Complaint Procedure

PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING COMPLAINTS, APPEALS, AND DISPUTES

Complaints:
A complaint can be made by any person or body against the following:

  • The IAR Board, its operation and/or procedures
  • IAR Accredited Conformity Assessment Bodies
  • Client certified by IAR Accredited Conformity Assessment Bodies
  • The IAR assessors, experts, committee members, or staff of the Board
  • IAR assessment process followed by the assessors and/or by the Board
  • The misuse of the accredited status either in scope or in use of the logo or mark
  • The quality of certification /Testing/Inspection
  • Any other IAR-related matter.
  1. The complaint must be made in writing/email to IAR with complete details of the complainant (name, address, organization etc.) and a description of the problem. IAR will acknowledge the complaint that it relates to accreditation activities within one week by email or by post (excluding postal time) with brief details on the approach and approximate time required for addressing the complaint.
  2. If the complaint has no details of the complainant or the description is not adequate, IAR will reserve the right of dealing with the complaint as deemed fit.
  3. The decision will be communicated to the complainant which is made by, or reviewed and approved by, individual(s) not involved in the activities in question.
  4. In case the complaint pertains to a certified organization, the complaint would be referred to the accredited Conformity Assessment body for possible resolution. If the complainant is not satisfied with the response of the Conformity Assessment Body, the complaint would be taken up further.
  5. IAR will give formal notice of the end of the complaint handling process to the complainant.
  6. IAR is responsible for all decisions at all levels of the handling process for complaints and ensures that investigation and decisions on complaints will not result in any discriminatory actions against the complainant.
  7. IAR will follow each complaint to the conclusion.

Appeals

  1. Any person or body can file an appeal against the decision.
  2. The appeal must be filed in writing or by email within thirty days of the decision along with all the necessary documents in support of the appeal.
  3. IAR verifies the documents for completeness and may ask for additional documentary support if necessary. Once the documents are complete, IAR acknowledges the receipt of the appeal and IAR has the right to either disallow the appeal or to form an Appeal Committee based on the merit of the contents of the appeal.
  4. The Appeal committee is headed by one of the board members/directors. The nominated head of the Appeal Committee is allowed to take two members as a permanent member and is also allowed to invite other outside members as necessary to discharge the appeal. It would be ensured that the members had not been involved in the subject matter of the appeal and the investigation and decision do not result in any discriminatory action
  5. The Head may ask the appellant to present the facts in personal to the appeal committee if necessary or if so desired by the appellant.
  6. The appeal committee may ask any of the staff, committee or empaneled assessors and staff for the facts to help in discharging the appeal based on facts.
  7. The Appeal committee gives its recommendation for necessary action to discharge the appeal to the satisfaction of the appellant and regarding the preventive actions, if any, that must be taken to avoid such recurrences. IAR will give the decision on the appeal based on the recommendation by the appeals committee. The decision of the IAR in this regard will be final. The decision will be communicated to the appellant.
  8. IAR will acknowledge receipt of the appeal and provide the appellant with progress reports and the outcome. And also gives formal notice of the end of the appeals handling process to the appellant.
  9. IAR shall be responsible for all decisions at all levels of the handling process for appeals.

Disputes

  1. The disputes about the accreditation system, assessment process, etc. should be forwarded to IAR in writing along with the information on the issue supported by the documentary evidence. The action taken by the two parties involved in the dispute shall also be enclosed along with the dispute.
  2. IAR will acknowledge the dispute and indicate the approximate time required to resolve the same.
  3. The decision on the dispute shall be forwarded to the person or body.

Financing the Complaint, Appeal, and Dispute Process
If the resolution of the Complaint, Appeal, or Disputes done without undertaking any travel or additional assessment, no financing will be needed for such resolutions. In case the complaint is related to intellectual property like Marks/Logo against accredited CAB by any other CAB. The man-days involved in the resolution of the complaint and attorney charges may be levied to CAB depending upon the situation as decided by IAR.

If the resolution calls for undertaking travel and assessment, the cost will be borne by the defaulting party.

Complaints by individual Consumers against a Certification Body/ Accredited Laboratory

The individual consumer will not be asked to pay for any cost of the resolution of the Complaint. The cost will be financed by any of the defaulting entities, the Conformity Assessment Body or IAR.

Complaints, Disputes or Appeal by a Conformity Assessment Body against the Conformity Assessment Body

In case of such complaints, the body that is registering the complaint, Dispute or Appeal, will be asked to give an undertaking that they will provide for the travel and assessment related to cost of resolution if their complaint/dispute/appeal is dismissed. If the complaint is against a CAB, the concerned CAB would also be asked to give an undertaking that they will provide for the travel and assessment cost in case the decision is against them.

For any more information or details about handling complaints, appeals and disputes, kindly send your comments/requirements with your complete contact details including address and contact number to [email protected]