# Approval Routes for Imports Subject to Israeli Official Standards

Pick the route that matches the product's category and risk group. All routes are filed through the SII Maslol Plus system (https://www.sii.org.il/en/importers/) unless otherwise noted.

## Import groups (risk tiers)

Israel splits products subject to official standards into four risk-based import groups. Group 1 is the highest risk and carries the heaviest assessment; the burden decreases through Groups 2, 3, and 4.

| Group | Risk level | What it triggers |
|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | Highest (e.g. infant products, LPG equipment, lifting devices, rebar) | Testing-lab model approval AND testing-lab shipment inspection |
| Group 2 | Medium (e.g. external power supplies above a certain output) | Model certificate plus an importer's declaration of conformity |
| Group 3 | Low (most products: computers, TVs, most household electrical appliances) | Importer's declaration of conformity only |
| Group 4 | Industrial use only | No import conformity assessment; released via the Commissioner of Standardization route |

Find a product's group via the Commissioner's EU-regulation search engine (https://www.gov.il/en/service/search_official_standards), keyed by SI number.

## 1. Type approval (ishur tipus) by SII

- Scope: a specific model configuration. This is the "model approval" step for Group 1 goods.
- When to use: products inside a mandatory-standard category whose governing EU regulation is not yet in the Fifth Appendix or has not yet reached its commencement date, or products in the statutory exclusion list.
- Outcome: a product file (tik mutzar) is opened. Subsequent shipments of the same model can move to a lighter regime (shipment approval or an easement plan).
- Gotcha: sister models, different voltages, or material changes may require a fresh or variant approval.

## 2. Per-shipment approval

- Scope: each shipment is sampled and tested before release. This is the "shipment inspection" step for Group 1 goods.
- When to use: highest-risk products (Group 1), new importers without a clean history, or categories where SII has not yet accredited the factory.
- Trade-off: slowest route; timeline depends on SII queue and lab load.
- Note: lower-risk groups (2 and 3) rely primarily on an importer's declaration of conformity rather than per-shipment SII testing.

## 3. Importer easement plans (Maslol Plus tracks)

These plans lighten the per-shipment burden for importers of higher-risk (Group 1) goods that have a clean import history and an ISO 9001-certified manufacturer.

| Plan | Sampling rate | Additional condition |
|---|---|---|
| Green | 50% of commercial shipments per year | Product classified green in the importer's product file |
| Gold | 33% of commercial shipments per year | Twelve consecutive months on Green first |
| Diamond | Sell before test completes | Only for importers with green-classified files; detailed conditions in SII guidelines |

Contact: gali_aviv@sii.org.il for eligibility questions.

## 4. Declaration-based entry (July 2024)

- Effective date: 1 July 2024.
- Mechanism: importer declares compliance using a test report from an ILAC-accredited foreign laboratory.
- Enforcement: as of 7 July 2024 the Ministry of Economy stopped processing exemptions and moved to a random-surveillance programme. A failed sample can still lead to market withdrawal and fines.
- When to use: mid-risk products with a strong accredited test report; skip Israeli re-testing.

## 5. EU-regulation recognition ("What's Good for Europe is Good for Israel", Amendment 19)

- Effective date: phased from 1 January 2025 through 2028, under Amendment 19 to the Standards Law.
- Mechanism: optional import route using compliance with an EU regulation/directive that has been adopted into the Israeli Standards Law. Published counts of how many Israeli mandatory standards this touches vary widely between sources; the Fifth Appendix is the only authoritative statement of what is adopted and in force on a given date. The route is declaratory: customs broker files on Sha'ar Olami, importer keeps the dossier on file. For 2025-2030, enforcement focuses on adopted-directive sections that correspond to parallel SI sections.
- First wave (January 2025): REACH (chemical safety), the Low-Voltage Directive (LVD), the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (EMC) and the Personal Protective Equipment Regulation (PPE).
- Phased additions: every Fifth Appendix entry has its own commencement date. Toy safety and GPSR from 1 February 2025; food-contact plastics, food-contact materials, detergents, POPs and textile labelling from 1 March 2025; CLP, biocides and medical devices from 1 July 2025. Do NOT describe these as a single wave, and note the long tail: batteries at 18 months from Amendment 19's commencement, construction products at two years, cosmetics at three years, and lifts on 1 July 2027.
- Exclusions under section 9(a)(1) of the Standards Law: food, motor vehicles, and goods under an official fire-safety standard. Portable extinguishing equipment that is not permanently fixed to land or a building, extinguishing agents, and standalone smoke detectors stay INSIDE the route. Mains electrical equipment is NOT excluded: the Low Voltage Directive is adopted.
- When to use: CE-marked EU products whose standard has been adopted. Faster and cheaper than a full SII file. Check the Commissioner's search engine (https://www.gov.il/en/service/search_official_standards) by SI number to confirm coverage.

## 6. Radio / wireless

- Base rule: importing a wireless device requires a compliance certificate (ishur hat'ama) from the Ministry of Communications under regulation 2(a) of the Wireless Telegraph (Compliance Certificates) Regulations 5781-2021. This is a certificate, not a self-declaration.
- Easement: regulation 5a, added 7 July 2022, lets an applicant whose device conforms to the EU regime attach an EU conformity document plus a specification of the device's radio characteristics instead of the standard document set. It changes what you file, not whether you file.
- Scope: covers the radio portion; electrical safety, EMC and the SI 32 plug requirement still follow their own tracks.

## 7. US-standards recognition (Amendment 21)

- Status: passed by the Knesset in second and third reading on 16 July 2026 as the Standards Law (Amendment 21) 5786-2026. It starts six months after publication, i.e. at the beginning of 2027, and the start date can be deferred.
- Mechanism: an American route alongside the European one, based on compliance with US federal regulation.
- Hard condition: the product must actually be manufactured in the United States (or in Israel). US-rule compliance alone is not enough.
- Exclusions: food, motor vehicles, cosmetics, and products subject to fire-safety standards.
- Ongoing duty: the importer must follow US recall notices and manufacturer notices and report to the Commissioner of Standardization.
- First wave: baby and children's goods, toys, bottles, drinking accessories, feeding utensils, beds, cribs, strollers, swings, bouncers, bicycles, and detergents.
- Until the start date, treat US-only documentation as supporting evidence inside an Israeli filing, not as a route.

## Decision order

1. Is the category on the excluded list (food, motor vehicles, fire-safety)? If yes, skip route 5.
2. Is the category's EU regulation adopted into the Standards Law and within its voltage/scope rules? If yes, use route 5.
3. If not, can the product use an accredited ILAC test report? If yes, use route 4 (declaration-based entry).
4. Is the product a Group 1 good with clean import history and an ISO 9001 factory? If yes, route 3 (Green to Gold to Diamond) to lighten the per-shipment burden.
5. Otherwise, file route 1 (type approval / model approval) and then run shipments under route 2 (shipment inspection) until enough history exists to move up.

## Mandatory exit points

Regardless of the chosen route:

- A manual in Hebrew for consumer products is required.
- Failure to meet a mandatory standard must be reported immediately to the Commissioner of Standardization.
- The shipment release is contingent on evidence in the importer's product file.