IOTA Global Certification Inc.
Plano, Texas · www.iotacert.com
Certification Agreement
Terms & Conditions
This agreement shall be governed by laws of US and subject to exclusive jurisdiction of courts of Texas. Each Party shall be entitled to seek such injunctive relief as may be deemed proper by a court of competent jurisdiction in addition to other remedies available to it.
This agreement shall come into force when signed by both parties and shall run for a period of at least three years. It shall be extended in each case for a further period of three years on the client placing an appropriate order for re-certification. The contract can be terminated by either party giving a minimum of two (2) months advance notice.
These Terms & Conditions have been laid down to address the requirements of IOTA GLOBAL and requirements of which it has subscribed. IOTA GLOBAL provides independent conformity assessment services for the relevant International Standards which it has accredited.
IOTA GLOBAL auditors carry out an evaluation of conformity against a standard, which in respect of the time allocated can only be considered as a snapshot of the activities of the audited company and not an exhaustive evaluation. At no point, does IOTA GLOBAL hold itself up, purport or profess to be a regulatory authority or expert consultants within the areas audited and can only operate within the general working knowledge of the field involved as defined by the scope of activity. IOTA GLOBAL holds itself removed from any responsibility or liability to the audited company for any implications or actions resulting from legislative/regulatory non-compliance on behalf of the audited company including any actions taken after the audit resulting in legal or financial failures of the audited company.
IOTA GLOBAL clients shall, where an accreditation body nominates a need to, accept the presence of officers of the Accreditation Body attending an audit to be conducted by IOTA GLOBAL. Presence by accreditation officers shall in no way affect the certification decision making process of the IOTA GLOBAL audit team.
Fees are detailed in the quotation submitted to the applicant. All costs are based on the charge/ rate applicable at the time of quotation and we shall maintain the fee stability and shall maintain the agreed price for the entire period of three-year certification cycle, if any changes in tax structure will be apply as per regulations and such increases will be notified to the client company in writing. Once an application for certification is made, payment of the initial registration fees is required, payment of ongoing registration fees is due as per the payment schedule within the quotation. Additional fees will be charged for additional work not included in the scope of the original quotation and for any extra, unscheduled visits required due to non-compliances being identified in the continuing adequacy and/or implementation of the relevant management system. Unless otherwise stated, fees quoted exclude travel and expenses associated with the audit/surveillance activities.
IOTA GLOBAL reserves the right to charge late payment charges if not received within twenty-one (21) days from the date of invoice. All fees are subject to local taxes in the country of operations at the appropriate rates.
IOTA GLOBAL is responsible for ensuring that secrecy is maintained by its employees and its agents, concerning all confidential information with which they may be acquainted because of their contacts with the company where information is required to be disclosed to a third party, either by law or in maintenance of certification (e.g., Accreditation Bodies), the client shall be informed of the information provided as that the company meets all the requirements for certification following a thorough review of the permitted by the law. Both Parties shall comply with applicable data privacy laws applicable to this Agreement.
The company shall inform IOTA GLOBAL in writing and without delay of any intended changes relating to the following:
IOTA GLOBAL will determine whether the notified changes require any additional audit activity. Failure to notify IOTA GLOBAL may result in certificate suspension.
A certified company is entitled to use the IOTA Logo/ Accreditation symbol on its stationery, advertising, and publicity materials etc. for promotional purposes but not on the actual product. The use of symbols is governed by the IOTA Global Certification Inc terms and conditions/instructions. Please refer to our website www.iotacert.com for terms of use for logos and marks.
In the event of certificate withdrawal or if a client company does not accept a non-conformity (Corrective Action) or recommendation for registration, the company has the right of appeal. Should the company intend to appeal then they should refer to the Complaint & Appeal Handling procedure. IOTA GLOBAL must receive notification of the intent to appeal within seven days of the company's receipt of the intention of withdrawal notice from IOTA GLOBAL, or the date of the audit. The appellant must submit a formal documented substantiation for the appeal to IOTA GLOBAL within fourteen days of receipt of the intention of withdrawal notice or the date of the audit.
All client company appeals will be initially reviewed by the appointed certificate decision maker(s) and the IOTA GLOBAL audit staff responsible for the recommendation to withdraw the certificate or identification of the non-conformity - who must provide evidence to support their recommendation. Should the appointed decision maker reject the appeal then it will have to be passed to the Board for appraisal. Should the committee concur with the decision maker(s) finding, then the appeals committee, drawn from the independent members of the impartiality committee shall consider the appeal. The appellant will be advised of the names of the appeals committee and the appellant has the right to appeal to the members of the appeals committee by formal notification of their appeal. This appeal will be reviewed by the chairman of the committee or, if the chairman is a member of the appeals committee, by the Certification Manager. The result of the appeals committee review will be notified to the company.
