Azerbaijan, like Uzbekistan, does not belong to Eurasian Customs Union but has a strong tie with the EAC countries and also with EAC marking, as we explain below. Due to its solid economic growth (recovered after the pandemic) it is an interesting market for more and more exporting companies from well-defined economic sectors. Here you will find what you need to know to export to this Central Asian country.
Azerbaijan’s economy
Azerbaijan has 10 million inhabitants and a small but solid and growing economy. Its remarkable oil and gas reserves generate interesting opportunities for foreign companies. Azerbaijan’s major imports are machinery, equipment, food and raw materials. The country is also a significant importer of chemicals and building materials. Azerbaijan’s main trading partners are Turkey, Russia, the United States, and Italy.
Azerbaijan is ranked 34th out of 190 countries in the world according to the Doing Business ranking. As a result of the reforms of the ’90s and 2000s (simplifying licensing procedures, reducing bureaucracy, improving infrastructure…), intended to facilitate economic development, it is relatively easy to start a business or an economic activity.
Despite the fact that agriculture still employs a large part of the population, the purchasing power of Azerbaijani consumers has increased as a result of the economic growth. This means that there is potential for businesses to sell higher-value products and services in the Azerbaijani market.
The first step to entry is usually ensuring products’ compliance with regulations and standards, in other words: obtaining an AZS Certificates of Conformity. These certificates demonstrate the fact that your product meets the necessary requirements needed to export to Azerbaijan.
What is an AZS Certificate?
An AZS Certificate is a Certificate of Conformity that is required for certain products being exported to Azerbaijan. The certificate confirms that the products comply with the applicable Azerbaijani standards and it is issued on a bilingual format (azeri-english).
The list of subjected products is pretty similar to the EAC’s one. It includes not only machinery, low voltage or pressure equipment, medical devices, radio apparels, etc. but also products not subjected to CE marking like food, clothes and shoes.
It is usually issued for 1 year, but some cases it can have a 3 years validity. As usually seen in product certification systems, it can be issued on a mandatory or voluntary basis.
How to get an AZS Certificate
The responsible organism for the issuance of AZS Certificates is Azstand (Azerbaijan Institute of Standardization) to which an application must be sent. The request must be entirely in Azeri (all documents must be translated into the local language and through certified copies). This is the first of the documents required in the procedure, as established by the national standard AZS 498-2010.
In addition to the corporate data of the manufacturing company and the Azeri importer (or authorized representative), also technical information about the product and its compliance with current regulations has to be provided.
The certification will be different if you intend to introduce a batch of products or regular quantities of serial-produced products into Azerbaijan.
Conformity can be demonstrated, depending on the applicable schemes, or through tests on the product or based on certifications and test reports obtained following international standards. In particular it may be useful:
- ISO 9001 Certifications
- Tests carried out in accredited laboratories in certain EN, IEC, etc. standards.
- Conformity to certain Technical Regulations of the Customs Union (EAC Declaration of Conformity or EAC Certificate of Conformity), only if accompanied by the corresponding tests.
- In a very recent past, even GOST R Certificates of Conformity could be accepted.
Download the AZS logo
The Azerbaijani mark of conformity has to be added to the labelling and is often accompanied by the Halal mark of conformity. Labelling information (and product instructions) has to be entirely in the Azeri language.
You can download the AZS logo here:
Black with a white background (.jpg)
👉 Do you want to export to Azerbaijan? Send us an email to [info@gost-standard.com] and we will quote you the costs of the certification 👈
