On August 15, 2024, the Kuwait Standards and Metrology Authority (KOWSMD), together with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs of Kuwait, officially issued the Mandatory Specifications for Safety Management of Elevators and Escalators, which comprehensively upgraded the certification, maintenance management, emergency rescue and operation supervision of elevator products in the Kuwaiti market. The core contents include: First, it is clarified that all complete elevator machines and core safety components entering the Kuwaiti market must obtain mandatory KOWSMD certification, and uncertified products are prohibited from being imported, sold and used. Second, tighten the inspection at import ports. The customs must conduct 100% verification of the KOWSMD certificate, certificate of origin and type test report of imported elevators, and products with inconsistent certificates will be directly returned. Third, strengthen the maintenance management requirements, clarifying that elevator maintenance units must obtain the official qualification license of Kuwait, carry out routine maintenance every 14 days, and keep maintenance records for at least 5 years. Fourth, upgrade the emergency rescue requirements, clarifying that the elevator entrapment alarm must be responded within 5 minutes and handled on site within 20 minutes. Non-compliant units will face high fines and license revocation. Fifth, mandatorily implement the annual inspection system for in-use elevators. All in-use elevators must carry out a KOWSMD standard compliance inspection once a year, and elevators that fail the inspection must be shut down for rectification immediately. The new regulation has a 6-month transition period and was officially implemented on February 15, 2025.