PART C – CERTIFICATION PROCESS 

C1 Process flow 

C1.1 Unless an agreement is in place to carry out the certification process and the process flow specifies otherwise, the certification process shall be divided into an initial audit, during which the certificate is first granted, and subsequent surveillance audits, which are carried out until the end of the certificate’s validity, usually every 12 months. 

C1.2 Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the audit shall be conducted in the local language. TCC GMP+ FC Scheme audit reports shall be provided to the Customer in local and English languages. 

C1.3 Condition for maintaining the validity of the issued certificate and a valid registration in the GMP+ International B.V´s database is conducting surveillance audits at specified times, at least once every 12 months, to confirm compliance with certification requirements. 

C1.4 If serious non-conformities are found during the audit, URS may order an additional audit. The additional audits must be carried out within a timeframe to be determined by the URS auditor or the URS RR office as appropriate. 

C1.5 Based on the fulfillment of the accreditation conditions of the URS certification company, observation audits or special audits may be requested by authorized persons from URS to be carried out at the Customer‘s premises. The Customer undertakes to allow such types of audits to be carried out. 

C1.6 In the event that the Customer requests URS to extend the scope of certified activities, URS may in such case conduct a special audit or extend the scope of certified activities as part of a surveillance or recertification audit. 

C1.7 In accordance with the conditions of certification, URS will contact the Customer well in advance of the scheduled audit to obtain current information and data for the purpose of fulfilling the Certification Agreement. 

C1.8 If auditors, observers or assessors visit the Customer to perform their duties, the Customer shall provide appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and provide adequate training and guidance prior to commencing work. In addition, the Customer shall ensure that the auditor, observer or assessor does not tamper with the equipment without clear supervision and instructions from the Customer. 

C1.9 Prior to the expiry of the certificate, URS shall agree with the Customer to carry out a recertification audit, which is required for the award of the certificate for a further period of normally three years. 

C2 Obligations of the Customer 

C2.1 The Customer shall provide URS RR in a timely manner, free of charge, with complete, truthful and clear information and documents that are necessary for the substantive performance of its obligations, unless it is clear from their nature that they are to be provided by URS in the course of its business, to identify a specific person who will be present to perform the certification and who will be responsible for the Customer‘s interaction with the URS auditor. URS shall not be in default during the period of Customer‘s delay in providing the foregoing or in the event of failure to provide proper cooperation.   

C2.2 The Customer shall carry out all required preparatory activities at its own risk and expense. 

C2.3 The Customer shall, at URS’s request, allow URS, during business hours, access to the premises, sites, offices, etc., where certification is being carried out, for the purpose of inspecting materials, procedures, processes, testing methods, records and systems, or to determine that the procedure for termination of certification has been carried out, if necessary. 

C2.4 The Customer agrees to provide one or more representatives authorized to deal with the relevant URS representatives for the purposes of the audit. 

C2.5 In the event of significant organizational changes or required expansion of the scope of certification, the Customer shall update its documentation and inform URS of any significant changes in the organization that would materially affect the scope of certification, for example changes in legal entity, business or organizational status, change of owner, addresses and management systems and processes. 

C2.6 The Customer shall allow the owner of the GMP+ International B.V standard to participate in the audit and/or parallel audit. 

C3 Invoicing, remuneration, travel, accommodation, and meal expenses 

C3.1 URS RR will invoice the client for its services on an ongoing basis during the certification cycle for the various stages, which are the initial certification audit, surveillance audits, recertification audit and special visit where applicable. 

C3.2 The Customer agrees to pay URS RR the fee set out in Schedule 1 of the Contract for the provision of services by the agreed due date by bank transfer to the URS RR account specified on the invoice. Any payment made by the Customer shall be deemed to be paid on the date of credit to the URS RR account. VAT will be added to the prices at the rate set by the relevant VAT law in force on the date of taxable performance of the invoice. 

