CE, RoHS, TISI, ESMA Certificates: What You Need to Import from China

Ordering a batch of light fixtures, tile, or bathroom fixtures from China, it is easy to overlook one question: which certificate does the destination country actually require? The factory will say “we have a certificate” — and often mean an entirely different document than the one customs will ask for. CE, RoHS, TISI, ESMA are not interchangeable paperwork for a checklist — they are separate systems for separate markets and product categories. Here is each one explained simply: what it checks, when it is mandatory, and how to avoid a hold-up at the port.

CE: a declaration, not a quality mark

CE (Conformité Européenne) is not a quality certificate or a default independent-lab assessment — it is a declaration by the manufacturer or importer that the product meets applicable EU directives. The supplier applies the CE mark under its own responsibility, based on a technical file and, for some categories, a test report from an independent lab.

Plain furniture, textiles, or tile without electrics have no direct CE directive. As soon as a product includes an electrical component — an LED light in a bed frame, a USB charging port in a nightstand, a height-adjustment motor in a desk — it falls under:

• LVD (2014/35/EU) — low-voltage equipment safety;
• EMC (2014/30/EU) — electromagnetic compatibility, so the device neither creates interference nor is sensitive to it.

Light fixtures, appliances, and power tools need the full package: a technical file, a declaration of conformity (DoC), CE marking, and the details of an EU-based responsible person on the packaging. This applies to lighting fixtures specifically — see sourcing lighting and decor from China.

RoHS: the hidden chemistry in electrical goods

RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) limits hazardous substances in electronics and electrical goods: lead at no more than 0.1% by weight, cadmium at no more than 0.01%, with mercury, hexavalent chromium, and certain phthalates also capped at 0.1%. The requirement applies to light fixtures, LED strip drivers, appliances, and electrical hardware — everything under the same group of EU directives as CE.

A common beginner mistake is treating RoHS as a substitute for CE, or vice versa. They are two separate documents: CE permits the sale in principle, RoHS confirms the chemical safety of specific materials. A light fixture or appliance needs both at once, and both are tied not to the brand but to the exact spec of the SKU — the driver, the wiring, the compound used.

TISI: the mandatory mark for Thailand

TISI (มอก.) is the certification issued by the Thai Industrial Standards Institute. It applies to an approved list of goods: part of electrical products, ceramic tile and porcelain stoneware, and part of bathroom fittings and building materials.

TISI’s distinctive feature is that certification is tied not just to the product but to the importer itself: the importer must be registered with TISI as a permit holder in advance, and a product sample must be tested at an accredited lab in Thailand or an authorized lab abroad. Without that registration, a shipment does not clear customs, even if the factory holds test reports for other markets. For tile and porcelain stoneware, cross-check this against wear-class ratings — see porcelain stoneware types and PEI class.

ESMA and G-Mark: the UAE standard

ESMA (Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology) is the UAE’s certification system, covering electrical goods, cable products, and part of building materials. Electrical items additionally require the G-Mark — a unified conformity mark for the Gulf states (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other GCC members).

ESMA registration is issued for a specific SKU and a specific manufacturer: change the spec — a different housing color, a different driver, a different component supplier — and the certificate needs to be re-registered. Confusing ESMA with CE or TISI is a common mistake: these are three independent systems, each operating in its own jurisdiction, and a certificate from one is not automatically recognized by another.

Comparison: where each certificate is mandatory

VAT and duty rates are current for baseline categories as of 2026; verify the exact rate and the list of mandatory certification against the HS code of your specific product — the code determines what document customs will ask for.

How to avoid a customs delay

Certification is tied not to a product in general but to an exact specification: color, material, components. A test report a factory holds for its standard light fixture does not cover your version with a different driver or a different housing color — customs and the lab look at the technical file for that exact SKU.

What to lock down before production starts:

1. Ask the factory whether it holds current SGS, Intertek, or TUV reports for the configuration you need — large exporters from Guangdong and Zhejiang usually keep a baseline package for standard models.
2. Build testing into the schedule if the configuration is custom: sample testing takes 2-4 weeks and needs to run alongside supplier verification, not after the container ships.
3. Cross-check the HS code against the destination country’s mandatory certification registry — the same product under different codes may or may not require a certificate.
4. Write certification into the contract as a condition of acceptance, alongside quality parameters and deadlines.

Case: a tile shipment without TISI

A client ordered 800 m² of porcelain stoneware for a project in Thailand, going by price and photos on 1688 — a platform for China’s domestic market, where export certification is often skipped entirely. The factory confirmed “we have a certificate,” but meant compliance with a domestic Chinese standard, not Thailand’s TISI.

Customs held the shipment: the importer was not registered with TISI, and there was no test report for the specific batch. The client had to arrange expedited lab testing of a sample after the container had already arrived — several weeks sitting at a bonded warehouse plus storage fees that wiped out the savings from buying direct.

Bottom line

CE and RoHS work together for the EU market, TISI is a mandatory condition for Thailand, ESMA and G-Mark for the UAE. None of these marks substitutes for another, and none covers a “similar” model — only the exact spec of the order. The rule is simple: determine the destination country and HS code before production starts, find out the mandatory list for that specific pairing, and require a test report for the exact SKU, not a general “certificate” for the product line.

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Not sure which certificate your shipment needs? Send us the product list and destination country — we’ll check the requirements against the HS code for free and arrange factory testing before the shipment leaves. Dream View’s fixed commission is 10% of the order value — details on our China sourcing agent services page.