Terms and Conditions/Code of Practice
1. INTRODUCTION
These Terms and Conditions have been structured in accordance with the requirements of the accreditation bodies, whose accreditation ACS Registrars Ltd currently holds.
A current list of such bodies and the scope of accreditation of ACS Registrars Ltd with each is available on request from any ACS Registrars Ltd office.
2. SCOPE
ACS Registrars Ltd assesses and certificates the Management Systems of applicants for conformance with the requirements of internationally recognised management system standards.
3. CONFIDENTIALITY
ACS Registrars Ltd is responsible for ensuring that confidentiality is maintained at all levels of its organisation concerning information obtained in the course of its registration.
4. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
A copy of ACS Registrars Ltd organisation chart, showing the responsibility and reporting structure of the organisation and documentation identifying the legal status of ACS REGISTRARS LTD, is available on request.
5. GENERAL CONDITIONS
In order to obtain and retain registration, the applicant shall comply with the following procedures and rules:
a. The applicant shall make available to ACS Registrars Ltd all information deemed necessary by it, in order to complete the assessment programme;
b. ACS Registrars Ltd, if not satisfied that all registration requirements are met, shall inform the applicant of those aspects in which the application has failed;
c. When the applicant can show that remedial action has been taken, within the time limit specified by ACS Registrars Ltd, to meet all the requirements, ACS Registrars Ltd will arrange, at additional cost to the applicant, to repeat only the necessary parts of the assessment;
d. If the applicant fails to take remedial action within the specified time limit it may be necessary for ACS Registrars Ltd, at additional cost, to repeat the assessment in full; and
e. Any Certificate issued will relate only to the site or sites assessed and the scope of such Certificate will be stated on the Assessment Schedule, which accompanies that Certificate.
6. APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION
On receipt of a completed questionnaire ACS Registrars Ltd shall submit to the applicant a proposal outlining the scope of assessment and costs together with an Application Form 35. The time/cost of the initial on site audit is subject to variation based on the Auditors' findings and IAF Guidance, IAF MD-5. Once the Application Form 35 has been received by ACS Registrars Ltd, together with any due payments and controlled copies of relevant documentation, the project will be allocated to a Lead Auditor, who will be responsible for ensuring that the assessment is carried out in accordance with the procedures of ACS Registrars Ltd.
7. The contract between ACS Registrars and the client will be the issuing of the pre or initial audit schedule by the auditor or a certificate in the case of a transfer certificate. The contract may be for 5 years. After 5 years the acceptance of the next surveillance audits shall constitute another 5 year extension of the certificate content.
8. INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICANTS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The assessment of the Management System of an applicant shall be
carried out in the stages described in the proposal referred to in Clause 6. All records produced for the implementation and operation of the Management System must be readily available for inspection by ACS Registrars Ltd. The applicant shall ensure that responsibility to ACS Registrars Ltd for the Management Systems is clearly defined to ACS Registrars Ltd, by appointing a designated person who is authorised to maintain contact with the local ACS Registrars Ltd office. Any change to the designated appointee must be confirmed to the local ACS Registrars Ltd office in writing.
9. REGISTRATION
When ACS Registrars Ltd is satisfied that the applicant meets all the requirements for registration, it will inform the applicant and issue a Certificate. The Certificate shall remain the property of ACS Registrars Ltd 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.
10. SURVEILLANCE
ACS Registrars Ltd shall carry out periodic 6 monthly or annual surveillance audits, which shall cover aspects of the Management System 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 six monthly registration fee is charged and this includes a surveillance audit, however where ACS Registrars cannot conduct the surveillance audit due to client, the six monthly fee will still be charged if the client wishes to maintain their registration. This charge is not dependent on a surveillance audit being completed. ACS Registrars Ltd 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 ACS Registrars Ltd on request including records of all communications and actions taken.
The client shall immediately inform ACS Registrars Ltd 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.
11. CERTIFICATE RENEWAL
In order to revalidate its Certificate at the end of every three-year cycle, the Certificate holder shall be required to follow the same procedure as the initial assessment: see Clause 8. 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 three-year cycle.
12. 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 Questionnaire. The application procedure outlined in Clause 6 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.
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 ACS Registrars Ltd.
13. SYSTEMS MODIFICATION
The Certificate holder shall inform ACS Registrars Ltd 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. ACS Registrars Ltd will determine whether the notified changes require additional assessment. Failure to notify ACS Registrars Ltd of any intended modification may result in suspension of the Certificate.
14. 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 relating to the scope of registration, as detailed in a separate document. The Certificate holder may not, however, apply the mark of conformity in relation to the products unless they have also been registered for Product Conformity.
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.
15. MISUSE OF CERTIFICATE
ACS Registrars Ltd shall take suitable action to deal with incorrect references to registration or misleading use of Certificate 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 ACS Regsitrars logo shall be paid by the person or company committing the mis-use including all legal fees. A charge of £100 per day for mis-use of the ACS Registrars logo shall also be applicable.
16. SUSPENSION OF CERTIFICATE
A Certificate may be suspended by ACS Registrars Ltd for a limited period in cases such as the following:
a. If Corrective Action Requests have not been satisfactorily complied with, within the designated time limit;
b. 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;
c. If there has been any other contravention of the ACS Registrars Ltd Terms and Conditions.
The Certificate holder shall not identify as registered any product, process or service that has been offered under a suspended Certificate.
