Protecting the health and safety of consumers

THE NATIONAL Compliance and Regulatory Authority (NCRA) is at work in almost every industry in Jamaica. The NCRA, formerly the Regulatory Division of the Bureau of Standards Jamaica, operates on the front line, protecting the health and safety of consumers from harmful products and promoting fairness in trade.

As a regulatory agency of the Government of Jamaica, the NCRA monitors, verifies, and enforces compliance to standards. The NCRA carries out regulatory functions at Jamaica’s ports of entry to safeguard health and safety of consumers from harmful imports. In the domestic market, the NCRA also monitors food-processing establishments, verifies weighing and measuring devices used in trade. We are authorised under the Standards Act, the Weights and Measures Act, the Processed Food Act, the Petroleum (Quality Control) Regulations and Customs (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Order.

The standards compliance team monitors the market for constructionrelated products and conducts targeted inspections of seven categories: Aggregates Aluminium/zinc coils Hollow concrete blocks Cement Ready-mix concrete Steel re-bars, and Curb walls The NCRA is responsible for the registration of establishments, importers and manufacturers of products where compulsory standards exist under Regulation 8B of the Standards Regulations (1983):

“Every person who imports into Jamaica (other than for personal use), manufactures or processes any commodity for which a compulsory standard specification has been declared shall be registered under this regulation in respect of that commodity.”

For your ease of conducting business, we have regional offices located in St Ann, St James, Manchester and Westmoreland. We invite you to contact any of our offices regarding the registration requirements for conducting business in the construction sector.