Impartiality Statement

TNV Certification Pvt Ltd (TNV) understands the importance of impartiality and potential conflicts of interests in carrying out its management systems certification activities.TNV has a compliance program, based on its Code of Integrity and Professional Conduct, to ensure that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all its activities worldwide in accordance with international best practice.
Details of this program can be found at
http://www.isoindia.org/iso_Code_of_Integrity_and_Professional_Conduct.php

Impartiality Statement

Evaluation of the Risk

Within TNV we conduct risk assessment annually and where required in relation to specific activities or contracts on impartiality and potential conflict of interest relating to Accredited Certification business this is reviewed by the impartiality committee of the Accredited Certification Body, which is an independent committee made up of members representing our key interests.

Why Impartiality needed in Certification

Impartiality is a key component of our business ethics TNV provides an objective and balanced certification auditing service. Impartiality is a key component of our business ethics, TNV is acronym of Transparent, Neutral and Veritas and this is intended to ensure impartial in our assessment and certification services which add value to the business to demonstrate increased trust to business, government and society. TNV adhere to transparent procedures based on ISO 17021 and other MSS specific standards like ISO 22003, ISO 27006 and requirement of accreditation board, which contain built-in checks to manage and regulate the services we provide to all clients.

Top Management and Impartiality

he top management of TNV is fully committed to impartiality in management system certification activities. The TNV Impartiality Policy has a publicly available statement along with Code of Integrity and Professional Conduct that it understands the importance of impartiality in carrying out its management system certification activities, manages conflict of interest and ensures the objectivity of its management system certification activities.

Accreditation Requirement and Impartiality

Top Management of the TNV Certification Pvt. Ltd. (herein and after referred as TNV) hereby declares that TNV shall comply with the requirements of ISO 17021 and ensure impartiality for all its personal related to the certification activities & within all its certification activities of ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004, OHSAS 18001:2007 & ISO 22000:2005 and other certification carrying on by the TNV from time to time. The Transparency, confidentiality, independence and impartiality of the certification activities by and on behalf of TNV shall not be affected by the activities of the certified clients or any personal related to.

Core Threats to impartiality as per ISO 17021

Self-interest threats:

Threats that arise from an individual or organisation acting in the interest of TNV. One potential threat to certification impartiality is financial self-interest and TNV ensures that financial ambition or burden must not be affect impartiality of the TNV’s MS Certification activities.

Self-review threats:

threats that arise from a person or body reviewing work done by themselves. Auditing the management systems of a client to whom the TNV or its personal involved in certification; who have provided management systems consultancy would be a self-review threat.

Familiarity (or trust) threats:

threats that arise from a person or body being too familiar with or trusting of another person instead of seeking audit evidence. Hence TNV put restriction not to repeat assessment team leader for more three continuous assessment (Stage-1 Audit, follow up are not taken into consideration while counting the number of assessment)

Intimidation threats:

threats that arise from a person or body having a perception of being coerced openly or secretively, such as a threat to be replaced or reported to a supervisor.

Financial impropriety threats:

in addition to the threat of financial impropriety identified in above, TNV also recognises that given at least part of the TNV’s revenue is received by clients paying for certification, this is also a potential threat to impartiality at an organisational level. TNV keep its financial position viable and ensure any contingent risk by professional indemnity insurance and agreement with the Auditor, Client and all associated personal.

