The centres should be interlinked and share a database of information on standards that are mutually recognized by all the member states such that a product originating from one country does not need to be tested in another country of the EAC, according to the European Union (EU) senior advisor Annete Dragsdahl.
"If a trader is selling a product made in Uganda in Tanzania for example and the Tanzanian government or trade ministry is asking for a re-test of the standard, the trader should then be able to contact the service centre in Tanzania," she told members of the East African Community Business Network that comprises of business associations from the region.
The members drawn from Uganda Manufacturers Association(UMA), Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI), Rwanda Private Sector Federation (RPSF) and the Federation of Burundi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCIB) attended a four day workshop in Kampala to discuss obstacles to the free movement of goods under the EAC Common Market Protocol.
Dragsdahl said the establishment of service centres reduces costs of doing business and time wasted in sending goods back to the country of origin.
"Officials from the centre go to the responsible ministry and if there has been any misunderstanding in the legislation, the issue should be resolved within 10 weeks like it is done in the European Union common market," she told East African Business Week in an interview after a a press conference in Kampala.
"If they cannot find a solution, the European Union or in this case the EAC secretariat must intervene but it has been a success in the EU because such problems usually arise from mistrust, misunderstanding of laws by the desk officers."