CHAPTER VU.K.REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING ACCREDITATION BODIES FOR THE ACCREDITATION OF ETS VERIFIERS

Article 55U.K.National accreditation body

1.The tasks related to accreditation pursuant to this Regulation shall be carried out by the [F1national accreditation body].

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5.A national accreditation body shall be entrusted with the operation of accreditation as a public authority activity F3... if accreditation is not operated directly by public authorities.

6.For the purposes of this Regulation, the national accreditation body shall carry out its functions in accordance with the requirements set out in the [F4standard] referred to in Annex III.

F5Article 56U.K.Cross-border accreditation

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Article 57U.K.Independence and impartiality

1.The national accreditation body shall be organised in a manner that guarantees its full independence from verifiers it assesses and its impartiality in carrying out its accreditation activities.

2.For that purpose, the national accreditation body shall not offer or provide any activities or services provided by a verifier, nor shall it provide consultancy services, own shares in or otherwise have a financial or managerial interest in a verifier.

3.Without prejudice to Article 55(2), the structure, responsibilities and tasks of the national accreditation body shall be clearly distinguished from those of the competent authority and those of other national authorities.

4.The national accreditation body shall take all final decisions pertaining to the accreditation of verifiers.

However, the national accreditation body may sub-contract certain activities, subject to the requirements set out in the [F6standard] referred to in Annex III.

Article 58U.K.Assessment team

1.The national accreditation body shall appoint an assessment team for each particular assessment.

2.An assessment team shall consist of a lead assessor and, where necessary, a suitable number of assessors or technical experts for a specific scope of accreditation.

The assessment team shall include at least one person with the knowledge of the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066 that are relevant for the scope of accreditation and the competence and understanding required to assess the verification activities within the installation or aircraft operator for that scope, and at least one person with the knowledge of relevant national legislation and guidance.

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Article 59U.K.Competence requirements for assessors

1.An assessor shall have the competence to carry out the activities required under Chapter IV when assessing the verifier. To that end, the assessor shall:

(a)meet the requirements laid down in the [F8standard] referred to in Annex III;

(b)have knowledge of Directive 2003/87/EC, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066, F9... this Regulation, relevant standards and other relevant legislation as well as applicable guidelines;

(c)have knowledge of data and information auditing referred to in Article 38(1)(b) of this Regulation obtained through training or access to a person that has knowledge and experience of such data and information.

2.A lead assessor shall meet the competence requirements referred to in paragraph 1, have demonstrated competence to lead an assessment team and be responsible for carrying out an assessment in accordance with this Regulation.

3.Internal reviewers and persons taking the decisions on the granting, extending or renewing of an accreditation shall, in addition to the competence requirements referred to in paragraph 1, have sufficient knowledge and experience to evaluate the accreditation.

Article 60U.K.Technical experts

1.The national accreditation body may include technical experts in the assessment team to provide detailed knowledge and expertise on a specific subject matter needed to support the lead assessor or assessor in carrying out assessment activities.

2.A technical expert shall have the competence required to support the lead assessor and assessor effectively on the subject matter for which knowledge and expertise of such expert is requested. In addition, the technical expert shall:

(a)have knowledge of Directive 2003/87/EC, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066, F10... this Regulation, relevant standards, and other relevant legislation as well as applicable guidelines;

(b)have a sufficient understanding of verification activities.

3.A technical expert shall undertake specified tasks under the direction and full responsibility of the lead assessor of the assessment team concerned.

Article 61U.K.Procedures

The national accreditation body shall comply with the requirements established pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.

Article 62U.K.Complaints

Where the national accreditation body has received a complaint concerning the verifier from the competent authority, the operator or aircraft operator, or other interested parties, the national accreditation body shall, within a reasonable time but no later than three months from the date of its receipt:

(a)

decide on the validity of the complaint;

(b)

ensure that the verifier concerned is given the opportunity to submit its observations;

(c)

take appropriate actions to address the complaint;

(d)

record the complaint and action taken; and

(e)

respond to the complainant.

Article 63U.K.Records and documentation

1.The national accreditation body shall keep records on each person involved in the accreditation process. Those records shall include records related to relevant qualifications, training, experience, impartiality and competence necessary to demonstrate compliance with this Regulation.

2.The national accreditation body shall keep records of the verifier in line with the [F11standard] referred to in Annex III.

Article 64U.K.Access to information and confidentiality

1.The national accreditation body shall, on a regular basis, make publicly available and update information about the national accreditation body and its accreditation activities.

2.The national accreditation body shall make, in accordance with point 4 of Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, adequate arrangements to safeguard, as appropriate, the confidentiality of information obtained.

F12Article 65U.K.Peer evaluation

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F12Article 66U.K.Corrective action

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F12Article 67U.K.Mutual recognition of verifiers

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F12Article 68U.K.Monitoring of services delivered

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Article 69U.K.Electronic data exchange and use of automated systems

1.[F13The competent authority] may require verifiers to use electronic templates or specific file formats for verification reports in accordance with Article 74(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066 F14....

2.Standardised electronic templates or file format specifications may be made available for further types of communication between the operator, aircraft operator, verifier, competent authority and national accreditation body in accordance with Article 74(2) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066.