The decision of the appeals committee is final and shall be binding on both parties. Once the decision on the appeal has been made, no counter claim by either party can be made to amend or change the decision. In instances where the appeal has been successful, and the certificate is reinstated or the non-conformity is removed, no claim can be made against IOTA GLOBAL for reimbursement of costs or any other losses incurred because of the initial withdrawal or identified nonconformity. Submission, investigation and decision on appeals shall not result in any discriminatory actions against the appellant.
Upon receipt of a completed application for quotation from an applicant company, a quotation outlining the audit scope and fees will be submitted to the applicant company.
Once the application for certification, suitably authorized by the applicant company, and accompanied by the necessary fee payment has been received by IOTA GLOBAL, the project will be allocated to an audit team. The audit team leader will be responsible for ensuring that the audit is carried out in accordance with IOTA GLOBAL procedures.
Conformity assessment audits are based on sampling within a management system and are therefore not a guarantee of full conformity with standard requirements.
The initial audit of an applicant company's management system shall be carried out over two stages:
Stage 1: To audit the applicants management system documentation; evaluate location and site-specific conditions; identify the applicants understanding of the requirements of the standard, in particular with respect of key performance or significant aspects, processes, objectives and operation of the management system; to discuss and agree the scope of the management system, processes and location(s) and related statutory and regulatory aspects (where applicable); Assessing the Risk Assessment; evaluating internal audit results and management review outputs; and to determine overall readiness for the stage 2 audit.
Stage 2: The Stage II Audit evaluates the effectiveness of Client's implemented Management System and determines conformity to audited standard requirements, by evaluating implementation and effectiveness of the management system across all applicable functions and processes; reviewing evidence of conformity to all requirements of audited standard; assessing performance monitoring, measurement, reporting, and review against defined management system key performance objectives and targets; verifying compliance with statutory, regulatory, contractual, and other applicable requirements; assessing operational controls, including risk treatment measures and implementation control; reviewing internal audit and management review results, including corrective actions; assessing management commitment and responsibility, including policy communication and resourcing.
Stage II shall be conducted within ninety (90) days from completion of Stage I. If the Stage II Audit is not completed within six (6) months, the Stage I Audit becomes invalid and must be repeated.
The applicant company shall ensure that IOTA GLOBAL is advised of the name of the Management Representative who has authority and responsibility for maintaining the Management System. This individual shall be required to maintain contact with IOTA GLOBAL. Any change to this designated person must be confirmed to IOTA GLOBAL in writing.
In accordance with ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 Clause 8.1.1(b), IOTA Global Certification Inc. makes available the following information on its processes:
When the responsible decision makers of IOTA GLOBAL are confident that the company meets all the requirements for certification following a thorough review of the audit report(s) and associated objective evidence, the applicant shall be entered on the IOTA GLOBAL certification list and a registration number and certificate issued. Certificates issued will remain the property of IOTA GLOBAL and shall be returned to IOTA GLOBAL upon request.
Certification shall be refused if the applicant company's management system does not meet the requirements of the applicable standard following Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits. The client will be formally notified in writing of the refusal and the reasons thereof. The client retains the right to appeal this decision as outlined in Section 13.
Periodic surveillance visits shall be carried out to confirm that the certified management system has continued to fulfil requirements between recertification audits; ensure internal audits and management review have been performed to programme; review actions taken on nonconformities identified during the previous audit; evaluate treatment of complaints; evaluate the continued effectiveness of the management system with regard to achieving objectives; evaluate the management system and performance as regards legal compliance; review progress of planned activities aimed at continual improvement; ensure continuing operational control and review of any changes since the last visit.
The certificate holder shall allow IOTA GLOBAL the right of access for surveillance purposes and IOTA GLOBAL shall reserve the right to make unannounced visits as required. The certificate holder will be informed of the results of all surveillances. First surveillance visits shall be conducted no later than 12 months after the certificate issue date; and at least once per calendar year thereafter.
Re-certification audit shall be performed every three years or less from the date of certification decision. Re-certification audit to verify overall continuing effectiveness of the client's management system in its effectiveness. IOTA global shall re-issue the certificate after re-certification audit and certification decision with 3 years validity from the date of re-certification stage 2 Audit. The client will be informed through letter/email stating that the expiration of existing certificate and new contract for Re-Certification.
A certificate may be suspended for a limited time in cases of:
If suspended, the company shall immediately cease to identify the coverage of any certificate under suspension. IOTA GLOBAL shall notify you in writing an official suspension of certificate to the company and or client/authority, this notification will indicate the conditions that will allow removal of the suspension.
