"Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Accreditation Bodies" Released and Implemented

Announcement of the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Accreditation Bodies"

The revised administrative normative document "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Accreditation Bodies" is hereby issued and shall come into effect from the date of issuance.

State Administration for Market Regulation

May 25, 2021

Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Accreditation Bodies

Article 1 In order to strengthen the supervision and administration of accreditation bodies and ensure the quality of accreditation work, these measures are formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation."

Article 2 The term "accreditation body" as used in these measures refers to authoritative organizations legally designated by the State Administration for Market Regulation to carry out evaluation activities of conformity assessment bodies such as certification bodies, laboratories, inspection bodies, and verification and validation bodies.

Article 3 Within the territory of the People's Republic of China, these measures apply to the supervision and administration of accreditation bodies and accreditation activities.

Article 4 The supervision and administration of accreditation bodies and accreditation activities shall be the responsibility of the State Administration for Market Regulation.

Article 5 The State Administration for Market Regulation shall supervise and manage accreditation bodies, their accreditation activities, and accreditation results, adhering to the principle of combining supervision with promoting development to ensure the unified and effective implementation of the accreditation system.

Article 6 Relevant departments and industries are encouraged to participate in the establishment of the accreditation system and accept accreditation results.

Article 7 Accreditation bodies shall comply with relevant laws, regulations, and national standards, including:

(1) Having legal person status and being able to independently bear legal responsibilities;

(2) Organizational structure and operations shall ensure objectivity and impartiality;

(3) Having professional personnel compatible with accreditation work and meeting relevant legal, regulatory, and technical requirements;

(4) Ensuring that managers and all personnel are free from any commercial, financial, or other interferences that may affect their accreditation results;

(5) Ensuring that activities of other related organizations do not affect the confidentiality, objectivity, and impartiality of accreditation activities.

Article 8 Accreditation bodies designated by the State Administration for Market Regulation shall independently carry out accreditation activities. No other units shall directly or indirectly engage in accreditation activities. Accreditation results from other units directly or indirectly engaging in accreditation activities shall be invalid.

Article 9 Accreditation bodies shall establish and implement a quality management system appropriate to their scope of accreditation to ensure the fairness and confidentiality of accreditation activities and bear relevant legal responsibilities arising from accreditation activities and results.

Article 10 Accreditation bodies shall promptly disclose accreditation requirements, accreditation procedures, fee standards and their changes, and publish the list of certified accredited bodies.

Article 11 Accreditation bodies shall accept accreditation applications without imposing requirements or restrictions unrelated to accreditation activities and shall not accept any funding that may affect the objectivity and impartiality of accreditation activities.

Article 12 Accreditation bodies shall establish a human resource support system appropriate to their business development to meet the needs of carrying out accreditation activities.

Article 13 The State Administration for Market Regulation shall regularly supervise and inspect the accreditation activities carried out by accreditation bodies and the accreditation results.

Article 14 The State Administration for Market Regulation may supervise and inspect accreditation bodies through the following methods:

(1) Conducting on-site supervision and assessment of accreditation bodies;

(2) Supervising accreditation assessment activities;

(3) Evaluating the implementation of the accreditation system;

(4) Establishing an information reporting system for accreditation bodies;

(5) Investigating and handling complaints and appeals related to accreditation bodies and accreditation activities;

(6) Conducting third-party evaluations of the quality of work of accreditation bodies;

(7) Organizing local market regulation departments to implement accreditation supervision and administration.

Article 15 The following activities of accreditation bodies shall be promptly reported in writing to the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the authenticity of the reports shall be guaranteed:

(1) Formulation, revision, and development of accreditation norms, accreditation systems, and work rules;

(2) Important meetings;

(3) Changes in key management personnel;

(4) Accreditation approvals, suspensions, and revocations;

(5) Important complaints, appeals, and supervision handling results;

(6) Planned participation in major activities of international organizations and related international matters, including important voting matters in international organizations;

(7) Planned signing of international bilateral or multilateral agreements;

(8) Annual statistical information of accredited bodies and annual accreditation work reports;

(9) Handling of violations or major accidents involving accredited bodies;

(10) Other important matters.

Article 16 The State Administration for Market Regulation organizes local market regulation departments to supervise accreditation bodies, accreditation activities, and accreditation results. Local market regulation departments shall report relevant supervision activities and major issues found to the State Administration for Market Regulation, which shall make decisions on handling.

Article 17 Any unit or individual has the right to report illegal or irregular acts of accreditation bodies to the State Administration for Market Regulation. The Administration shall investigate and handle in a timely manner and keep the informant confidential.

Article 18 If an accreditation body has any of the following circumstances, the State Administration for Market Regulation shall order correction; if the circumstances are serious, the main responsible persons and those accountable shall be transferred to relevant authorities for handling:

(1) Granting accreditation to institutions that do not meet accreditation conditions;

(2) Discovering that accredited institutions do not meet accreditation conditions but failing to revoke accreditation certificates in a timely manner and publicize the situation;

(3) Accepting funding that may affect the objectivity and impartiality of accreditation activities.

Article 19 If an accreditation body has any of the following circumstances, the State Administration for Market Regulation shall order correction and issue warnings to the main responsible persons and those accountable:

(1) Accepting accreditation applications and imposing requirements or restrictions unrelated to accreditation activities on applicants;

(2) Failing to complete accreditation activities within the announced time, or failing to disclose information such as accreditation conditions, accreditation procedures, and fee standards;

(3) Discovering that accredited institutions improperly use accreditation certificates and marks, and failing to promptly suspend their use or revoke the accreditation certificates and make it public;

(4) Failing to make complete records of the accreditation process and archive them.

Article 20: Certification bodies, laboratories, inspection bodies, verification and validation bodies, and others that obtain accreditation from foreign accreditation bodies shall report the relevant accredited information to the State Administration for Market Regulation for record filing. The filing content includes:

(1) Name and country (region) of the accreditation body implementing the accreditation;

(2) Scope of accreditation, accreditation time, and validity period;

(3) Number of accreditation assessor days;

(4) Other relevant accredited information.

Institutions that fail to file with the State Administration for Market Regulation as stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be given a warning and the situation shall be made public.

Article 21: This measure shall be interpreted by the State Administration for Market Regulation.

Article 22: This measure shall come into effect on May 25, 2021. The "National Accreditation Body Supervision and Management Measures" (Guo Renke [2002] No. 20) issued by the National Certification and Accreditation Administration on April 4, 2002, shall be repealed simultaneously.