10. Surveillance Activities and Reassessment of Certifying Body

10.1 Surveillance and Reevaluation Visits

10.1.1 During the accreditation period, the certifying body shall be subjected to annual on-site surveillance.

10.1.2 Unlike the initial and re-evaluation visit intended to audit the program generally, the surveillance visits shall entail the verification of precise program elements, particularly those identified by the Accreditation Committee.

10.1.3 On-site surveillance for evaluation must take place within twelve months of the initial accreditation date. Thereafter, an on-site surveillance evaluation must take place in each subsequent calendar year. However, the Accreditation Committee may cancel the evaluation visit planned for the coming year, when the certifying body demonstrates that its certification program and activities continue to meet accreditation requirements and that all instances of non-compliance identified in the course of previous surveillance activities recommended by the Accreditation Committee have been rectified. In such a case, the CARTV shall ensure that the subsequent evaluation visit takes place no later than two years following the date of the most recent on-site evaluation.

10.1.4 At any time during the accreditation period, and upon its own initiative, the CARTV may carry out a surveillance visit for any serious reason, at the expense of the certifying body, when non-compliance is found.

10.1.5 A re-evaluation visit shall be conducted at least once every five years after the body has applied to renew its accreditation. This visit shall be conducted during the last term of the fifth year of accreditation. For exceptional reasons, it may be conducted at another time.

10.2 Extension and Reduction of the Accreditation Scope

10.2.1 An accredited certifying body may apply to the Board to have its accreditation scope extended or reduced. When doing so, it shall state the objectives of and the reasons for this request.

10.2.2 When applying for an extension of its accreditation scope, the body shall also supply documents regarding the monitoring measures to be implemented to support this extension.

10.2.3 In this case, the application is sent to the Accreditation Committee for evaluation.

10.3 Duty of the Accreditation Committee

10.3.1 Upon receipt of the annual report, an on-site audit report or any other information that may be forwarded by the body, the CARTV may, if applicable, write a summaryfor the Accreditation Committee involving the level to which accreditation conditions were respected, steps taken by the certification program to comply, as well as any action that might change the accreditation status. Based on a review of the report, the Accreditation Committee may, if applicable, issue new requirements together with new deadlines.

10.3.2 Once the certifier has filed a document with the Accreditation Committee covering the corrective measures it intends to put into place to meet the committee's requests, depending on the results of the reconciliation analysis carried out, it may recommend to the Board or any administrative authority with which it has an agreement:

1. Maintaining the accreditation status but with new requirements
2. Suspending the accreditation status
3. Withdrawing the accreditation status
4. Extending or reducing the accreditation scope

10.4 Board Decisions

10.4.1 The Board may ratify the Accreditation Committee's recommendations or make a different decision.

10.4.2 This Board may suspend accreditation until proof is submitted that the corrective actions requested have been carried out to satisfaction.

10.4.3 It may reduce a certifying body's accreditation scope in order to exclude any certification program portions that the body has consistently been unable to carry out in a satisfactory fashion, resulting in some persistent doubt as to its ability to acquire certification for one or more product areas.

10.4.4 It may revoke accreditation granted to a certifying body if one of the clauses in the accreditation agreement was not respected or if any non-compliances were detected with respect to the CARTV accreditation program.

10.4.5 Before a certifying body’s accreditation can be formally revoked, it shall receive notification from the Accreditation Committee informing it of each non-compliance detected and requiring that it be corrected to the Accreditation Committee’s satisfaction, within the prescribed time frame. Should the body fail to implement corrective measures within the prescribed time period, the accreditation certificate will be withdrawn. Once a non-compliance is considered resolved, the Accreditation Committee shall inform the certifying body. However, before doing so, the Accreditation Committee may require an evaluation visit to verify whether corrective measures were properly implemented, with the certifying body being responsible for any charges incurred.

10.4.6 The accreditation granted to a certifying body may also be revoked whenever its accreditation has been deemed null and void. This would occur when the bearer has formally relinquished it or the accreditation validity period has expired, and the body has not submitted an application for renewal, even after having received a notification from the CARTV at least 180 days before expiry.

10.4.7 The Board shall revoke the accreditation of any certifying body that has ceased its operations, whenever this discontinuance has not resulted from a merger, a sale or any other transfer of ownership to another certifying body.

10.4.8 Whenever a certifying body has its accreditation revoked, its name will be removed from the CARTV’s list of accredited certifying organizations. The body must then forward to the CARTV all certification files related to those companies whose products were certified by the body, within the accreditation scope allotted to it.

10.4.9 Any certifying body that has had its accreditation revoked may again submit an application to the CARTV for accreditation within twelve months following the date on which the decision to revoke was made.