Our Certification Rules

• Introduction
• Criteria for granting certification
• Certification Process
  • Application for Certification
  • Documentation Review
  • Pre-Assessment Audit
  • Certification Audit
  • Non Conformity Report
  • Recommendation for Certification
  • Surveillance Audit
  • Re-certification Audit
  • Special Audit
  • Change of Address/ Extension of Scope of Registration
  • Modification of the Management System
  • Maintaining Certifications
• Use of Logo and Certification Mark
• General Conditions for Certification
• Granting of the certificate
• Refusing the certification
• Procedure for reinstatement of suspended Certificate
• Extensions to Scope
• Suspension, Withdrawal, Cancellation or Reducing of the Certificate
• Complaints, Appeal and Disputes
• Right To Assess the Client Records By Concerned Accreditation Body

Introduction

BMS Certification Private Limited. is a legal entity incorporated under the Companies Act 1956, inIndia. The main object of the company is to offer independent third party certification to organizations against various International Standards.

BMS Certification Private Limited offers a service to its clients, which cover the Assessment and Certification of Quality Management Systems based on ISO 9001 and Environment Management Systems based on ISO 14001.

Criteria for granting certification

BMS Certification Private Limited has accepted the quotation for request.

• The client has a documented Quality Management system that is applicable to its scope of certification and that conforms to the requirements of Quality Management System Standard ISO 9001 and to the requirements of Environment Management System Standard ISO 14001:2004.
• The Client has completed at least one Internal Audit cycle of all applicable processes, systems and subsystems within the Quality Management System or Environment Management System as applicable.
• The Client has completed at least one Management Review of Completed Audit Cycle.
• After having established the requirements for certification, the client should
• Fill in the application form provided by BMS Certification Private Limited.
• Include the application fee with the application form, fee will be mentioned in BMS Certification Private Limited quotation.

Once BMS Certification Private Limited receives the application along with the application fee, the client will be enrolled in its Quality Management System Certification Programme or Environmental Management System Certification Programme. A letter to this effect can be issued on request as proof to the client's customers that they have contracted with BMS to achieve certification. In no way does the letter imply that Certification/Registration has been awarded to the client.

• The client shall keep a record of all complaints and reminded action relative to the Quality Management System or EMS as applicable.
• The final assessment is satisfactory and is without any Major non-conformances.
• The recommendation of the audit team in favorable.

The client has met its financial obligations to BMS Certification Private Limited.

Certification Process

Application For Certification

• The Client organization seeking certification of their QMS to ISO 9001, EMS to ISO 14001:2004 Standard if applicable should submit in detailed information in the prescribed format, Quotation Request Form, sent to client is response to the client enquiry.
• The filled Quotation Request Form should be signed by the authorized representative and sent to BMS Certification Private Limited office.
• The Client organization should be prepared to provide additional information or allow BMS Certification Private Limited representative to visit the client site to gather more information about the client.
• The Quotation Request Form is reviewed by BMS Certification Private Limited to ascertain the clarity of Certification requirements and the capability of BMS Certification Private Limited to provide the required service. If the Quotation Request Form rejected the same is communicated to the client.

If the quotation for request is accepted further documents are sent to the client for their approval and confirmation.

Documentation Review

A document review is done, with the purpose of giving the customer an indication of the status of its documented management system with the requirements of the relevant standard without issuing a certificate of conformity.

Pre-Assessment Audit

Before the actual assessment, a detailed examination as a Pre-assessment of the client Quality Management System is undertaken for ensuring compliance with all applicable requirements of Quality Management System standard. This is optional part of certification process and has no bearing on certification process.

Certification Audit

An assessment team will visit the organization’s premises for assessment compliance with the procedures and requirements described in their Quality Management System/Environmental Management System documentation.

Non Conformity Report

If a nonconformance is detected during assessment, a Nonconformity Report will be issued and a corrective action process will commence. Non-conformances may be classified as Minor or Major. The auditor will discuss with the client the reason for the NCR in order to enable the client to identify the corrective action. The auditor will also explain how BMS Certification Private Limited will follow up and clear the NCR. Corrective Action shall be verified by BMS Certification Private Limited.

In case of minor non-conformance, the Corrective Actions are identified by the client and the documentary evidence submitted to BMS Certification Private Limited to verify the implementation. In case of a major non-conformance verification shall be done by a follow-up audit. In all cases certificate is not issued unless all NC's are verified by BMS Certification Private Limited as having been effectively implemented.

