Section 14 in The Central Motor Vehicles (Accreditation of Bus Body Builders) Order, 2007
14. Accreditation Procedure.
(1)Application for Accreditation:(i)The Bus Body Builder intending to get the accreditation shall apply to Zonal Accreditation Board in the prescribed application form (Form No. BBB-1) in duplicate;(ii)The application shall be accompanied with the prescribed application fee as decided from time to time by the National Accreditation Board.(iii)While applying for accreditation, the Bus Body Builder shall ensure availability of the following, namely:-(a)adequate machines or infrastructural facilities for the purpose;(b)competent manpower;(c)the compliance mechanism of the regulatory or legal and safety requirements;(d)compliance mechanism with the environmental requirements so as not to cause hazard to the neighborhood and surroundings;(e)adequacy of material management system;(f)adequate equipments and know how for item or materials, receipt stage quality assurance, the in-process inspection and final testing of the bus body, wherever applicable; and(g)copies of reference documents.(2)Acknowledgement, scrutiny and processing of Application:(i)Zonal Accreditation Board Secretariat, on receipt of the application along with its enclosures and the requisite fees, etc. shall issue an acknowledgement along with receipt to Bus Body Builder within ten working days, allotting unique Customer Registration Number (CRN) to Bus Body Builder, to be used in future for reference and correspondence;(ii)The preliminary scrutiny of the application shall be done by Zonal Accreditation Board Secretariat. The said Secretariat may ask for additional information or clarification, if necessary. If there are gross shortcomings, the Bus Body Builder shall be asked by the said Secretariat to comply with the requirements and shall re submit the application with Compliance Report; and(iii)If the application is found to be generally in order, the same is considered for categorization. The Bus Body Builder shall be asked to remit the assessment fee accordingly thereafter.(3)Assessment:(i)On receipt of assessment fee, the Zonal Secretary shall coordinate with the assessor and the Bus Body Builder for planning the schedule of assessment;(ii)Two assessors, a Technical Assessor and a Lead Technical Assessor shall be deputed for assessment;(iii)The Technical Assessor shall be responsible for assessment of the technical competency of the Bus Body Builder In terms of machines, manufacturing techniques, method deployed and maintenance and calibration of machines or equipments;(iv)The Lead Technical Assessor shall be responsible for the evaluation of Application form, verification of the contents of the application form, verification of the claims made by the Bus Body Builder, maintenance of quality system and overall assessment of the Bus Body Builder;(v)The Bus Body Builder shall be informed about the final schedule of assessment and the information about Assessment Team;(vi)The Assessment Team shall review the capability of the Bus "Body Builder using Form No. BBB-5 to Form No. BBB-10 for the following areas, and against the claim made by Bus Body Builder. Form No. BBB-2 shall be used for noting the observations made by assessors :(a)availability of manufacturing facility including machineries, jigs and fixtures;(b)availability of competent manpower. For this purpose the Assessment Team shall verify the records and interview the personnel, where necessary;(c)compliance with the relevant legal requirements and environmental conditions including fire hazards;(d)provision of safety appliances and measures;(e)availability of tools or equipments for inspection, measurement, etc.;(f)records of in-process and final inspection of bus bodies;(g)if design is included in the scope, verification for the competent manpower and facilities shall be made;(h)availability of adequate land, space and infrastructure facilities;(i)calibration records for the measuring equipments and inspection/testing facilities; and(j)any other requirement decided or specified by the Zonal Accreditation Board or National Accreditation Board from time to time.(vii)Once the Assessment is completed, the Assessment Team shall submit the Assessment Report to the Zonal Accreditation Board Secretariat within ten working days. The Assessment Report shall be jointly prepared and signed by the Technical Assessor and the Lead Technical Assessor in Form No. BBB-4 and shall be countersigned by the representative of Bus Body Builder. The assessment report shall give clear recommendation for grant of accreditation or otherwise with due justification and without any ambiguity;(viii)Non-conformance found during assessment shall be recorded in Form No. BBB-3 by Technical Assessor and Lead Technical Assessor and shall be informed to Bus Body Builder. The Bus Body Builder shall decide about the proposed corrective action within the definite time schedule but within a maximum period of three months. The Zonal Accreditation Board Secretariat shall