SECTION 1 — Control of verifiers
General requirement of control
During the validity of an accreditation certificate, verifiers shall continue to meet the requirements laid down in Section 1 of Annex II and undertake the verification activities in accordance with Section 2 of that Annex and shall continue to meet the requirements set out in Regulation (EU) 2023/956 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546.
During the validity of an accreditation certificate the national accreditation body that granted accreditation shall check whether the verifier complies with the requirements and activities referred to in the first paragraph.
Where the national accreditation body considers that the verifier no longer meets the requirements laid down in this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956 or Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546, the national accreditation body shall take the necessary action, including the suspension or withdrawal of the accreditation, or the reduction of the accreditation scope, in accordance with Article 9 of this Regulation.
Annual surveillance
1. The national accreditation body shall carry out annual surveillance of each verifier to which it has issued an accreditation certificate. That surveillance shall comprise at least the following:
(a)
an on-site or virtual office assessment of the verifier;
(b)
witnessing the performance and assessing the competence of a representative number of the verifier’s staff in accordance with Article 5(1), point (c).
Where the verifier outsources 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 the first subparagraph on the premises of the outsourced body.
2. The national accreditation body shall carry out the first surveillance of a verifier in accordance with paragraph 1 within 12 months of the date on which its accreditation certificate was issued.
3. The national accreditation body shall plan to perform its annual surveillance exercise in a manner that allows it to assess representative samples of the verifier’s activities within the scope of the accreditation certificate and of the staff involved in the verification activities.
4. On the basis of the results of the surveillance, the national accreditation body shall decide whether to confirm the continuation of the accreditation.
Extraordinary assessment
At any moment during the validity of accreditation certificate, the national accreditation body may conduct an extraordinary assessment of any aspects of the verifier’s competency or activities to assess whether the verifier continues to meet the requirements of this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546.
Complaints
Where the national accreditation body has received a complaint concerning a verifier that it has accredited from any competent authority, the Commission, the operator or other interested parties, the national accreditation body shall, no later than three months from the date of its receipt, proceed as follows:
(a)
assess 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;
(e)
respond to the complainant.
SECTION 2 — Information exchange and notifications for the oversight of verifiers
Information exchange and cooperation
1. Each Member State shall establish an effective exchange of information and effective cooperation between their national accreditation body and the competent authority in accordance with Articles 18 to 21.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, Articles 18 and 19, Article 20(1) and Article 21(1) of this Regulation shall not apply to the competent authority and the national accreditation body where the competent authority is established in a Member State that does not have a national accreditation body or where the national accreditation body does not provide accreditation services for the purpose of Regulation (EU) 2023/956.
Information exchange on accreditation certificates and administrative measures
The national accreditation body shall provide without delay to the competent authority of the Member State in which it is established with all relevant information necessary for the registration of the verifier in the CBAM registry pursuant to Article 10a of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 and any update thereof. Such information shall include:
(a)
any decision to grant, renew an applicant’s accreditation or extend the scope of accreditation pursuant to Article 6;
(b)
any decision to suspend or withdraw the accreditation or reduce the scope of accreditation of a verifier pursuant to Article 9 or any decision on appeal which reversed such decision;
(c)
any revocation of the decision to suspend accreditation pursuant to Article 9(7).
The competent authorities referred to in the first paragraph shall register and update the information on verifiers received in accordance with the first paragraph in the CBAM registry.
Accreditation work programme and management report
1. By 31 December of each year, the national accreditation body shall make available, in English, an accreditation work programme covering the next calendar year to the competent authority of the Member State in which the national accreditation body is established, which contains the list of verifiers accredited by that national accreditation body. The accreditation work programme shall contain at least the following information in relation to each verifier:
(a)
information on activities that the national accreditation body has planned for that verifier, including surveillance and reassessment activities;
(b)
the anticipated time and place of the verification, including whether a physical or virtual site visit is to be carried out;
(c)
dates of anticipated witnessing audits to be performed by the national accreditation body to assess the verifier, including the name and identification information of the operators and of the installations that are to be visited during the witness audit.
When changes occur in the information referred to in the first subparagraph, the national accreditation body shall submit to the competent authority an updated work programme by 30 June of each year.
2. By 31 July of each year, the national accreditation body shall make available, in English, a management report to the competent authority referred to in paragraph 1. The management report shall contain at least the following information in relation to each verifier that has been accredited by that national accreditation body or, in the case of point (c), in relation to each applicant:
(a)
accreditation details of verifiers that were accredited by that national accreditation body, including the scope of accreditation for these verifiers;
(b)
any changes to the scope of accreditation for the verifiers referred to in point (a);
(c)
where the national accreditation body was not able to undertake the accreditation process laid down in Article 3(6), a list containing the applicants’ name, country of establishment and scope of accreditation sought;
(d)
summarised results of surveillance and reassessment activities carried out by the national accreditation body;
(e)
summarised results of extraordinary assessments that have taken place, including reasons for initiating such extraordinary assessments;
(f)
any complaints filed against the verifier since the last management report and the actions taken by the national accreditation body in relation to such complaints;
(g)
details of action taken by the national accreditation body in response to the information that is shared by the competent authority or by the Commission pursuant to Article 20, unless the national accreditation body has considered the information as a complaint within the meaning of Article 16.
3. For the purpose of paragraphs 1 and 2, the national accreditation body shall use a relevant electronic template, to be provided by the Commission.
Information exchange between competent authorities and the Commission
1. Competent authorities shall make available without delay to other competent authorities and to the Commission the information contained in the accreditation work programme and management report pursuant to Article 19 via the CBAM registry.
2. Where the competent authority or the Commission carry out a review of the CBAM declaration pursuant to Article 19(2) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956, they shall make available to the other competent authorities, and where applicable to the Commission, via the CBAM registry, the initiation of the review and the results in relation to the work carried out by the verifier.
Submission of information from the competent authority to the national accreditation body
1. The competent authority of the Member State in which the national accreditation body is established shall, regularly and at least annually, communicate to the national accreditation body that has accredited the verifier at least the following:
(a)
relevant results, including relevant results received from other competent authorities or the Commission pursuant to Article 20(2), which are obtained from checking the operator’s emissions report and the verification report, including any identified non-compliance of the verifier with this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956 or Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546;
(b)
any complaints received by the competent authority concerning the verifier.
2. For the purpose of paragraph 1, the competent authority shall use relevant electronic template, to be provided by the Commission.
3. Where the competent authority receives a complaint concerning a verifier accredited by a national accreditation body of another Member State, the competent authority shall communicate the complaint to that national accreditation body.
4. Where the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 of this Article provides evidence that a competent authority or the Commission has identified non-compliance by the verifier, the national accreditation body shall treat the communication of that information as a complaint by the competent authority concerning that verifier in accordance with Article 16.
Notifications by verifiers
1. By 15 November of each year, verifiers shall send the following information covering the next calendar year to the national accreditation body that has accredited them:
(a)
the planned time and place of the verifications that the verifier is scheduled to perform, including whether a physical or virtual site visit is to be carried out;
(b)
the name and identification information of the operators whose emissions reports are subject to its verification, and the identification of the installations;
(c)
the names of the members of the verification team and the scope of the accreditation under which the operator’s activities fall.
2. Where changes occur in the information referred to in paragraph 1, verifiers shall notify those changes to the national accreditation body within a period agreed with that national accreditation body.
3. Verifiers shall notify the national accreditation body of any significant changes that might affect their accreditation concerning any aspect of their status or operation, without delay.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