Recommendation for Certification

The organisation will be recommended for certification when all non-conformities found during assessment have been closed to the satisfaction of the BMS Certification Private Limited. Auditor will recommend the organization to the Certification Panel for certification. Upon acceptance by certification panel, the client will be awarded a certificate confirming the organisation's registration as a certified company, subject to clearance of all dues.

Note: The certificate shall not be released till such time that all dues are completely cleared.

The Certificate of Registration is the property of BMS Certification Private Limited., and shall not be copied or reproduced in any way without the prior written approval of BMS Certification Private Limited.

The certification of Registration will be valid for a period of three years from the date of issue of the certificate, subject to the condition that surveillance audits confirm satisfactory maintenance of the Management System.

Surveillance Audit

Surveillance audits are conducted regularly to ensure that the Client's Management System continues to conform to the requirements of the standard to which it is certified. The purpose of these audits is to verify that the approved Management System continues to be implemented and to consider the implications of changes to the system initiated as a result of changes in the organization's operation. Surveillance Audits are also to confirm continuous conformity with certification requirements and use of certificate and logo.

The frequency and number of these surveillance audits will depend on the efficacy of the client's Management System. Six monthly surveillance audits are preferred for regular maintenance and upgrade of the Management System during the three-year period of Certification of Registration. In any event, at least one Surveillance Audit shall be conducted every year depending on the confidence of BMS Certification Private Limited in the organization's Management System.

In the event that more than a single surveillance audit is conducted during a year, BMS Certification Private Limited shall decide which elements are to be audited during each of the surveillance audits, ensuring that all elements of the Standard are audited once a year. However, certain key elements crucial to the success of the Management System will be included in each surveillance audit. Some of these elements are internal audits, corrective actions and handling of customer complaints. BMS Certification Private Limited shall be granted access for surveillance purposes whenever deemed necessary.

For each surveillance audit conducted, BMS Certification Private Limited will prepare a report that will provide the client with feedback regarding the results of the audit.

For major non-conformances, a follow-up audit shall be conducted to verify that corrective action taken is appropriate and adequate before continuation of the organisation's registration is recommended. Corrective action must be verified for effectiveness within the stipulated period of one month to avoid suspension of registration.

For minor non-conformances, the organisation has to provide the corrective action plan with target dates acceptable to auditor. For the continuation of recommendation of certification the organisation has to submit the objective evidence of compliance of the corrective action plan provided The review of effectiveness of corrective Action taken shall be verified at the subsequent audit .

In the case that a surveillance audit cannot be carried out because the organisation's operations are affected owing to factors outside its control, e.g.: employee union strike, natural calamity, etc. the case shall be presented to Certification Panel for a decision.

Re-certification Audit

Certification of an organisation's Management System is valid for a period of three years. At the end of this period, certification must be renewed through the conduct of another comprehensive audit on the lines of the certification Audit. If the re-certification audit reveals evidence that the client's company has maintained and continually improved the status of its Management System, BMS Certification Private Limited shall renew the Certification of Registration for another three years.

Special Audit

If one or more major non-conformances are found during a certification/surveillance/re-certification audit, recommendation for certification/continuation of certification (Surveillance Audit) shall be stayed until a follow up audit is conducted to verify action against the specific non-conformance. Certification shall be recommended or continued as applicable if the non-conformance is cleared. Such verification must take place within one month .

If this timeframe is not adhered to in the case of a certification/re-certification audit, the organisation, at its own expense, shall need to undergo a complete audit all over again in order to achieve certification. In case of a surveillance audit where a major nonconformance cannot be closed after the follow up audit within one month, registration shall be suspended for a period of one to three months. If corrective action is still not verified within this time, the client's registration shall be withdrawn.

Change of Address/ Extension of Scope of Registration

A client wanting to extend the scope of the registration to include additional products, processes, services or sites will need to make a written application to BMS Certification Private Limited.

The application procedure for the extension of the scope will be the same as the application procedure for the initial scope of registration. The fee will depend on the amount of work and time involved for extension of scope of registration.

BMS Certification Private Limited will conduct a special audit covering those aspects that have been added to the scope. If the audit finds no major non-conformities the client will be issued an amended Registration Schedule covering those aspects.

The client will retain the amended Certificate of Registration for the remainder of the tenure of the certificate and handover old certificate to BMS Certification Private Limited.

The BMS Certification Private Limited certificate shall bear the address of the site or sites where the audit was conducted. If the client wishes to make a change in the address, a written application shall be made to BMS Certification Private Limited, which shall determine what needs to be done to maintain the status of the registration.

