Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) has warned that it will prohibit cement factories from selling their products if they fail to obtain the Nepal Standard (NS) certification by mid-June.

“More than 90% of the cement companies are expected to obtain NS certification by mid-June,” said NBSM Director General Ram Adhar Sah at an interaction here on Sunday. “Those failing to do so will face sales ban.”

Sah said upcoming cement factories will also have to acquire the certification to be able to sell their products.

Participants of the programme complained the NBSM has not been able to ensure quality of daily essential goods and accused the bureau of delaying the awarding of NS certification, as well as failing to properly test products in its lab.

Accepting that the NBSM has not been able to ensure quality standard as expected, Sah said this was due to the lack of skilled manpower and equipment with the bureau.