These Terms and Conditions have been structured in accordance with the requirements of the International Regulations. A current list of such Regulations is available on request from any Euro Veritas office.
Scope :
Euro Veritas assesses and certificates the Management Systems of applicants for conformance with the requirements of internationally recognised management system standards of ISO and other Internationally recognised standards.
Euro Veritas identifies the Directive and the Harmonised Standard under which a product falls. Euro Veritas checks the conformity of the product meeting to the requirements of the Standard. Based on the TCF and Test Reports, Euro Veritas issues Certificate of Compliance.
Euro Veritas conducts various training courses (Lead Assessors, Internal Assessors, 5S, Six Sigma), and upon successful completion, issues Certificates to candidates.
Confidentiality :
Euro Veritas is responsible for ensuring that confidentiality is maintained at all levels of its organisation concerning information obtained in the course of its registration, either for Systems Certification, Product Marking Certification, or Personnel Certification.
Organisational Structure :
A copy of Euro Veritas organisation chart, showing the responsibility and reporting structure of the organisation and documentation identifying the legal status of Euro Veritas, is available on request.
General Conditions :
In order to obtain and retain registration, the applicant shall comply with the following procedures and rules:
• The applicant shall make available to Euro Veritas all information deemed necessary by it, in order to complete the assessment programme;
• Euro Veritas, if not satisfied that all registration requirements are met, shall inform the applicant of those aspects in which the application has failed;
• When the applicant can show that remedial action has been taken, within the time limit specified by Euro Veritas, to meet all the requirements, Euro Veritas will arrange, at additional cost to the applicant, to repeat only the necessary parts of the assessment;
• If the applicant fails to take remedial action within the specified time limit it may be necessary for Euro Veritas, at additional cost, to repeat the assessment in full; and
• Any Management Systems Certificate issued will relate only to the site or sites assessed and the scope of such Certificate will be stated on the Certificate.
• Any Product Marking Compliance Certificate issued will relate to the specific Product, (Specific Product Sr No) which has undergone the said test requirements as per the Harmonised Standard. Also it will mention the address where the product is being manufactured. The Certificate also mentions the Directive and the Harmonised Standard(s) against which the Certificate has been issued.
• Euro Veritas conducts world class Training Programs, conducted by approved and recognised Lead Trainers. At the end of each training program, an examination is held. Successful candidates who give this exam, and passes by obtaining the passing grades, is awarded the Certificate of Completion.
Application for Registration :
On receipt of a completed questionnaire Euro Veritas shall submit to the applicant a Quotation / Proposal outlining the scope of assessment and costs. Once the Application Form has been received by Euro Veritas, together with any due Application fees, payments and controlled copies of relevant documentation, the project will be allocated to a Lead Auditor, Product Inspector, or a Lead Trainer who will be responsible for ensuring that the assessment(Systems, Product Marking or Personnel Training) is carried out in accordance with the procedures of Euro Veritas.
The contract between Euro Veritas and the client will be Issuing of the Certificate, and continuation of the Certificate subject to successful conduct of Surveillance verifications / audits(in case of Systems Certification and Product Marking Certificate). Each certificate has a limited validity.
• Management Systems Certificate: 3 Years, • Product Marking Certificate: Lifetime- 5 Years, • Personnel Certificate: Lifetime- 5 Years
Initial Assessment Of The Applicants Management System :
The assessment of the Management System of an applicant Organization shall be carried out in the stages described in the proposal. All records produced for the implementation and operation of the Management System must be readily available for inspection by the Lead Assessor of Euro Veritas. The applicant shall ensure that responsibility to Euro Veritas for the Management Systems is clearly defined to Euro Veritas, by appointing a designated person who is authorised to maintain contact with the local Euro Veritas office. Any change to the designated appointee must be confirmed to the local Euro Veritas office in writing.
Registration :
When Euro Veritas is satisfied that the applicant meets all the requirements for registration, it will inform the applicant and issue a Certificate. This certificate is valid for 3 years. The Certificate shall remain the property of Euro Veritas and may only be copied or reproduced for the benefit of a third party if the word "copy" is marked thereon. A list of current certificate numbers shall be publicly available. The Certificate will remain valid unless a surveillance visit reveals deterioration in the Management System of the Certificate holder.
When Euro Veritas is satisfied that the Organization's product has met the requirements as laid down in the Directive and the Harmonised Standard, through testing from a renowned / recognised laboratory, it issues a certificate. This certificate is valid for 5 Years. The Certificate shall remain the property of Euro Veritas and may only be copied or reproduced for the benefit of a third party if the word "copy" is marked thereon. A list of current certificate numbers shall be publicly available. The Certificate will remain valid unless a surveillance visit reveals amendment in the Product specifications, so much so, that the application of the product has changed.
