Scope of assessment by national accreditation bodies
The national accreditation body shall assess whether the legal person applying for accreditation (‘the applicant’) or the verifier:
(a)
meets the competence requirements laid down in Section 1 of Annex II, including the harmonised standard referred to in Section 1.5.1 of Annex II;
(b)
is carrying out the verification activities laid down in Section 2 of Annex II to this Regulation in accordance with this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956, and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546.
Request for accreditation
1. An applicant that is established under the national law of a Member State shall request the national accreditation body of that Member State to grant accreditation in accordance with this Regulation.
By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, the applicant that is established under the national law of a Member State shall request a national accreditation body other than that of its Member State of establishment to grant accreditation in any of the following situations:
(a)
where the Member State in which it is established has decided not to establish a national accreditation body and has not had recourse to the national accreditation body of another Member State;
(b)
where the national accreditation bodies referred to in the first subparagraph do not perform accreditation in respect of the verification activities for which accreditation is sought;
(c)
where the national accreditation bodies referred to in the first subparagraph have not successfully undergone peer evaluation in respect of the activity groups for which accreditation is sought.
2. An applicant that is not established under the national law of a Member State shall request a national accreditation body of any Member State that provides accreditation in accordance with this Regulation to grant accreditation.
3. Requests for accreditation shall cover one or more CBAM activities groups listed in Annex I.
4. Together with the application, the applicant referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall make available to the national accreditation body the following documents:
(a)
a description of the applicant’s competence to carry out the procedures and processes referred to in Section 1.5.1 of Annex II and the quality management system referred to in Section 1.5.2 of that Annex;
(b)
a description of the competence criteria referred to in Section 1.1.1, second paragraph, points (a) and (b), of Annex II, the results of the competence process referred to in that Section and other relevant documentation on the competence of all personnel involved in verification activities as referred to in Sections 1.2 and 1.3 of Annex II;
(c)
a description of the process for ensuring continuous impartiality and independence, as referred to in Section 1.7.5 of Annex II, including relevant records on the impartiality and independence of the applicant and its personnel;
(d)
the list of the technical experts in verification and key personnel involved in the verification of operators’ emissions reports;
(e)
a description of the procedures and processes referred to in Section 1.5.1 of Annex II, including those concerning the internal verification documentation referred to in Section 2.16 of Annex II;
(f)
the records referred to in Section 1.6 of Annex II;
(g)
if applicable, any relevant evidence of proven competence in applying the international standard referred to in Section 1.5 of Annex II, as recognised by a national accreditation body or a third-country accreditation body.
5. After receipt of the request for accreditation, the national accreditation body may ask the applicant to submit any other information which the national accreditation body considers necessary for the assessment of the application.
6. Where the national accreditation body provides accreditation services under this Regulation but is unable to carry out the accreditation of an applicant established in a third country, that national accreditation body shall provide the applicant, without undue delay after receipt of a request for accreditation, with a duly justified reply outlining the reasons for not carrying out the accreditation as well as a list of national accreditation bodies which may be able to undertake the accreditation process.
The body that is recognised as the organiser of peer evaluation referred to in Article 24 shall facilitate the exchange of information between national accreditation bodies by maintaining a list of national accreditation bodies providing accreditation services for CBAM and of national accreditation bodies which may be able to undertake the accreditation process for applicants established in a third country.
Requests for accreditation by applicants accredited under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2067
An applicant accredited pursuant to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2067 for the relevant group of activities listed in Annex I to this Regulation may apply for an extension of the scope of its accreditation to the corresponding CBAM activity groups as listed in that Annex.
The application for a scope extension shall be submitted to the national accreditation body designated in accordance with Article 3(1).
Assessment of requests to grant accreditation
1. When performing the assessment of requests for accreditation, the national accreditation body shall perform the following actions:
(a)
review the information supplied by the applicant pursuant to Article 3;
(b)
carry out an on-site visit of the premises of the applicant to review a representative sample of the internal verification documentation and assess the implementation of the applicant’s quality management system and the procedures or processes for verification activities referred to in Section 1.5 of Annex II;
(c)
witness the performance and competence of a representative number of the applicant’s staff involved in verifying operators’ emissions reports to ensure that they operate in accordance with this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546.
2. During the assessment, the national accreditation body shall take into account the following:
(a)
the complexity of the scope of accreditation;
(b)
the complexity of the quality management system referred to in Section 1.5.2 of Annex II;
(c)
the procedures and information on processes referred to in Section 1.5.1 of Annex II;
(d)
the geographical areas in which the applicant is carrying out or planning to carry out verification;
(e)
whether the applicant is accredited pursuant to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2067 for the relevant group of activities listed in Annex I.
The national accreditation body may also consider any relevant evidence provided by the applicant, pursuant to Article 3(4), point (g).
3. Where the applicant decides to outsource certain verification activities in accordance with Section 1.7.4 of Annex II, the national accreditation body may also carry out the activities referred to in paragraph 1, points (b) and (c) of this Article, on the premises of the outsourced body.
4. The national accreditation body shall report its findings and any non-conformities to the applicant and shall request a response.
5. The applicant shall take corrective action to address any non-conformities reported pursuant to paragraph 4 and it shall submit a response with an indication of what action it has taken, or plans to take within a time set by the national accreditation body, to resolve them.
6. The national accreditation body shall review the response submitted by the applicant pursuant to paragraph 5.
7. Where the national accreditation body finds the applicant’s response or the action taken to be insufficient or ineffective, it shall ask the applicant to submit further information or take further action.