monitor the progress of compliance with areas of non-conformity;(ix)Depending on the nature of non-conformity, these shall be closed by the Lead Technical assessor on the submission of documentary evidence of corrective action with or without verification visits at the Bus Body Builder's cost;(x)Based on the information gathered during the processing of the application, the assessment report, additional information gathered during the assessment and the consequent verifications, if any, the Zonal Secretary shall prepare a brief summary. An agenda item including the summary recommendations, etc. or otherwise with due justification for accreditation shall be placed before the Zonal Accreditation Board for their consideration for grant of provisional accreditation or otherwise;(xi)The Zonal Accreditation Board's observation on the Assessment Report and its recommendations shall be the deciding factors for grant of Provisional Accreditation or otherwise. All decisions taken by the Zonal Accreditation Board shall be recorded in the form of minutes. These minutes shall also be sent to National Accreditation Board for information;(xii)In case the Zonal Accreditation Board finds deficiencies in the assessment report to arrive at the decision, the Zonal Secretariat shall obtain clarification from the assessor or Bus Body Builder and place before Zonal Accreditation Board for its decision;(xiii)The final recommendation of Zonal Accreditation Board shall be placed before the National Accreditation Board, who shall meet at least once in six months depending on the number of applications and reports;(xiv)On grant of Accreditation, Zonal Accreditation Board Secretariat shall prepare an Accreditation Certificate mentioning therein the category, date of issue and date of validity of Certificate;(xv)Each Certificate shall be signed by the Zonal Secretary mentioning therein the approval by Zonal Accreditation Board and National Accreditation Board;(xvi)All the applicant Bus Body Builders shall make all the payments due to Zonal Accreditation Board before the Certificate is issued to Bus Body Builder; and(xvii)All the decisions taken by the Zonal Accreditation Board regarding grant or refusal of accreditation, are subject to appeal to the National Accreditation Board whose decision shall be final and binding.(4)Accreditation:(i)Validity: The Bus Body Builder Accreditation Certificate shall be valid for a period of four years;(ii)Use of National Accreditation Board Logo: On grant of Accreditation, the Bus Body Builder shall use National Accreditation Board Logo on Its business promotion literature, namely letter heads, visiting cards, brochures, etc, and(iii)Surveillance: Zonal Accreditation Board shall conduct surveillance assessment once in two years and a re-assessment of the Bus Body Builder before the expiry of the Accreditation Certificate. The Surveillance or Re-assessment, shall be similar to the first assessment. During the validity of Accreditation, the Bus Body Builder shall continuously comply with the requirements of the said order.(5)Extension or Reduction of Scope of Accreditation:(i)The Bus Body Builder, if so desires, may request in writing to Zonal Accreditation Board for the change in the category of Accreditation. For this purpose, Zonal Accreditation Board shall assess the Bus Body Builder during surveillance/re-assessment visit or may organize a supplementary or a special visit; and(ii)In case of the Bus Body Builder is accredited for one zone, and if scope is required to be extended to other zones, the same can be done without any assessment but on the payment of additional fee as decided by National Accreditation Board.(6)Supplementary or Special Visit: The National Accreditation Board/Zonal Accreditation Board may also arrange for supplementary or special visit at any time during the validity of accreditation in the following circumstances:(a)change in category;(b)misuse of Accreditation or Certificate or Logo;(c)on receipt of a complaint, for the verification of facts; and(d)any other circumstances decided by the Zonal Accreditation Board or National Accreditation Board.(7)Voluntary Withdrawal: The Bus Body Builder at any time during the validity of accreditation may discontinue their accreditation voluntarily by making a written request to Zonal Accreditation Board. If the Bus Body Builder decides to regain the accreditation status, after it has sought voluntary withdrawal, it shall be treated as a fresh accreditation, and it shall have to pay all the fees for application and accreditation and assessment expenses, as applicable at that time.(8)Surveillance:(i)Zonal Accreditation Board shall conduct surveillance once in two years for all accredited Bus Body Builders;(ii)Surveillance is aimed at examining whether the accredited Bus Body Builder is maintaining all the requirements claimed or declared in the Application;(iii)Zonal Accreditation Board shall inform the accredited Bus Body Builder about the surveillance assessment and the surveillance fee to be paid in advance, at least three months before the due date for surveillance visit. The Bus Body Builder shall confirm its readiness within thirty days; and(iv)The Bus Body Builder may request for change in scope or category while confirming their readiness.