Contract Form

Audit & Certification Contract

This Agreement is made on this by and between (hereinafter called the Client) and QRO Certification LLP (hereinafter called QRO) for the conduct of Management System Conformity audit as per agreed audit standard, and for issue of certificate of Conformity, upon fulfillment of the audit standard’s requirements, and QRO Certification LLP procedures, financial terms and following conditions:

Clause 1. Purpose of the Contract

The purpose of this contract is to arrange and observe all the necessary rights and duties applicable to the Client as service purchaser and to the Certification Body i. e. QRO Certification LLP, as service provider, in pursuance of the audit and Certification services required by the Client.

Clause 2. Establishment and maintenance of the management System by the Client

The Client shall have a documented management system to manage the applied scope of activities, in accordance with the requirements of the applied audit standard. QRO Certification LLP shall assess the Client’s Management system according to the standard and scope applied by the Client. The scope of Client’s activities, approved for registration, shall be limited to the extent it is found in conformity with the audit Standard’s requirements. If required, the Client shall have to revise the applied Scope for registration as per objective evidence and IAF regulatory requirements.

Clause 3. Conduct of Certification Audit

• Audit of the Client’s managements system shall be performed to verify its conformity to the applied audit standard.
• Client’s system documents (Manual, Procedure, work instructions and Guidelines, etc.) and relevant records shall be reviewed offsite & onsite during stage-1 adequacy audit, prior to on-site Compliance audit. This primary adequacy audit is done to verify whether the Client’s management system, prima facie meets the requirements of the applicable standards or not. If inadequacies / non conformities are identified in course of the stage-1 audit, these shall be brought to the notice of the Client’s Management in writing. Action for stage-2 compliance audit shall be initiated only after receiving the Client’s confirmation that the inadequacies/ non conformities identified during stage-1 audit, have been eliminated.
• On-site Compliance audit also called stage-2 audit, is performed to assess whether the Client’s practice is in accordance with the established management System or not. If nonconformities are found during on-site audit, QRO Certification LLP audit team shall issue NCR (Non-conformity Report)
• The Client shall accept the NC Report / Corrective action request, and shall submit in writing its corrective action plan within one week, detailing Root cause analysis, correction and corrective action to stop its recurrence. After receiving the corrective action plan from Client the QRO Certification LLP auditor’s shall inform the Client in writing about acceptance / required revision of the submitted corrective action plan. The client shall be informed by the audit team about mode and timings of verification of the effectiveness of the corrective action taken by the client.
• The Client can make appeal to QRO Certification LLP, regarding the audit team’s findings and decisions. The QRO Certification LLP shall take appropriate decision within 30 working days of receiving such appeal.
• The Client shall remove all minor nonconformities within 30 days of the audit date. Similarly the Client shall have to eliminate all major non conformities within 90 days of the audit date. Evidence of corrective action shall be submitted to the QRO Certification LLP, where specified.
• After receiving the evidences QRO Certification LLP shall decide whether the submitted evidences inspire confidence about the effectiveness of the corrective action or not. QRO Certification LLP may chose to revisit the audit site to verify effectiveness of the corrective actions, at Client’s cost.
• After confirming, on the basis of objective evidences, that the Client’s Management system’s conforms to the audit standard, the QRO Certification LLP audit team shall submit its recommendations for award of Certificate of compliance to the QRO Certification LLP Technical committee.
• The Technical committee / Report reviewer & decision maker, shall review the whole audit process and audit report, and shall take appropriate decision. QRO Certification LLP shall issue Certificate of conformity only in accordance with the established procedures and regulatory guidelines.
• The client shall allow QRO Certification LLP auditors, external experts / observers access to all work site, and documented information related to the applied scope. The client agrees to allow the auditors to interview its staff and review all records except accounts, specially the records of complaints received and the action taken on the same.

Clause 4. Issuing of Certificate

QRO Certification LLP shall review the result of corrective action(s) submitted by client prior to awarding the certificate. If QRO Certification LLP Technical committee concludes that the audit team’s recommendations and corrective action(s) taken by the client are acceptable, the certificate shall be issued after fulfillment of financial obligations. The certificate shall bear unique certificate number/ registration number, and the date of issue, which shall not be prior to the date on which the decision to award certificate is made by the Technical committee. The certificate shall remain valid for 3 years subject to satisfactory clearance of annual surveillance audits. The certificate shall bear its validity date, which shall not be greater than 3 years from the date of certification decision.

