The Rulebook on Establishment of the List of Serbian Standards regarding the General Product Safety, which represents a by-law passed in relation to the Law on 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 it entered into force on 18 March 2021 (“the Rulebook”).

The Rulebook has transposed the reference list of harmonised European standards on general product safety into domestic legal system, along with amendments to the reference list of harmonised standards of the European Commission published in December 2020.

The Rulebook started to apply on 1 June 2021, with exception of several provisions whose application is postponed until 1 January 2023.

Standards SRPS EN ISO 12863:2018 and SRPS EN 16156:2018

From the above stated date, i.e., 1 January 2023, two standards concerning the general product safety will start to apply, i.e.:

• SRPS EN ISO 12863:2018 Standard test method for assessing the ignition propensity of cigarettes; and
• SRPS EN 16156:2018 Cigarettes – Assessment of the ignition propensity – Safety requirement.

The abovesaid standards are on the list of European Directive 2001/95/EC on general product safety, the provisions whereof have been transposed in our legislation through the afore-mentioned Law on General Product Safety.

Content of the 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 standard application

Having in mind the above mentioned, starting from 1 January 2023 manufacturers and importers of tobacco products will be allowed to place their products in 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.

This article is to be considered as exclusively informative, with no intention to provide legal advice. If you should need additional information, please contact us directly.