The national accreditation body may request evidence of, or carry out a follow-up assessment to assess, the actual implementation of the corrective action.
Decision on accreditation and accreditation certificate
1. Where the national accreditation body decides to grant or renew an accreditation or to extend the scope of an accreditation, it shall issue an accreditation certificate to that effect.
2. The accreditation certificate shall contain at least the following information:
(a)
the identity of the national accreditation body;
(b)
the name and unique accreditation identification of the verifier;
(c)
the scope of accreditation and groups of activities;
(d)
the country of establishment of the national accreditation body and of the verifier;
(e)
the effective date of accreditation and its expiration date;
(f)
a reference to the normative documents used for the assessment.
3. The accreditation certificate shall be valid for a period not exceeding five years from the date on which the national accreditation body has issued it.
Reassessment
1. Before the expiry of an accreditation certificate which it has issued, the national accreditation body shall reassess the verifier in question to determine whether the validity of the certificate can be extended.
2. The national accreditation body shall plan its reassessment in a manner that allows the national accreditation body to assess representative samples of the verifier’s activities covered by the certificate.
3. The national accreditation body shall carry out the reassessment of verifiers in accordance with Article 2.
Extension of scope
The national accreditation body shall, in response to an application by a verifier for an extension of the scope of a granted accreditation, determine whether the verifier meets the requirements set out in Article 2 for the requested extension of the scope of its accreditation.
Suspension and withdrawal of accreditation and reduction of the scope of accreditation
1. Without prejudice to paragraph 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, the national accreditation body may suspend or withdraw an accreditation or reduce the scope of accreditation of a verifier, where the verifier does not meet the requirements set out in this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956, or in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546.
2. The national accreditation body shall suspend or withdraw an accreditation or reduce the scope of accreditation of a verifier, where the verifier so requests.
3. The national accreditation body shall suspend an accreditation or reduce the scope of accreditation of a verifier, where the verifier has:
(a)
committed a serious breach of the requirements set out in this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956 or Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546;
(b)
persistently and repeatedly failed to meet the requirements set out in this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956 or Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546;
(c)
breached any other specific terms and conditions laid down by the national accreditation body.
4. The national accreditation body shall withdraw an accreditation of a verifier where:
(a)
the verifier has failed to remedy the shortcomings that constituted the grounds for a decision to suspend the accreditation;
(b)
a member of the management of the verifier, or a member of the verifier’s staff involved in verification activities under Regulation (EU) 2023/956, has been found guilty of fraud;
(c)
the verifier has intentionally provided false information or has intentionally concealed information.
5. A verifier may launch an appeal before the national accreditation body against a decision of that national accreditation body to suspend or withdraw an accreditation or to reduce the scope of an accreditation in accordance with paragraphs 1, 3 and 4.
6. Decisions of a national accreditation body to suspend or withdraw accreditation or to reduce the scope of accreditation shall take effect upon the date of notification of the verifier.
7. The national accreditation body shall revoke the decision to suspend an accreditation certificate where it concludes that the verifier meets the requirements of this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546.
SECTION 2 — Requirements for national accreditation bodies
Competence requirements for assessors
The national accreditation body shall ensure that the persons appointed to carry out the assessment have the following skills or knowledge:
(a)
knowledge of accreditation, of verification activities and of the monitoring and calculation of embedded emissions pursuant to this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956 and Implementing Regulations (EU) 2025/2547 and (EU) 2025/2546, knowledge of collecting, monitoring and reporting data relevant for free allocation pursuant to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2620 ( 10 ) and knowledge of other applicable legislation, harmonised standards and guidelines;
(b)
the competence and understanding required to assess the verification activities referred to in Section 2 of Annex II to this Regulation;
(c)
for the scope of accreditation LI referred to in Annex I to this Regulation, the technical competence and understanding required to assess evidence needed to demonstrate the fulfilment of criteria laid down in Section 5, first paragraph, points (a) to (d), of Annex IV to Regulation (EU) 2023/956;
(d)
for the scope of accreditation LII referred to in Annex I to this Regulation, the technical competence and understanding required to assess evidence needed to demonstrate the fulfilment of the criteria laid down in Section 6 of Annex IV to Regulation (EU) 2023/956;
(e)
knowledge of data and information auditing, as referred to in Section 1.2, fourth paragraph, point (b), of Annex II to this Regulation.
Technical experts in accreditation
1. Where necessary, the national accreditation body may involve technical experts in accreditation for the assessment of verification activities performed by verifiers.
2. In addition to the knowledge and expertise on a required subject matter, technical experts in accreditation shall have knowledge of the following:
(a)
knowledge of accreditation, of verification activities and of the monitoring and calculation of embedded emissions pursuant to this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956 and Implementing Regulations (EU) 2025/2547 and (EU) 2025/2546, knowledge of collecting, monitoring and reporting data relevant for free allocation pursuant to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2620, and knowledge of other applicable legislation, standards and guidelines;
(b)
knowledge of the verification activities performed by verifiers, referred to in Section 2 of Annex II to this Regulation.
Access to information, confidentiality and professional secrecy
1. The national accreditation body shall, on a regular basis, make publicly available and update information about its accreditation activities under this Regulation.
2. The national accreditation body shall make appropriate arrangements to safeguard the confidentiality of information obtained during assessment activities pursuant to this Regulation.
Where the national accreditation body receives information on an operator’s emissions report or a verification report, including pursuant to Articles 16 and 21, such information shall be covered by the obligation of professional secrecy, and the national accreditation body shall not disclose it to any other person or authority except where required by Union or national law.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
