The purpose of the document is to determine the cross-border accreditation policy of the State Agency “Latvian National Accreditation Bureau” (hereinafter - the Agency) in accordance with the regulatory enactments of the Republic of Latvia and the European Union, as well as in the standard LVS EN ISO / IEC 17011: 2017 “Conformity assessment. Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Conformity Assessment Bodies” and documents of international organizations.
The document shall be binding on the Agency 's employees, including technical experts/ assessors and parties involved in the performance of the Agency's functions and tasks, as well as on the parties concerned.
In performing its functions, tasks and objectives, the Agency shall continuously monitor aspects of cross-border accreditation, including the assessment of existing capacity to maintain new cross-border accreditations.
The Agency is aware of the importance of cross-border accreditation in the performance of its functions, both in terms of the full maintenance of cross-border accreditation and cross-border cooperation.
The Agency's activities in the framework of cross-border accreditation are monitored by the European Co-operation for Accreditation through mutual evaluation of the European Co-operation for Accreditation to maintain its status as a signatory to the Multilateral Agreement (MLA) and its international recognition.
The cross-border accreditation policy is essential when implementing accreditation procedures if the conformity assessment body (hereinafter - the Body) conducts business (has registered or performing activities) outside the territory of the Republic of Latvia in order to ensure the implementation of internationally recognized and reliable accreditation services.
The Agency shall implement a cross-border accreditation policy in accordance with:
When accrediting the Body that is established (registered or operating) in another country outside the Republic of Latvia, the Agency shall comply with the following:
In accordance with Section 14, Paragraph one, Clause 4 of the Law “On Conformity Assessment”, one of the functions of the Agency is to co-operate with the national accreditation bodies of other countries.
Pursuant to Paragraph 3 of Cabinet Regulation No. 754 of 19 December 2023 “Regulations on Assessment, Accreditation and Supervision of Conformity Assessment Institutions”, the Agency shall assess, accredit, and supervise in the Bodies in accordance with Regulation No. 765/2008.
Within the framework of cross-border accreditation, the Agency shall, inter alia, respect and implement cooperation with accreditation bodies in other countries to the extent specified in the European Accreditation Cooperation Document EA-2/13 and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation Document ILAC-G21, maintaining documentary evidence in the framework of peer evaluation.
As a general rule, an Institution’s accreditation request is primarily reviewed by the accreditation body of the country in which the Institution is legally registered and conducts its business activities.
The Agency does not promote or offer accreditation services in countries where accreditation authorities are internationally recognized within the framework of the European Co-operation for Accreditation (EA), the International Laboratory Accreditation (ILAC) or the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).
The Agency may consider providing accreditation services for the Bodies established in another country, if there is a Regulation conditions specified in Paragraph 6, Paragraph 3 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 or in Paragraph 2 of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation Document ILAC-G21. In the event of a change in the above circumstances, the Agency shall transfer the accreditation to the relevant national accreditation authority in accordance with the principles set out in the European Accreditation Cooperation Document EA-2/13 and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation Document ILAC-G21.
When examining an application for accreditation or carrying out other accreditation-related procedures, the Agency shall keep the accreditation authority in the country in which the Body is established informed and cooperate with that national accreditation authority as an observer; if necessary, the Agency may request the accreditation authority of another country to carry out part of the assessment activities of the Bodies. In carrying out these assessment activities (including the assessment of practical activities), the Agency shall subcontract to a national accreditation authority the implementation of accreditation-related procedures.
The Agency shall comply with Paragraph 6.2. Regulation 765/2008 and does not compete with accreditation authorities in other countries.
