- July 4, 2019
- Posted by: PQSadmin_new
- Category: ISO Certification
A number of private certification bodies have come up in the market providing certification to such well known standards as ISO 9001 for Quality Management Systems, ISO 14001 for Environmental Management Systems, ISO 22000 for Food Safety Management Systems etc as also certifications for WHO GMP in Pharma sector or HACCP as per Codex Standard in food sector and even certificates for CE Marking as per European Regulations.
Kindly note that in the absence of any law requiring any authorization, anybody can set up a certification body and start issuing certificates since no specific approval or authorization by law is needed. However, the credentials of such certification bodies are unknown and most of the certificates will not find acceptance with an enlightened customer. However, many in the industry as well as among customers are ignorant and such certificates may be accepted even though they may not have been issued following any credible process and may not yield the benefits such well known standards should bring.
As an example, kindly see the certificates placed at Annex – 1 to 5. All these certificates are unauthentic because no one can authenticate these certificates.
The only reliable method available worldwide for authenticating a certification body and the certificates issued by it is to ensure that the certification body is duly accredited as per International standards by the national accreditation body in that country.
NABCB is the national accreditation body in India, which is a constituent Board of the Quality Council of India, which in turn is an autonomous body attached to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. NABCB accredits certification bodies for a variety of certifications including Management systems certifications like ISO 9001, ISO 14001 etc., Product / process certifications like AYUSH Mark for AYUSH Products or GlobalG.A.P certification for Good Agricultural Practices and Personnel certification like certification of Yoga Professionals under the Voluntary Certification Scheme operated by the Yoga Certification Board under the Ministry of AYUSH.
The accreditation is granted after ensuring that the certification body:
a) certifies against an appropriate auditable standard (e.g. Codex HACCP standard is not certifiable nor is ISO 31001 on Risk Management both being guidance standards),
b) has an appropriate process for audit and certification is in place and follows international standards in conducting audit and certification, and
c) has competent resources to audit a specific industry, product or process
NABCB has secured international equivalence for most of its accreditation schemes which gives an added benefit to the certificate holder that the certificate is acceptable worldwide
The sign that the certification body has issued an authentic accredited certificate is the presence of the NABCB logo on the certificate; as an example, kindly see the certificate placed at Annex – 6. The certificate may also have an IAF (International Accreditation Forum) logo which would mean it is internationally acceptable.
Therefore, the best way of ensuring you get an authentic certificate is by insisting on the presence of NABCB logo on your certificate; in case you have any doubt about the certificate, kindly send a scanned copy to NABCB at nabcb@qcin.org and we will try to verify the authenticity of such a certificate.