C3.3 The Customer expressly agrees that invoices issued by URS RR will be sent to the Customer either in written or electronic form. Electronic means, in particular, electronic mail, email (held with the Customer‘s identification), fax or public data network. 

C3.4 If additional costs are incurred (travel, accommodation, fee for interpreter etc.), these costs will be added to the fee for the audit in question. 

C3.5 URS is entitled to unilaterally increase the price of the provided services, or the price of the services not yet provided, according to the average annual consumer price index according to the data of the Americas Statistical Office on its website, every 6 months of the duration of the contract starting from the effective date of the contract. The price increase always takes effect from the 1st day of the following month in which, in accordance with this clause, URS announced the use of the price adjustment. For the avoidance of doubt, the contracting parties state that there is no need to conclude an appendix to the contract to adjust the price according to this provision of the contract. 

C4 Dates and times 

C4.1 The Customer may indicate proposed dates for the performance of audits. URS RR will review these taking into account its own performance capabilities and the way audits are practiced. The dates given by the Customer are not binding and may not be met by URS RR. URS RR and the Customer shall agree binding dates for the audit in due time before the planned audit. 

C4.2 As a rule, audits must be carried out at the specified binding dates and times. If the Customer does not cooperate in arranging the audit date and as a result the audit cannot take place or cannot be carried out on time, URS shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract. Such withdrawal shall not affect any further claims for damages or other requirements/obligations. In addition, if the Customer already has a valid certificate, URS Scheme Office shall be entitled to suspend or withdraw the certificate or URS mark. 

C4.3 URS RR reserves the right to charge the Customer an additional fee for cancellation or rescheduling of an audit if the cancellation or request for rescheduling is less than 21 calendar days prior to the scheduled audit date. The fee is set to 50% of the cost of the scheduled audit. If costs are incurred in connection with the audit (travel, accommodation, interpreter costs if applicable) they will be added to the fee.  

C4.4 If the Customer cancels the scheduled audit later than 24 hours before the scheduled start of the audit or interrupts an already started audit or URS cancels the started audit and this cancellation is due to reasons on the part of the Customer, then the Customer is obliged to compensate the costs incurred on the part of URS, in the full amount of the agreed price for the relevant audit. 

C4.5 If serious complications caused by force majeure (riots, military or terrorist events) occur at the location where URS is to carry out the planned audit, URS shall be relieved of its obligation to provide audit services for as long as they occur and to the extent of their consequences, even if delays occur as a result. The Parties are obliged to inform each other of such complications and to adapt their obligations to the changed conditions. 

C4.6 According to GMP+ FC Scheme standard one of the announced surveillance audits during one certification cycle must be replaced by an unannounced audit for certain scopes. Every 12 months, the client may designate 15 days in a given year during which an unannounced surveillance audit cannot be performed. Unless specified in advance, an unannounced surveillance audit cannot be refused. The following notice periods are used for an unannounced surveillance audit: two business days. 

C5 Appointment of auditors 

C5.1 URS RR shall have the right to select and appoint an auditor as appropriate for the client’s line of business. However, URS RR reserves the right to change the auditor(s) to ensure independence and objectivity or, due to unforeseen circumstances, cannot ensure that the appointed auditor is available. 

C5.2 In the event that it is not possible to provide an auditor in the local language for an audit at the Customer‘s site, URS RR has the right to provide an interpreter to be present at the Customer‘s site. The presence of an interpreter may increase the hours of the audit. The Customer must be made aware of these facts prior to the commencement of the Customer audit. If an interpreter is used at the Customer‘s audit, the Customer will be charged for the cost of the interpreter. 

C5.3 The Customer is entitled to object to the audit being carried out by an auditor appointed by URS RR only if the cooperation with the auditor is not proceeding properly or if the auditor is not substantially qualified to provide the service. The Customer shall promptly inform URS RR of the refusal to have the audit performed by the auditor appointed by URS RR, together with the reasons for the refusal. In such case, URS RR shall arrange for another auditor who is appropriately qualified. 