Clause 5. Use of QRO Certification LLP Logo and Accreditation Mark

The Client shall -

• Always comply with the relevant provision of the certificate/registration Programme.
• Make all necessary arrangements for the conduct of the assessment, including provision for examining documentation and the access to all areas, records (including internal audit reports) and personnel for the purposes of assessment, surveillance, re-assessment and resolution of complaints.
• Only claim that it has been certified / registered with respect to those activities for which it has been awarded certification / registration.
• not use its certification / registration in such a manner as to bring the certification / registration. Body into disrepute, and shall not make any statement regarding its certification / registration which the certification / registration body may consider misleading or unauthorized.
• Discontinue use of all advertising matter that contains any reference to its certification / registration in cases of suspension or withdrawal of its certification / registration (however determined) and returns any certification / registration document as required by the certification / registration body.
• Use certification / registration only to indicate that the Management System certified is in conformity with specified standards or other normative documents, and shall not use its certification / registration, to imply that its products or services have been approved by the certification / registration body.
• Ensure that no certification document, registration mark or report, or any part thereof, is used in a misleading manner.
• Comply with the requirements of the certification / registration body, when making reference to its certification / registration status, in advertisement media, such as brochures, catalogues, website or any other advertisement material.
• at the time of getting the certificate, also get logo artwork for the use of mark; and a document containing rules / guidelines for use of logo. The Client shall sign a copy of this document and shall return this to the QRO Certification LLP, to demonstrate its agreement and commitment for lawful use of QRO Certification LLP logo and mark of certification.

Clause 6. On-Going Surveillance

• Periodic on-going surveillance shall be based on auditor’s recommendation and shall not exceed interval of more than one year.
• The auditor’s man day charges shall be based on agreed Quotation.
• for any nonconformity or other situation that may lead to suspension or withdrawal of certification, the certification body has a system that requires special audit to verify continued fulfillment of certification requirements. The cost of this special audit / follow up audit shall be charged to the client.

Clause 7. Notification of Change in the audited QMS

Client shall notify QRO Certification LLP in writing if following changes occur in the Client’s management system. The changes include - change in organization’s name and ownership, change of address, change in scope, change in process, change in key technical person or key process equipment. After review of the information submitted by the customer, QRO Certification LLP shall assess impact of the change on the Client’s QMS. If impact of change in QMS is found significant, to verify continued conformity additional audit may be planned by the QRO Certification LLP, at client’s cost.

Clause 8. Re-certification

Re-certification shall be based on three years performance and be conducted before the expiry date of the certificate. The non-conformity raised in re-certification audit shall be closed before the expiry date of the certificate. Re-certification program verifies overall continued effectiveness of the customer’s management system in its entirety. QRO Certification LLP shall renew the certificate of conformity, after getting approval from the technical committee, on the basis of Recertification audit team recommendations. All this process shall have to be completed latest within 6 months of expiry of the certificate.

Clause 9. Withdrawal of QRO Certification LLP Accreditation

In case of withdrawal or suspension of the audit scopes by accreditation body (if any) as the result of QRO Certification LLP fault, QRO Certification LLP shall arrange audit and certification services from other accredited bodies, at its own cost, during the continuation of this contract.

Clause 10. Suspension of Certification (After its issue)

If the Client is not complying with the following conditions, QRO Certification LLP may suspend Client’s registration/ certification -

• Client did not accept on-going surveillance visit within the time agreed.
• QRO Certification LLP determines that the Client does not comply with the requirements of the audit standard.
• Client lost its confidence as a result of claims raised by interested party and social conflict.
• Client has not taken appropriate corrective action within the agreed time period, as per agreed corrective action plan.
• Client failed to timely correct the infringements, caused by misuse of certification mark, within one (1) month.
• Client didn’t fulfill its financial obligations towards QRO Certification LLP.
• QRO Certification LLP determines that the Client didn’t comply with its obligations based on this Audit & Certification Audit Contract.
• It is proved that the information and/or material provided by Client during assessment was incorrect.

Clause 11. Restoration of suspended certificate

• If the cause of suspension is eliminated and objective evidence of corrective action is submitted and accepted by the QRO Certification LLP Technical committee, the suspended certificate shall be restored and new date of certification shall be marked in the certificate, after physically receiving the old suspended certificate.
• If decided by the technical committee, QRO Certification LLP may send a competent auditor to verify corrective action at the client’s site, at client’s cost, and then action shall be taken by the technical committee as per Auditor’s report.

Clause 12. Withdrawal of Certification (After its issue)

In following situations, QRO Certification LLP may withdraw Client’s registration/certificate of conformity.

• Failure to timely correct a suspension within three months.
• Client’s Request.
• Client discontinues the activities related to the scope of registration/ Certification.
• The certified Client becomes traceless and Surveillance audit period is missed.
• The Client’s certificate is suspended more than 3 times during the term of validity of this contract.

Clause 13. Renewal of certificate after its withdrawal

QRO Certification LLP does not renew its certification after withdrawal. The client has to apply for fresh certification and if all the requirements are met, new certificate is issued.