Modification of the Management System

If the client intends to modify the product, process or Management System, in any way that might affect compliance with the Management System, BMS Certification Private Limited shall be informed immediately. BMS Certification Private Limited shall decide whether these changes need an additional audit. If it is found that the client has failed to inform BMS Certification Private Limited of such changes to the Management System, registration status may be adversely affected.

BMS Certification Private Limited will treat the fresh certification in following conditions and conducts the re-assessment as per procedure for re-assessment

• In the event of changes significantly affecting the activity and operation of the supplier (Such as changes of ownership, Major changes in personnel or equipment),
• If analysis of a complaints or any other information indicates that the certified/registered clients no longer complies with the requirements of the BMS Certification Private Limited. and applicable standard.

Maintaining Certifications

The Certification is maintained for a period of 3 years under the following conditions.

• The Surveillance Audits are conducted as scheduled to ensure continuance of Certification and to maintain validity of the certificate.
• The Quality System is maintained by the certified client and all the non-conformance raised during surveillance are closed to the satisfaction of BMS Certification Private Limited assessors within the time frame agreed.
• The Internal Audit and the management reviews are conducted as scheduled and there are no issues pending.
• The client shall maintain suitable records of customer complaints and keep the records of investigation and remedial actions taken with respect to such complaints for verification by the BMS Certification Private Limited assessors.
• All outstanding dues to BMS Certification Private Limited are paid.

Use of Logo and Certification Mark

Rules for usage of the BMS certification mark and the marks of the Accreditation body and some establishments about usage of a management system certificate

• After the grant of a management system certificate, its holder is qualified to use BMS certification mark in line with these rules. All Accreditation Marks should be used primarily in the colors shown on the certificate of conformance and provided by BMS in electronic form, and the holder is required to keep the same height and width ratios. All Marks shall be used in a size that makes all of their features clearly distinguishable.
• The Marks may only be used on correspondence, advertising, and promotional material and must not be used except in connection with those goods or services described in the scope statement of the Certificate of Compliance. The symbols may be used only on those materials (i.e. letterhead, marketing literature, advertising, invoice stock forms, etc.) relating to the particular facility and processes/product lines included within the scope of certification.
• The accreditation mark shall be used always with BMS logo and should appear only as follows:
  
• Certification mark cannot be used for the scope of activities, which were not certified. If the holder uses certification mark in the way which could evoke illusion that the certification mark relate to activities not certified by BMS, holder is liable to ensure that this fact is displayed on the actual document by the sentence: in the areas (the list of areas) BMS management system certification mark is not valid.
• Certification mark shall not be used in the way, which should evoke illusion at third party that it is certified product or service.
• Certification mark shall be used only in the sites, for which certification took place.
• Certification Mark shall not be applied by certified clients to laboratory test,calibration or inspection reports or certificates.
• BMS shall not be liable for any legal damages which may arise due to use of certification marks by the holder. Holder of marks is liable to keep BMS indemnified against any liability which may arise due to use of certification Marks.
• Certification mark BMS shall not be used in the way which signifies that certification body assumes responsibility for quality of products, services and other activities of a holder.
• It is also possible to use certification mark in different colouring from official display, in this case only one colour can be used for the whole certification mark.
• It is also possible to use other sizes of certification mark like it is in official display, but it is necessary to remain the ratio of certification mark sides according to official display.
• Upon termination of certification for whatever reason, the certified company undertakes to immediately discontinue all use of the symbols and to destroy all stocks of material on which they appear.

General Conditions for Certification

(a) Termination
Customer and BMS Certification Private Limited shall have the right to terminate this agreement at any time giving 30 days written notice of such termination.The customer shall, in case of termination, reimburse BMS Certification Private Limited for all man-hours and other costs up to date of termination. BMS Certification Private Limited shall receive a termination fee, which is to be negotiated in addition to amount due according to work complete. In no case such termination fee shall exceed 15% of the value of the agreement. All reimbursable are due at the end of said 30 days period.

(b) Confidentiality
The customer and BMS Certification Private Limited will not disclose any information to third parties without prior written consent. Except as required by the law of the Country, and the relevant Accreditation Authorities, BMS Certification Private Limited will treat as strictly confidential and will not disclose to any third party without prior written consent of the Customer, any information which comes into the possession of its employees or agents in the course of Assessment or Certification of the Customer's Quality Management System.

(c). Force majeure
Delay in or failure of performance of either party hereto shall not constitute a default hereunder or give rise to any claim for damage if and to the extent such delay or failure is caused by an act of war, natural disaster, fire, explosion, labor dispute or any other event beyond the control of the party affected and which, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, said party is unable to prevent. The party affected shall notify the other party in writing of the causes and expected duration immediately after the occurrence of any such event.