Euro Veritas conducts world class Training Programs, conducted by approved and recognised Lead Trainers. At the end of each training program, an examination is held. Successful candidates who give this exam, and passes by obtaining the passing grades, is awarded the Certificate of Completion. The Certificate is valid for 5 years. The Certificate shall remain the property of Euro Veritas and may only be copied or reproduced for the benefit of a third party if the word "copy" is marked thereon. A list of current certificate numbers shall be publicly available.
Surveillance For Systems Certificate :
For Systems Certificate : Euro Veritas shall carry out periodic 3- monthly or 6- monthly or annual surveillance audits, which shall cover aspects of the Management System, as per the International Standard Requirements, at the discretion of the nominated Auditor. The time/cost of on site surveillance audit time shall be subject to change and be based on IAF Guidance MD-5. A fee is charged and this includes a surveillance audit. Euro Veritas shall have access to the Certificate holder's sites for surveillance purposes whenever deemed necessary and shall reserve the right to make unannounced visits as required. The Certificate holder shall maintain a register recording all customer complaints relating to those products, processes or services covered by the Certificate and make this available to Euro Veritas on request including records of all communications and actions taken. The client shall immediately inform Euro Veritas on any past or future violations / prosecutions relating to Environmental, Health and Safety, associated laws or any past or pending prosecution that may affect the integrity of the certificate or bring the client's company into disrepute. The Certificate holder shall be informed of the results of each surveillance visit.
Certificate Renewal :
In order to revalidate its Certificate at the end of every 3-year / 5-year cycle, the Certificate holder shall be required to follow the same procedure as the initial assessment. The Certificate holder shall be informed of the requirement for Certificate renewal during the pre-renewal visit 'which is the last surveillance visit of each 3-year / 5-Year cycle.
Extension Of Registration :
In order to extend the scope of a Certificate to cover additional sites, products, processes or services, the Certificate holder will be required to complete a new Application. The Application procedure outlined here above, will be followed and an assessment will be carried out on those areas not previously covered. The cost of extending the scope of registration will be based on the nature and programme of work / product, being of the same family, and an alteration of the range, not affecting the application.
Following a successful assessment an amended Assessment Schedule will be issued covering those aspects covered by the extended Certificate. Although the original Certificate will normally remain in force it may be necessary in some instances to issue a new Certificate. In such cases the Certificate holder must return the superseded Certificate to Euro Veritas.
Systems Modification :
The Certificate holder shall inform Euro Veritas in writing, of any intended Change of company name, status or legal entity, modification to the product, process, service or Management System, which may affect compliance with the relevant standards. Euro Veritas will determine whether the notified changes require additional assessment. Failure to notify Euro Veritas of any intended modification may result in suspension of the Certificate.
Publicity By Certificate Holder :
A Certificate holder may make reference in communication media that its product, process or service has been assessed and may apply the relevant mark of conformity to stationery and promotional material / or on the product(for Product Marking Conformity Certificate) relating to the scope of registration, as detailed in a separate document. In every case, the Certificate holder shall ensure that in its publications and advertising no confusion arises between registered and non-registered products, processes and/or services.
The Certificate holder shall not make any claim, which could mislead third parties to believe that a product, process or service has been registered when, in fact, it has not.
Misuse Of Certificate & Logo / Registration Marks :
Euro Veritas has made to the Certificate Holder, available the correct Logo which they can present on applicable format, and adequate place, as is mentioned above.
Euro Veritas shall take suitable action to deal with incorrect references to registration or misleading use of Certificates or Logos/Registration Marks found in advertisements, catalogues, etc. These include suspension or withdrawal of Certificate, legal action and/or publication of the transgression. All costs associated with correcting the misuse of the logo shall be paid by the person or company committing the misuse including all legal fees. A charge of USD 100 per day for mis-use of the Euro Veritas logo shall also be applicable.
Suspension Of Certificate :
A Certificate may be suspended by Euro Veritas for a limited period in cases such as the following.
If Corrective Action Requests have not been satisfactorily complied with, within the designated time limit;
If a case of misuse of the Certificate as described in Clause 15, is not corrected by suitable retractions or other appropriate remedial measures by the Certificate holder;
If there has been any other contravention of the Euro Veritas Terms and Conditions.
If, it is found that correct representation of the product Marking Conformity Certificate is not made, or is incorrectly made.
The Certificate holder shall not identify as registered any product, process or service that has been offered under a suspended Certificate.
Euro Veritas will confirm in writing to the Certificate holder the suspension of a Certificate. At the same time, Euro Veritas shall indicate under which conditions the suspension will be removed. At the end of the suspension period, an investigation will be carried out to determine whether the indicated conditions for reinstating the Certificate have been fulfilled. On fulfilment of these conditions the suspension shall be lifted and the Certificate holder notified of the Certificate reinstatement. If the conditions are not fulfilled the Certificate shall be withdrawn.
