed to the Law on the General Product Safety (Official Gazette of RS no. 41/2009 and 77/2019), has been published in the Official Gazette of RS no. 20/2021 of 10 March 2021, and has entered into force on 18 March 2021 (“the Rulebook”).
The Rulebook has transposed the reference list of harmonised European standards on the general product safety into Serbian legal system, along with amendments to the said list published by the European Commission in December 2020.
The Rulebook started to apply on 1 June 2021, except for several provisions whose application is postponed until 1 January 2023.
Standards SRPS EN ISO 12863:2018 and SRPS EN 16156:2018
From the abovesaid date (1 January 2023), two standards concerning the general product safetywill start to apply, i.e.:
1) SRPS EN ISO 12863:2018 Standard test method for assessing the ignition propensity of cigarettes; and
2) SRPS EN 16156:2018 Cigarettes – Assessment of the ignition propensity – Safety requirement.
As previously mentioned, the respective standards are on the list of European Directive 2001/95/EC governing the general product safety, the provisions whereof have been taken over to our legislation through the Law on the General Product Safety.
Content of the subject standards
Standard SRPS EN ISO 12863:2018 provides a standard assessment of the capability of a cigarette, positioned on one of three standard substrates, to extinguish or to generate sufficient heat to continue burning, and thus potentially cause ignition of bedding or upholstered furniture, while this international standard applies to factory-made cigarettes that burn along the length of a tobacco column.
As regards the standard SRPS EN 16156:2018, it specifies fire safety requirement for cigarettes.
Significance of their application
Having in mind the above, starting from 1 January 2023 manufacturers and importers of tobacco products will be allowed to place their products on the market of the Republic of Serbia provided that they meet the requirements of the stated standards.
Their application is therefore mandatory, while the control will be performed by the market inspection.
Lara Maksimović
Senior Associate
E-mail: lara.maksimovic@prlegal.rs
Office E-mail: office@prlegal.rs