Requirements applicable to the national or regional certification schemes
Article 38
1. Member States deciding to implement equivalent practices referred to in Article 43(3)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 shall designate one or more public or private certification authorities certifying that the farmer observes practices on its holding which comply with Article 43(3) of that Regulation. 2. Public or private certification authorities shall fulfil the following conditions: (a) they shall have the expertise, equipment and infrastructure required to carry out the certification tasks; (b) they shall have a sufficient number of qualified and experienced staff; (c) they shall be impartial and free from any conflict of interest as regards the exercise of the certification tasks. Private certification authorities shall be accredited in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17021 (Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems) or EN ISO/IEC 17065 (Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services) in the sector of agricultural production. Accreditation shall only be performed by a national accreditation body in a Member State in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 21 ) . 3. The designation of a public or private certification authority shall be withdrawn where it fails to satisfy the conditions for its designation set out in paragraph 2.