Certification smoothes the passage to India

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jan 10, 2006

DMG Engineering has Chartered Engineers who have the necessary registration and experience to help with export requirements for the Indian market.

Anyone planning to export machinery or equipment into India will need a Chartered Engineer's Certificate (CEC).

This applies to any equipment that is used, second hand, refurbished or rebuilt.

The process of obtaining a certificate should be relatively trouble free and involves an inspection by a Chartered Engineer and the subsequent issuing of a signed and stamped original certificate on letter headed paper.

However, the key is finding a Chartered Engineer in the first place - the route to qualification for a Chartered Engineer demands both a high academic qualifications and years of relevant experience and membership of a professional body (such as the IEE or IMechE in the UK) and a further membership of a recognised regulatory body (the Engineering Council in the UK).

Therefore, many Chartered Engineers are already gainfully employed, and finding one who is available is often the first problem that may be encountered.

The first place to look to find a Chartered Engineer is within your own organisation.

Often these people will be in senior positions or in specialist technical roles.

Check that the person is registered to use the title Chartered Engineer or CEng and ask to see his/her membership card that will bear a unique registration number and confirmation that they are indeed a Chartered Engineer.

Secondly, find out whether they possess a stamp.

The stamp is simply that and is used to endorse the certificate.

It too carries the registration number of the engineer.

These can be purchased by the Chartered Engineer from his/her engineering institution and are delivered in around 8-12 weeks from date of order.

To the novice, the correct format for the CEC can be a minefield and finding an consistent official format is near impossible.

As an overview the certificate must include details of the equipment's original value, it's current value, a description and assessment of condition, the date of manufacture, serial number, details of any remedial work (and cost) required to bring the equipment back to a good condition, and of course a valid signature and stamp.

Whilst alterations to the certificate can be quick and simple, often this causes delays in shipping and so it pays to find someone who has experience of the requirements from the outset.

The Chartered Engineer will wish to view the equipment and inspect it for himself.

Whilst the inspection is thorough, it is not a test of the equipment's ability to perform to specification nor any guarantee that the equipment will function correctly.

This can take a number of hours depending on the equipment and will include inspection of any documents and tools for example that may be being shipped with the main goods.

If it is simply not practical to find a Chartered Engineer yourself then help is available.

DMG Engineering in Pershore UK has Chartered Engineers who have the necessary registration and experience to help, and charge out their time on a daily rate.