C6 Certification decision 

C6.1 Following the initial audit of a recertification audit or surveillance audit, the URS Scheme Office shall issue a decision to grant a certificate, renew a certificate, maintain a certificate or extend the scope of a certificate (as appropriate). URS Scheme Office shall make an impartial decision based on the recommendations of the auditor and a review of the audit report. 

C6.2 Auditor URS shall prepare an Audit Report on the progress of the certification process for each audit conducted and URS shall provide it to the Customer. The audit report shall be sent electronically by URS to the Customer‘s contact email. 

C6.3 In the event of a positive decision by URS Scheme Office, the Customer will be issued with a certificate and allowed to use the certification marks and certification logos.  

C6.4 In the event that the Customer fails to meet all the requirements according to the URS Scheme Office assessment, the conditions for receiving the certificate (the certification decision will be negative), i.e. the certificate will be refused or the issued certificate will be withdrawn or suspended URS RR will inform the Customer of this fact. The granting of the certificate may be subject to additional requirements. For example, the Customer may be required to remedy deficiencies. Deficiencies or opportunities for improvement identified during the audit will be discussed with the Customer during the audit conclusion visit. If deficiencies are identified, the Customer shall carry out a root cause analysis and take any necessary corrective action to address the deficiencies. The condition for obtaining (and also maintaining) the certificate is that the Customer effectively corrects all deficiencies within the time limit set by the auditor and the auditor evaluates these measures positively. An additional requirement may also be a request by the auditor for an Additional Audit, see C1.4. In such a case, the price of the Additional Audit is 1450 CAD/day (excluding VAT) plus travel and any other costs associated with the Additional Audit. 

C6.5 URS’s liability is excluded for any corrective actions implemented by the Customer identified during the audit. Decisions made by the Customer to remedy the findings are the sole responsibility of the Customer. 

C7 Violation of the certification process 

C7.1 A material violation of the TCC GMP+ FC Scheme and breach of contract is considered to occur when the Customer refuses to cooperate and thus prevents the performance of the contract, and this state of affairs is maintained despite calls for cooperation and the setting of an appropriate deadline (failure to meet requirements to resolve non-conformities, compliance with scheduled audits, special visits); the Customer attempts to misrepresent and submit false information during an audit; bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated against the Customer; the Customer has failed to pay URS RR recoverable debts in a timely manner and has continued to be in default despite a call. This material breach of the TCC GMP+ FC gives URS RR and URS Scheme Office the right to terminate the contract without notice, with termination effective upon delivery to the Customer. Upon termination of the contract, the certificate will be withdrawn and registration in the GMP+ International B.V database will be cancelled.   

C7.2 In the event of termination of the contract before the expiry of its term, or if URS terminates the contract without complying with the notice period for the reasons set out above in clause C7.1 of the GCC GMP+ FC Scheme, URS shall be entitled to demand from the Customer the payment of a contractual penalty in a monetary amount equivalent in amount to 33% of the remuneration to be received for the earliest performance specified in the contract up to the term of the certificate issued, even if no service or part thereof has yet been provided. 

C7.3 The Customer and URS may terminate the contract at any time without giving any reason in writing. The termination period shall be 3 months from receipt of the notice.  However, the Customer is obliged to give notice under this clause at least 3 months before the next scheduled service under the contract between the Customer and URS RR or URS Scheme Office. 

C7.4 The Customer should also be informed that:  

– a change of tax number by the client results in the start of a new certification cycle. A new GMP+ number must be assigned, and a new certification audit must take place; 

– the client, upon notification of a change of business address, is obliged to conduct an additional audit at the new location; 

– the Customer, after receiving information about entry in the GMP+ GMP+ International B.V database, is obliged to check the accuracy of the data in the database. Complaints are accepted by URS up to 3 days after receiving the entry in the GMP+ International B.V database.