(9)Renewal of Accreditation and Re-Assessment:(i)The Bus Body Builder may apply for renewal of accreditation by submitting an application in Form No. BBB-1 in two copies;(ii)The application shall be accompanied with the prescribed renewal fee as required. The Bus Body Builder may request for change in scope of accreditation or category, which shall explicitly be mentioned in the application form;(iii)The request for renewal shall be submitted at least six months before the expiry of the validity of accreditation. Accreditation status of the Bus Body Builder shall expire on the validity date mentioned in the certificate, in case there is no application in time. The Bus Body Builder shall have to apply afresh and the continuity of the Certificate would stand cancelled;(iv)The procedure for processing of renewal application is similar to that of fresh application;(v)If the results of reassessment visit are positive and all non-conformities are closed before the expiry of the certificate then the validity of the certificate shall be extended by another four years without any discontinuity; and(vi)A new certificate of accreditation shall be issued on renewal, however, the Certificate number remains same.(10)Appeal: All decisions taken by National Accreditation Board or Zonal Accreditation Board regarding grant or continuation or renewal of accreditation shall be open to appeal by the Bus Body Builder, to the Chairman, National Accreditation Board.(11)Audit: The Central Government may carry out Audit of the scheme from time to time to ensure the effective operation of the scheme many of the respective zones. The audit team shall have the power to disqualify any Bus Body Builder or assessor as the case may be in case he is found guilty or violating any of the provisions that is applicable to him.(12)Type Approval (TA) and Conformity of Production (CoP) of Bus Bodies: The Central Government will separately notify a suitable procedure for the Type Approval and Conformity of Production of the bus bodies built by the accredited Bus Body Builder.(13)Panel of Assessors:(i)A panel of assessors shall be prepared by each Zonal Accreditation Board wherein the persons preferably from the same zonal jurisdiction shall be employed;(ii)The minimum qualification for Technical Assessor shall be a Bachelor's Degree In Engineering or Technology in relevant field with five years experience in the engineering field. Diploma holders in relevant branch and with the similar background but with a minimum experience of ten years shall also be eligible. The Technical Assessor shall also be required to keep abreast of the Type Approval(TA) and the Conformity of Production(CoP) procedures prescribed under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 as amended from time to time;(iii)The Lead Assessor shall have the same qualifications as given at clause (b) above and in addition, shall have a background in quality management systems as per ISO 9001:2000/ISO:14001: 1996/ISO/IEC 17025:1999 (NABL) or any other National or International Certification or Accreditation System;(iv)The list of empanelled assessors prepared or approved by Zonal Accreditation Board shall be sent to National Accreditation Board for their information and record; and(v)If at any time any of the Assessors is found to be transgressing the policy and procedures of Zonal Accreditation Board and National Accreditation Board, their name shall be struck off from the panel by Zonal Accreditation Board under intimation to the National Accreditation Board.(14)Confidentiality: The members of the Zonal Accreditation Board, assessors and National Accreditation Board officials shall be required to maintain strict confidentiality of the information gathered regarding the Bus Body Builders during the process of evaluation for grant of accreditation. National Accreditation Board shall impose the same obligation of maintaining secrecy on those to whom they entrust the tasks of a confidential nature, as described above.(15)Liability: National Accreditation Board shall not be responsible for any damages, which the Bus Body Builder may suffer as a result of any action or negligence by those who are carrying out the tasks on behalf of National Accreditation Board and any failure to the grant of accreditation or abeyance or suspension or forced withdrawal of the accreditation.(16)Amendments to the Policies and Procedures: National Accreditation Board may at any time amend the policies and procedures related to grant of accreditation, maintaining accreditation, surveillance, renewal of accreditation and the adverse decisions taken thereon. National Accreditation Board shall inform the Bus Body Builder regarding such amendments indicating the transition period which shall be at least six months.