What we dont do to maitain impartiality

To demonstrate effective Implementation of policy of TNV, we shall neither provides nor permits the Following: 1. Consultancy services for realization, continuity and sustenance of certification. 2. Services for designing, implementing or maintaining a management system. 3. Certification services against or on behalf of other certification bodies having same accreditation which TNV have in its own name. 4. Employee working for TNV shall not provide Certification Service with Consultancy group dealing in the ISO Consultancy. 5. TNV shall not allow any consultancy organization to market or offer the activities of TNV. 6. TNV shall not state or imply that certification would be simpler, easier, faster or less expensive. 7. TNV or its employees shall not interfere or participate in decision process of management system issues. 8. TNV & its employees shall not participate in preparation and procurement of manuals, guides, Formats and procedures intended to be used for management system standards in which TNV dealt with certification services. 9. TNV shall not provide specific and detailed advice or training on design, implementation and maintenance of management systems subject to certification. 10. There shall be no pressure of any kind (Financial, Trade, Administrative, Competitive, Moral and other) over TNV and the personnel regarding the execution of their obligations as a Certification Body according to ISO 17021:2011. 11. TNV timely identifies, analyses, controls and documents all possibilities for conflict of interests that emerges or may emerge during its certification processes including any conflict that emerge or may emerges from its relations. Presence of relations does not necessarily position the TNV in a situation of conflict of interests. If some relations create impartiality threats, TNV documents and eliminates or decreases such threats. This information is presented before the Impartiality Committee. It is necessary to cover all possible conflict of interest resources that are identified regardless of their origin. TNV requires from all employees, internal and external, to comply with impartiality rules as well as reveal any situation known to them that may present them or TNV with a conflict of interests. TNV shall use this information as input in identifying threats to impartiality raised by the activities of such personnel or by the organization that employ them. Such personnel, internal or external shall not be used unless they demonstrate that there is no conflict of interest. TNV shall not undertake any action that threatens the impartiality and/or are potential conflict of interests. 12. When certain relations create unacceptable impartiality threat, then the certification shall not be conducted. TNV shall not certify another certification body for its activities related to management system certification. 13. When potential impartiality threat arises TNV eliminates it or decreases it. This process is also controlled by the impartiality committee by holding a meeting at regular intervals. 14. TNV shall not certify own group companies (if there are such companies) or organizations that TNV is a part of or a member. 15. Personnel, who have provided consultancy (including internal audits) within two years to the organization seeking certification, are not allowed to take part in audit or other certification activities. 16. TNV shall not provide internal audits for its certified clients. TNV shall not certify a management system for which it has conducted internal audits within two years following the end of the internal audits. 17. TNV shall not provide certification services to a client when relations between the Consultancy Company and TNV could lead to impartiality threat. 18. TNV shall not outsource audits to a management system consultancy organization as this poses an unacceptable threat to the impartiality of the certification body. This does not apply to individuals contracted as auditors or technical experts. 19. TNV does not receive any financial support other than its Promoters, Directors, Bankers, Financial Institutions and the fees for its services. 20. TNV does not pay any commissions to consultants to eliminate any possible pressure or impact on TNV by consultants. 21. TNV shall not allow any pressure from other certification bodies to influence the certification process in the organization. If other certification body declines to provide service for client and the client requests the same service form TNV than TNV shall investigate the reasons for declining before performing any other certification activities for the respective client. 22. TNV shall not allow pressure from clients and/or consultancy organizations. If there is such pressure than TNV shall apply requirements of ISO 17021 and internal procedures in order to stop such practice. 23. TNV shall not allow pressure from employees and/or related persons. 24. All employees are obliged to work in compliance with requirements of ISO 17021 and as per agreement of contract.

The Impartiality Committee shall:

1. Discuss the requirement and expectation of the accreditation standards and accreditation board for impartiality. 2. Assist the TNV in developing the policies relating to impartiality of its certification activities. 3. Counteract any tendency on the part of a certification body to allow commercial or other considerations to prevent the consistent objective provision of certification activities. 4. Advise on matters affecting confidence in certification, including openness and public perception, and 5. Conduct a review, as least once annually, of the impartiality of the audit, certification and decision making processes of the certification body. 6. Ensure that balance of interest is maintained in the management system certification services. 7. Approve the conflict of interest analysis and the mitigation measures described in ISO 17021. 8. Participate via one member in the Professional Conduct Committee which ensures implementation of the Code of Integrity within our organization Any instance where an employee, outsourced partner or customer feels there is a threat to impartiality, they are welcome to raise the concern directly to TNV’s Managing Director: Pragyesh Singh at md@isoindia.org