ACS Registrars Ltd will confirm in writing to the Certificate holder the suspension of a Certificate. At the same time, ACS Registrars Ltd 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 fulfillment 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 ACS Registrars Ltd in suspending and reinstating a Certificate will be charged to the Certificate holder.
17. 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, ACS Registrars Ltd has the right to withdraw the certificate by informing the Certificate holder in writing. ACS Registrars Ltd may publish at its discretion details of all suspended, cancelled or withdrawn certificates without prior notice as it sees fit.
The Certificate holder may give notice of appeal: see Clause 20
In cases of withdrawal no reimbursement of assessment fees shall be given and cancellation of Certificate shall be published by ACS Registrars Ltd.
18. CANCELLATION OF CERTIFICATE
A Certificate will be cancelled if the Certificate holder advises ACS Registrars Ltd 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 ACS Registrars Ltd.
All cancelled certificates shall be returned to ACS Registrars Ltd within 1 month. If the original certificates are not returned the annual certification fee shall be charged which is equivalent to the yearly audit fee. This fee shall be levied until the date of expiry on the certificate.
19. 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, ACS Registrars Ltd 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:
a. Repeats of any part, or all, of the assessment programme due to the initial registration requirements not being met;
b. Additional work due to suspension, withdrawal and/or reinstatement of a Certificate;
c. Re-assessment due to changes in the Management System;
d. Any costs connected with confirmed booked visits cancelled at short notice.
e. Where a client has requested a transfer from another certification body and a certificate of registration has been issued prior to a surveillance audit being undertaken, this shall be free of charge providing the next surveillance audit is undertaken. Should the client subsequently cancel the surveillance audit, a charged will be levied at our standard day rate for the applicable standard, to cover the cost of the initial registration certificate.
f. Late cancellation (within 10 working days) by the client of a formally confirmed visit shall be charged at the full day rate unless ACS Registrars can re-deploy the auditor.
The fees quoted shall exclude traveling and subsistence expenses, which will be charged at cost.
All fees and additional charges are subject to local taxes in the country concerned.
20. APPEALS
If, for any reason, notification is given which may result in a Certificate not being issued or being withdrawn, the applicant or Certificate holder has the right to appeal.
Notification of the intention to appeal must be made in writing and received by ACS Registrars Ltd within seven days of receipt of notification of the non-issue or withdrawal of the Certificate.
An Appeal Form will be sent to the applicant or Certificate holder for completion and must be returned to ACS Registrars Ltd within 14 days of receipt, supported by relevant facts and data for consideration during the Appeals Procedure,
All appeals are forwarded to ACS Registrars Ltd and are put before a subcommittee of the Certification Council. ACS Registrars Ltd shall be required to submit evidence to support its decision to withhold or withdraw the Certificate.
The decision of the sub-committee shall be final and binding on both the applicant/Certificate holder and ACS Registrars Ltd. Once the decision regarding an appeal has been made, no counter-claim by either party in dispute can be made to amend or change this decision.
In instances where the appeal has been successful and the Certificate issued or reinstated, no claim can be made against ACS Registrars Ltd for reimbursement of costs or any other losses incurred as a result of withholding or the initial withdrawal notification.
21. COMPLAINTS
If an applicant or a Certificate holder has cause to complain regarding the conduct of ACS Registrars Ltd employees, the complaint shall be made in writing, without delay and addressed to the Directors, ACS Registrars Ltd. If the complaint is made against a Director, the letter of complaint shall be addressed to the CEO of ACS Registrars Ltd.
22. LIABILITY
You will not involve ACS Registrars Ltd 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 ACS'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 or damages you incur. Further, our liability does not extend to the organisations, or individuals there-of, represented on our Impartiality Committee.
23. 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 and Certification Mark.
24. APPLICABLE LAW
It is agreed that this Contract shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the England & Wales and the execution hereof shall be deemed to have taken place within the England & Wales. Each party hereby agrees that jurisdiction for the resolution of any dispute shall be in the Courts of the United Kingdom.
Over and above the details herein all clients within the USA agree to the provision of a separate Hold Harmless agreement between themselves and ACS Registrars Ltd.
Any past or future violations of environmental and/or Health & Safety related laws or regulations or possible accusations that may lead to a prosecution or legal action shall be immediately notified to ACS Registrars.
Please note that within the standard terms and conditions of contract, clients have an obligation to advise ACS Registrars Ltd of any breach of legal or regulatory requirements and any pending prosecutions of whatever nature. Although proportionality and scale of the situation should be considered, you are required to advise ACS Registrars Ltd of any potential risks to our certification but not, for example, isolated cases of a minor nature.
The Client is required to inform ACS Registrars Ltd as soon as it becomes aware of any breach or pending prosecutions for the breach of any regulatory requirements relevant to the Certified Management System. ACS Registrars Ltd will review the details of any breaches brought to its attention and may elect to perform additional verification activities chargeable to the client to ensure compliance with specified requirements. ACS Registrars Ltd reserves the right to suspend or withdraw certificates of approval/verification statements and opinions for both failure to inform ACS Registrars Ltd and the appropriate regulator of such breaches.
ACS Registrars reserve the right to add to, delete or changes these terms & conditions. All such changes will be forwarded to all certificate holders.
All of the terms and conditions listed above that were applicable to ICS Registrars Ltd are also applicable to ACS Registrars Ltd. All clients, by agreeing to their next surveillance audit, fully accept that the contract for certification services is with ACS Registrars Ltd.
Date of last change 16/03/2011