All costs incurred by Euro Veritas in suspending and reinstating a Certificate will be charged to the Certificate holder.
Withdrawal Of Certificate :
A Certificate may be withdrawn if the Certificate holder takes inadequate measures in case of suspension; no longer offers the product, processor service; or goes out of business.
In any of these cases, Euro Veritas has the right to withdraw the certificate by informing the Certificate holder in writing. Euro Veritas may publish at its discretion details of all suspended, cancelled or withdrawn certificates without prior notice as it sees fit.
In cases of withdrawal no reimbursement of assessment fees shall be given and cancellation of Certificate shall be published by Euro Veritas.
Cancellation Of Certificate :
A Certificate will be cancelled if the Certificate holder advises Euro Veritas in writing that it does not wish to renew the Certificate or no longer offers the product, process or service.In cases of cancellation no reimbursement of assessment fees shall be given and cancellation of the Certificate shall be published by Euro Veritas.
All cancelled certificates shall be returned to Euro Veritas within 1 month. Full fees for the remainder of the 3 year contract (see clause 7) shall become payable at this time.
Fees :
Fees are due on receipt of invoice. Certificates will not be issued unless fees have been paid in full.
Fees will be detailed in the Proposal submitted to an applicant. As costs are based on the charge rate applicable at the time of submitting a Proposal, Euro Veritas reserves the right to increase charges during the registration period. Applicants and Certificate holders will be notified of any increases in fees.
Additional fees shall be charged for services that are not included in the agreed Proposal and for surveillance visits required due to non-conformances being identified in the Management System. These will include costs resulting from :
Repeats of any part, or all, of the assessment programme due to the initial registration requirements not being met;
Additional work due to suspension, withdrawal and/or reinstatement of a Certificate;
Re-assessment due to changes in the Management System;
Any costs connected with confirmed booked visits cancelled at short notice.
Late cancellation (within 10 working days) by the client of a formally confirmed visit shall be charged at the full day rate unless Euro Veritas can re-deploy the auditor.
Costs of the Harmonised Standard shall be charged from the Applicant.
Testing Charges shall be borne by the Applicant, and is payable directly to the Testing Lab.
The fees quoted shall exclude travelling and subsistence expenses, which will be charged at cost.
All fees and additional charges are subject to local taxes in the country concerned.
Appeals :
An applicant or client may formally request Euro Veritas to reconsider any adverse decision Euro Veritas has made regarding the Certification Status, by submitting an appeal in writing to Euro Veritas within one month of the date of the decision. Appeals should be addressed to the Managing Director at info@euroVeritas.com
Adverse decisions include :
Refusal to accept an application
Refusal to proceed with an assessment
Corrective action requests
Changes to certificated scope
Decisions to deny, suspend or withdraw accreditation (or recommendation for notified body status), and
Any other action that impedes the attainment of accreditation (or recommendation for notified body status).
Any decision that is the subject of an appeal will remain in force until a change is agreed at the end of Stage 1 or Stage 2 of the process.
The Euro Veritas process for managing an appeal is the same process as above.
Complaints :
We always aim to maintain the highest standards of service. However should you find it necessary to complain about us or about one of our customers, we will follow the process outlined below to investigate your complaint. Complaints to Euro Veritas should be addressed to the Managing Director at info@euroVeritas.com
Complaints should be submitted in writing to Euro Veritas.
All complaints will be logged if we have the name and organisation/address of the complainant. Where a complainant prefers to remain anonymous, the complaint can be logged provided the feedback is specific and factual, and with evidence.
We will acknowledge receipt of all complaints within 5 working/business days and provide a date when we will next make contact, the name of the investigating officer and the feedback log number.
All complaints are investigated and followed through to a conclusion. We will record and track each instance and log the outcome.
We will ensure that a complainant is kept informed of progress on their complaint.
On completion of the investigation into a complaint, we will inform the complainant of the outcome and the corrective action, where necessary, and if the action has been or is being taken.
For serious unresolved complaints, the complainant or Euro Veritas can request an independent review of the complaint.
Liability :
You will not involve Euro Veritas or associated companies in any litigation arising from your activities, including products you produce or sell or any services you supply.
Except for liability for death or personal injury directly resulting from Euro Veritas's personnel's acts or omission, in the event of any claim our liability to you will not exceed the amount paid by you to us. We shall not be liable for any losses, consequential losses or damages you incur. Further, our liability does not extend to the organizations, or individuals there-of, represented on our Impartiality Committee.
Indemnity :
You will indemnify us against any losses or damages suffered by us arising from your neglect of our staff whilst on your premises or in the event of your misuse of the Certificate of Registration / Certificate of Compliance and Certification Mark.