At the end of the suspension period, or earlier if suitable responses have been submitted by the suspended client, an investigation will be undertaken to determine whether the required conditions for removal of suspension have been followed. If the conditions have been satisfied the certificate will be re-instated. If the conditions have not been satisfied the certificate shall be withdrawn. The suspended company shall be liable for any reasonable costs associated with suspension and subsequent re-instatement of the certificate and these will be charged to the registered company. Reinstatement of 'withdrawn' certificates may require a full audit to be conducted and where appropriate, fees to be paid in advance.
A certificate may only be withdrawn if the company does not meet required conditions. Intention to withdraw a certificate will be notified to the company in writing 7 days before the proposed withdrawal date and the company does have the right of appeal against this decision. IOTA GLOBAL is not liable to reimburse any audit fees paid and IOTA GLOBAL will publish the withdrawal of the certificate.
Withdrawal of the certificate will require that all promotional materials endorsed with the IOTA GLOBAL certification logos must be withdrawn from use immediately and any continued use of marks on company publicity and stationery material will be in contravention of the intellectual property rights of the owners of the marks.
A certificate may also be cancelled if: the company does not wish to renew the certificate; the company goes out of business; or the company does not respond to correspondence from IOTA. IOTA GLOBAL is not liable to reimburse any audit fees paid and IOTA GLOBAL will publish notification of the cancellation of the certificate.
Extending the scope of registration to cover new products/processes/locations requires registered companies to complete and return a new application for quotation. This will allow IOTA GLOBAL to determine whether additional audit time is required to cover the changes required. The application procedure outlined in Section 14 will be followed and an audit will be carried out on the areas not previously covered. An amended certificate detailing those aspects covered by the extension will be issued following a successful audit to replace the original certificate issued to the company.
For reductions to a scope of registration, it is mandatory that IOTA GLOBAL is advised immediately of changes in organization or products i.e., closure of sites or removal of products previously supplied under original scope on certificate. Upon review and acceptance of the information, IOTA GLOBAL will determine the actions needed to process the scope reduction and will notify if an additional audit, and a change of the worded scope, is required. The cost of this reduction in scope of the certificate will be based on the nature and programming of the audit if required or administration costs for a new certificate.
IOTA GLOBAL maintains a directory of all certified companies, including the name, relevant normative document, scope and geographical location (e.g., city and country) for each certified client (or the geographic location of the headquarters and any sites within the scope of a multisite certification). This is published and made available upon request to both certified and non-certified companies and members of the public subject prevailing data protection act in the country.
A certified company has the right to publicize the fact that the management system which it utilizes has been certified and can apply the relevant marks to stationery and promotional material relating to the scope of certification as detailed on the certificate.
IOTA GLOBAL take all reasonable precautions to control the use of the certificates issued. Incorrect references to the scope of certificates or incorrect use of the certificate shall be dealt with by suitable actions, which could include suspension or withdrawal of certificates, legal action and/or publication of the transgression.
No failure or omission by either party to carry out or observe any of the stipulations, conditions or warranties to be performed or set out in this terms and conditions shall give rise to any claim against such party or be deemed to be a breach of contract to the extent that such failure or omission arises from causes reasonably beyond control of such party.
This Agreement shall in all respects be constructed and operate as an Agreement made in conformity with US federal and state Laws and or laws of country operating country.
The organization is responsible for ensuring that people visiting its site have adequate protective equipment for the places they are likely to enter for audit. Where specialist training is required, this is to be disclosed to the IOTA Global auditor at the outset. The certified client shall inform IOTA Global, without delay, of the occurrence of a serious incident or breach of regulation necessitating the involvement of the competent regulatory authority.
IOTA Global maintains third party liability insurance. The company shall cover insurance for its audit service and the liability limited to contract amount.
Should a client company have any reason to complain regarding the conduct of IOTA GLOBAL employees/auditors, then the complaint should be made in writing to IOTA GLOBAL. Complainants will receive an acknowledgment of receipt immediately and the complaint will be investigated and decided within a maximum of 30 days from initial receipt. Should IOTA GLOBAL receive a complaint by a user of a registered client, indicating that a certified client no longer complies with IOTA GLOBAL requirements, then it may be necessary to either initiate withdrawal of certification, or conduct a full re-audit of the client, at extra cost to the client. All certified clients shall make available, when requested, records of all complaints and corrective actions taken, in accordance with the management system standards or other normative documents.
We hereby accept the terms and conditions and abide as per the obligations as an auditee and adhere to the details in the IOTA GLOBAL contract provided for signature.