Clause 14. Expanding or reducing the scope of certificate

• In case during the audit, objective evidence is obtained by the Audit team regarding additional activity being performed in the organization and found covered under QMS, the scope shall be expanded. New date of certification is marked on the renewed certificate.
• In case during the audit, objective evidence is obtained by the Audit team regarding some activities in scope of QMS, not conforming to the requirements, the scope shall be reduced by the Technical committee as per objective evidence collected by the auditors. New date of certification is marked on the renewed certificate.

Clause 15. Refusal of certificate

In case during the audit, objective evidence is obtained by the Audit team showing major non conformity, or multiple minor non conformities amounting to collapse of the QMS, the audit team shall refuse recommendation until acceptable corrective action is taken.

If the audit team has recommended certification, but corrective action plan or where required corrective action evidence has not submitted to the QRO Certification LLP, the Technical committee would refuse grant of certificate.

If the audit team has recommended and the client has submitted corrective action plan and where required corrective action evidence, but these are not acceptable to the Report review & decision making committee, the grant of certificate shall be refused.

Clause 16. Appeals, Complaints and Disputes

If the Client has any grievance against QRO Certification LLP, it has right to submit complaints and appeals. QRO Certification LLP shall handle Complaints and appeals, in accordance with relevant QRO Certification LLP procedures. The result of action shall be provided to the Client in writing. The client has right of access to records of complaints and appeals.

Clause 17. Confidentiality

Information about Client shall not be disclosed to a third party without written consent of Client except in case where required by law or accreditation requirements.

All information that has not been placed in public domain by the client shall be treated as confidential information. Information that QRO Certification LLP obtained from sources other than the client (which client had not placed in public domain) shall be also treated as confidential.

After grant of certification, QRO Certification LLP will publish details of the client already mentioned in the Conformity certificate, in its web page. This public information shall be limited to information about -

• Client organization name
• Audit site Address
• Scope of certification
• Audit standard
• Certificate number
• Initial registration/ certification date, Current certificate date, and Validity

In case the client does not want public display in our website, the client should submit this request in Client info - application form or in its letter head.

Clause 18. Change of Certification / Registration Requirement

If the registration/ certification requirements are changed -

• QRO Certification LLP shall inform Client about changed requirements by electronic media/News Letter within a reasonable period.
• The Client shall submit a documented plan to achieve conformity to the changed requirements.
• QRO Certification LLP shall verify Client’s continued compliance as per plan.

Clause 19. Certification fees

• Certification fee shall be in accordance with the agreed Quotation
• If the audit team decides that nonconformity, found during audit, should be verified through follow-up visit, verification audit shall be performed. In this case, the expenses will be charged as per fee rate on the time of verification audit.
• Local Travel cost and hospitality, not mentioned in the Quotation, shall be provided to the auditors, on honorarium basis.

Clause 20. Payment

• Only after signing this contract, the audit process will be initiated by QRO Certification LLP.
• Audit fees (Application fee, stage-1 audit fee, stage-2 audit fee, on-going surveillance, verification audit and re-assessment etc.) shall be paid prior to that audit.
• Traveling expense, if not provided by the client shall be charged.
• Service Tax, as applicable at the time will be charged.

Clause 21. Unavoidable Reasons / force majeure

Neither party shall be liable to the other party for nonperformance or delay in performance of any of its obligations under this contract, due to war, natural disaster, epidemic, go-slow, lockout or any other causes reasonably beyond its control.

Clause 22. Contract Interpretation and disputes settlement

In case(s) of disputes(s) which may arise between the parties with respect to the execution, interpretation and performance of this Agreement, both parties shall do their best to settle the dispute in an amicable manner. If the lawsuit occurs, the courts of Delhi (India) shall have jurisdiction over all disputes, which may arise between the parties.

Clause 23. Reliability, faithfulness and mutual co-operation

• Both parties shall comply with the conditions stated in this agreement. QRO Certification LLP shall fulfill its obligations and the Client shall fulfill its obligations.
• Client shall comply with all regulatory requirements to which QRO Certification LLP subscribes to or may subscribe in future, in matters related to certification. The client shall facilitate any special surveillance audit required by the QRO Certification LLP or its Accreditation / regulatory body, if requested.
• When Client transfers its certification/registration to another certification body, Client shall inform QRO Certification LLP about its transfer and reason.

Clause 24. Limited liability

Any liability raised against certification body shall be limited to the certification fee received from the client.

Clause 25. The duration/ currency of this Contract

This agreement shall become effective upon signing and shall continue in full force and effect for a period of three (3) years from the date of certification. This contract can be changed and renewed by agreement between both parties if desired.

Clause 26. Court of jurisdiction in case of any dispute

In case of any dispute, the matter shall be legally settled within Delhi jurisdiction.

IN WITNESS THEREOF, the Client and the QRO Certification LLP hereby execute this agreement as on the date set forth above. The duplicate copy of this contract shall be retained by the Client.