Requirements of ISO 17065 – 4.4.3
Access to the certification process shall not be conditional upon the size of the client or membership of any association or group, nor shall certification be conditional upon the number of certifications already issued. There shall not be undue financial or other conditions.
NOTE A certification body can decline to accept an application or maintain a contract for certification from a client when fundamental or demonstrated reasons exist, such as the client participating in illegal activities, having a history of repeated non-compliances with certification/product requirements, or similar client-related issues.
Question: Which are the illegal activities that the note is talking about? We have to consider only the activities connected to the scope of accreditation, or is it possible to take into consideration also other activities?
Here an example in a CAB accredited for a food scheme. An illegal activity
- connected to the scope is a fraud/falsification in an inspection report regarding the origin or composition of a food (even if the scheme is not accredited)
- Not connected to the scope is a fraud/falsification in the payment of taxes or violation of some rules applicable to the employee
September 2020
Given that the NOTE is not prescriptive on the issue of ‘‘illegal activities’’ a potential or existing client of a certification body might be involved in, or limited to specific types of illegal activities either, it is considered that, besides those illegal activities that are directly associated with the scope of certification (whether accredited or not), other illegal activities which are deemed as bringing the certification body into disrepute can be taken into account by the certification body. Therefore, on one hand, any engagement of the client with illegal activities undermining the validity of certification, sought or granted, can initiate suitable actions by the certification body such as rejection of an application or termination of a contract for certification. While other types of illegal activities which are perceived as damaging the certification body’s reputation and could lead to actions such as the ones mentioned above should be clearly determined by the certification body itself and may be introduced more explicitly in the certification rules and/or the certification agreement.