(d) Law
The agreement for certification between BMS Certification Private Limited and client shall be governed by prevailing law in India. Any dispute arising in connection with the agreement, which cannot be settled by private negotiations between the parties, shall be referred to arbitration as per the The Indian Arbitration Act, subject to Delhi jurisdiction. The decision of the arbitration shall be binding for the both parties

(e) Fees
The fees shall be detailed in the application form to be filled in by the client. Fees are charged on the basis of applicable rates at the time of submission of the quotation. BMS Certification Private Limited may revise the fee submitted in the quotation during the Certification period. Clients shall be notified of any change in the fee.

If an additional audit is required due to the client's request for a change in the scope of registration, BMS Certification Private Limited shall charge an extra fee for such audit. For any extra surveillance or follow-up audits that may become necessary owing to non-compliance or the client's own will, BMS Certification Private Limited shall charge over and above what is mentioned in the quotation.

BMS Certification Private Limited shall charge the client for any extra work resulting from suspension/withdrawal/or cancellation of the Certificate. If BMS Certification Private Limited needs to charge extra fees for any scheduled or unscheduled work, it shall send a letter to the client giving a clear basis for the extra fee. Fees shall be payable within 7 days of the invoice date.

Granting of the certificate

The audit report along with its supporting documents submitted by the lead auditor, shall be reviewed by the certification committee, for ISO 9001, consisting of QMR and Directors, and if required Independent Lead Auditor, and for ISO 14000 & OHSAS 18000, consisting of Directors of the company, QMR and lead auditor(s) qualified under 14000 & 18000. If the lead auditor who did the audit on a particular case, is also member of committee then he will be removed from that committee meeting for the purposes of that case.If any member of the certification committee including managerial personal are involved in consultancy to the client in question then he will not take part in audit or certification activities at all.If after issue of certificate information is received that any of the personal were involved in auditing or certification activities has been also provided consultancy to the client in such cases additional audit will be conducted by independent personal.

If the report and the recommendation of the lead auditor is satisfactory, the certificate shall be awarded to the client. Their decision is recorded in Attachment no. P-08/15. If not satisfactory, then the committee will ask for explanation from the auditor or redo the audit if required, or do any other act which may be suitable as per the situation.

On awarding the certificate, the client's name is included in the list/ database of certified organization.

Recommendation letter is issued to the client at the earliest and the certificate is issued within 2 weeks from the audit date, after completing all the required formalities/ processing.

The Assistant to Certification assigns a number to each Certificate and registers it in the database "List of audit related data".

Language of certification (Audit report and Certificate)

Audit report and Certificate is normally issued in English language. However if a client wants these in some other specific language, the same will be arranged if possible.

Basic identification characteristics and contents of the original Certificate

• Signature of Directors of BMS
• Certification Logo, with name and address of the certification body (BMS certification Pvt. Ltd.)
• Registered Alpha numeric certificate number (Starting with first letter of the Management system standard e Q -./ E - / F - etc.
• Date of issue.
• Date of expiry and re certification due date
• Accreditation Board logo (if accredited)
• Name of the client and audited address
• Name and address of the Head Office of the certified organization
• If Multisite organization s certified, addresses of the audited sites are clearly marked in annexure, if number of sites are more than two.
• Scope of the audited management system and audit criteria/ audit standard with issue/ version of the audit standard, with reference to audited sites
• If revised certificate is issued cancellation statement and certificate number of cancelled certificate is clearly stated
• Any other information required by the applicable standards or other normative documents
• Certificate is valid for 3 years subject to regular conducting and satisfactory results of the periodical survellance audits.

BMS Certification marks can not be applied on calibration / inspection/ test reports, as such reports are deemed to be products in this context.

The Assistant to Certification of BMS informs the Director on expiry of the Certificate validity at least 60 days before the expiration date. BMS addresses the Auditee and sends him "Application for management system certification" . If the Auditee accepts this application, the BMS arranges an appointment with the client according to procedure P - 07 "Contract Evaluation" and prepares a new management system certification contract.

Refusing the Certification

In case the major non conformities of the certification audit are not closed as per the schedule agreed between the auditee and Audit Team, the certificate is not awarded. It is informed to the client.

Procedure for reinstatement of suspended Certificate

If requirements specified in Decision on Certificate suspending were fulfilled within appointed time, BMSCERT will issue Decision on Certificate reinstatementattachment No. 16 and BMS will inform this decision to Auditee.

