Procedure for filing and considering complaints and appeals

4.1.1 The applicant may appeal against the decision taken by the CAB or express dissatisfaction with its activities. To do this, he must submit a written complaint or appeal to the Commission for the Consideration of Complaints and Appeals of the OPS (hereinafter referred to as the Commission).

4.1.2 Consideration of incoming complaints and appeals is carried out by the commission in accordance with Article RK 3.10 and these instructions.

4.1.3 The Commission is created by order of the General Director.

4.1.4 The number of members of the commission must be at least 3 people, with an even number of members of the commission, the vote of the chairman is decisive. The decision is made by persons who did not participate in the initial conformity assessment activities related to the certification of this customer and were not related to the subject of the complaint or appeal.

4.1.5 Consideration, study and decision on the appeal cannot lead to any discriminatory actions in relation to the appellant.

4.1.6 Basic principles for handling complaints and appeals:

• guarantees of observance of the rights and legitimate interests of applicants;
• the inadmissibility of the manifestation of bureaucracy and red tape during consideration;
• effective decision-making on complaints and appeals.

4.1.7 A complaint or an appeal is sent to the CSO no later than 30 calendar days from the date of receipt of the notification of the decision. Complaints and appeals of applicants filed anonymously, in which the surname, first name and patronymic are not indicated, there is no signature, and the essence of the issue is not subject to consideration.
Filing a complaint or appeal does not suspend decisions made by the CSO.

4.2 Appeals procedure

4.2.1 Complaint or appeal filed by the applicant to the commission in writing is registered in the register of incoming correspondence, then transferred to the secretary of the commission. Receipt of the appeal is confirmed in writing.

4.2.2 The CSO, having received a complaint or appeal, is responsible for collecting and verifying all the necessary information for their validation.

When considering a complaint or appeal, the applicant must submit the following documents to the commission:

• a complaint or appeal in any form (indicating the name of the applicant, his location, exact postal address, outgoing number and date, the essence of the appeal or appeals against the actions of the authority, clearly formulated requirements on the subject of the dispute);
• correspondence on a controversial issue between the applicant, the testing laboratory (center) and (or) the conformity assessment body;
• product test report;
• technical documentation for production (if necessary) and other documents.

4.2.3 Upon receipt of a complaint, the LLP shall ascertain whether the complaint is related to the certification activity for which it is responsible, and if so, the complaint must be considered. If the complaint is related to a certified client, then the effectiveness of the certified management system is assessed when it is considered.

4.2.4 Complaints and appeals are considered by the commission within the following terms:

• those that do not require additional study and verification are considered and decisions are made on them within a period of not more than 15 calendar days from the date of registration of their receipt;
• those requiring additional study are considered and decisions are made on them within a period of not more than 30 calendar days from the date of registration of their receipt.

If the consideration period exceeds 5 calendar days, the applicant is provided with information on the progress and results of work on the consideration of complaints and appeals.

For a certified customer, any complaint relating to him is submitted for consideration within two business days.

Provision of information and control of the deadline is the responsibility of the secretary of the commission.

4.2.5 Responses to complaints and appeals must be substantiated and motivated in the state or Russian languages, contain specific facts refuting or confirming the applicant’s arguments with an explanation of their right to appeal the decision.

If no objections are received from any of the parties within 30 calendar days, it is considered adopted.

4.2.6 When considering complaints or appeals, the commission takes measures to maintain the confidentiality of information constituting a commercial secret both in relation to the complainant and in relation to its content. The need to disclose the subject of the complaint or appeal and the results of their consideration and the extent of this disclosure are determined jointly with the customer and the complainant.

The decision on complaints or appeals is taken by voting and recorded in the protocol, which is signed by all members of the commission.

4.2.7 The interested parties are notified in advance in writing of the date of consideration of the appeal by the secretary of the commission.

4.2.8 Each of the interested parties has the right to be heard at a meeting of the Appeal Commission and invite an expert auditor competent in the issue under consideration to provide clarifications to the Commission.

4.2.9 The minutes of the meeting of the commission are drawn up by the secretary of the commission.

The decisions of the commission containing conclusions about the presence of any inconsistencies in the activities of the CAB are considered by the management of the CAB, and the necessary corrective / preventive actions are developed. Information on the implementation of corrective / preventive actions is sent to the applicant no later than 6 months from the date of receipt of the application.

Any inconsistencies identified in the activities of a certified company, in respect of which an appropriate decision has been made, are considered in accordance with the certification procedures.

4.2.10 The commission informs the applicant of its decision within one week after the meeting in writing, with the registration of the date and outgoing number by the secretary of the commission. If there are no objections from the parties to this decision within one month, it shall be deemed adopted.

4.2.11 If the applicant disagrees with the decision of the commission of the conformity assessment body, he has the right to apply to the appeals commission for complaints and appeals of the accreditation body, and then, in case of disagreement with the decision, to the commission for complaints and appeals of the Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrology Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The decision taken by the commission of the Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan may be appealed in court in accordance with the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

4.2.12 Documentation of all appeals, complaints and disputes is recorded in the log and kept in the CSO for three years.