Claims and appeals
This procedure determines the procedure for receipt, evaluation and making decisions on claims and appeals.
Claims and appeals must be in writing, signed and submitted, or sent to the certification body's legal address or e-mail mentioned in the contacts section of this website.
Claims and appeals must contain the detailed subject and justification of the claim and appeal, as well as the Applicant's identifying information (Applicant's name, surname/ name, personal identification number (if absent - birth date or other personal identifying information/ registration number) and must include contact information (address, e -mail). The application must be signed and dated by the Applicant.
Once the claim or appeal is received it is registered in the register of documents.
The certification body shall, within five working days, notify the applicant in writing of the receipt of the claim or appeal after the receipt and registration of the claim or appeal, and shall announce the deadlines for review thereof, as well as its review procedure.
If the claim or appeal does not meet the requirements for its execution, or its data is incomplete, the Applicant is informed about the elimination of the deficiencies and the claim or appeal is not reviewed until deficiencies are eliminated.
Once the claim or appeal is received, the board of the certification body evaluates and confirms whether the claim or appeal refers to the certification activities for which it is responsible, and if so, reviews the claim or appeal.
If the claim or appeal does not refer to certification activities for which it is responsible, it notifies the Applicant and doesn’t review the claim or appeal.
Submitted claims or appeals are reviewed within the reasonable time (taking into account the urgency and complexity of the issue) but no longer than within two calendar months from the date of receipt of the claim or appeal; the certification body has possibility to extend the review period up to three months.
Claims and appeals are reviewed by the claim or appeal review commission established by the certification body.
The certification body takes all necessary measures to make an objective and uninfluenced decision on the subject of the claim or appeal during its review, and is also responsible for gathering and verifying all necessary information to facilitate and make a decision on the claim or appeal.
The certification body doesn’t engage staff or specialists in the claim or appeal review that have provided advice to the person who submitted the claim or appeal or was related to the subject of the contract about which the claim or appeal is submitted to prevent the conflict of interests of the commission composition in the claims or appeals review.
The certification body is not allowed to assign the employees and specialists who provided advice to the Applicant or were employed by the Applicant to review the claim or appeal of the applicant for two years after the consultation or employment to avoid the conflict of interest.
The claim is reviewed by the commission consisting of one person, while an appeal is reviewed by the commission consisting of three persons.
The board of the certification body establishes a commission for its review within five working days after the receipt of the claim or appeal.
The appointed person reviews the claim on its merits and takes the necessary steps to verify the facts mentioned in the claim.
The commission makes a decision and officially notifies the Applicant about the result of the claim review process and the completion of the review after the review of the claim. The decision is registered in the register of documents.
If the claim is recognized as justified, the board of the certification body or its appointed specialist identifies and determines the necessary corrective and improvement actions.
The applicant can appeal the results of the claim review (the decision received) within seven working days from the day of notification of the decision on the claim review by submitting the petition of appeal.
Appeal review and decision making procedure
The board of the certification body evaluates the received information, its justification and compliance with the activity of the certification body after the receipt and registration of the appeal. The commission consisting of three persons is established to review the appeal.
Persons who were not involved in decision making are appointed to the appeal commission. The commission reviews the appeal and verifies the justification of the submitted appeal within the deadline set by the board, ensuring an objective attitude towards the applicant.
After the appeal review, the commission makes a decision and officially notifies the Applicant about the result of the appeal review process and the completion of the review. The decision is registered in the register of documents.
If the appeal is recognized as justified, the board of the certification body or its appointed specialist identifies and determines the necessary corrective and improvement actions.
If the Applicant of the claim or appeal is not satisfied with the result of the claim or appeal review, he/she is entitled to go to the court in accordance with the general procedure or the agreement concluded by the parties.