Extensions to Scope

BMS shall, in response to an application for extension to the scope of a certification already granted, undertake a review of the application and determine any audit activities necessary to decide whether or not the extension may be granted. This may be conducted in conjunction with a surveillance audit.

Suspension, Withdrawal, Cancellation or Reducing of the Certificate

In case, the client is not showing the interest to schedule the audit or client are not paying the certification fee or is not submitting corrective action plan or compliance against any non-conformity within the time frame or other reason (misuse of logos and certificates, client do not comply with rules and regulations of certification etc.), If analysis of a complaints or any other information indicates that the certified/registered clients no longer complies with the requirements of the BMS Certification Private Limited. certification service. the certification is suspended for, one to three months. A notice of suspension is to be issued to client against misleading activities of certification and the client has to respond to BMS Certification Private Limited by intimating the proposed corrective/preventive action within a reasonable time frame. BMS Certification Private Limited shall verify the submitted corrective actions to decide on withdrawal of suspension notice.

Consequence upon suspension of certification

• Client has to respond against the suspension.
• Client shall not use the certification logo during the suspensions period.

Withdrawal

The following reason for which the certification may be withdrawn:

• Does not respond the notice of suspension as above cited.
• The client fails to provide evidence of having completed the corrective/preventive action as per the suspension response.
• Any other reason (like major legal complaint, company involved in malpractices activities, BMS Certification Private Limited Scope withdrawal by accreditation body etc.)

Consequence of withdrawal of certification

• Handover the ISO 9001 Certificates to the BMS Certification Private Limited.
• Do not use of logos and certificates
• Remove the logos from letterhead, visiting card, advertising material etc.
• The name of the client shall be removed from the certified client list.
• In case of misuse of certificates and logo, legal actions shall be taken as appropriate.

Cancellation

• If a client requests cancellation of its Certification, a cancellation request letter is required from client side. The client's certificate must be returned to BMS Certification Private Limited. before cancellation.
• The cancellation can be confirmed by the Managing Director.
• The registrant discontinues operation of the certified system.

The Managing Director/ Director Operations shall inform the registrant company about the cancellation through written communication. BMS Certification Private Limited Ltd shall provide details of why cancellation is made. BMS Certification Private Limited. has authority to publish any notification of such cancellation.

Consequence of cancellation of certification

• Handover the ISO 9001 Certificates to the BMS Certification Private Limited.
• Do not use of logos and certificates
• Remove the logos from letterhead, visiting card, advertising material etc.
• The name of the client shall be removed from the certified client list.
• In case of misuse of certificates and logo, legal actions shall be taken as appropriate.

Reducing

In the following condition, the certification may be reduced and certificate with amended scope is issued by BMS Certification Private Limited.

• Unsatisfactory performance in specific area of scope of certification during the assessment.
• If client request to reduce the scope.

Consequence of reducing of certification scope

• Handover the Previous ISO 9001 Certificate to BMS Certification Private Limited.

Complaints, Appeal and Disputes

Complaints

Complaint can be made to the Director regarding the functioning of BMS Certification Private Limited in writing. All the complaints will be investigated and the client will be informed of the outcome as per BMS Certification Private Limited procedure.

Appeal

Client shall appeal to BMSCERT in respect of the following,

• Non acceptance of client's application for certification
• Not granting, suspending, withdrawing or denying of certification

BMSCERT shall deal with the appeals according to its procedure and shall be responsible for all decisions at all levels of the appeal handling process as per BMSCERT procedure No. P-09 Complaints and Appeals

BMSCERT shall acknowledge the receipt of the appeal and shall provide the client with progress reports and the outcome.

Complaints:

BMSCERT shall investigate the complaint received about the client to decide what action need to be taken and the same shall be communicated to the client at an appropriate time as per BMSCERT procedure No. P-09 Complaints and Appeals. The identity of the complainant shall not be disclosed.

Disputes

All disputes arising from operations which cannot be settled by mutual negotiations believes the parties shall be referred to arbitration set up as per the provision of prevailing, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 , subject to Delhi jurisdiction. The decision of the arbitration will be finding on the parties concerted.

Right To Assess the Client Records By Concerned Accreditation Body

Accreditation body of BMS Certification Private Limited and/or BMS Certification Private Limited has authority to assess the client's quality management system through their planned activities/survey. Certified client has to provide necessary information and access.

Accreditation body of BMS Certification Private Limited and/or BMS Certification Private Limited has authority to access the client's record in case of complaints by customer of certified client. Certified client has to provide necessary information and access.