Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation

(Ministry of Commerce & Industry)

WHAT

The National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB), secured international equivalence for its accreditation programme for personnel certification bodies in the annual meetings of the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation in Singapore.

NABCB signed the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) of the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC) for its accreditation programme based on international standard.

World Accreditation Day: 09 June 2019

MUTUAL RECOGNITION ARRANGEMENT

• The objective of the MRA is to develop a global network of conformity assessment bodies.
• This includes certification bodies, testing and calibration laboratories, and inspection bodies, which can be relied on to provide competent services, such as certification activities, testing, calibration and inspection.
• Key to international trade, the MRAs promotes cross border stakeholder confidence and the acceptance of accredited conformity assessment bodies.

 

BENEFIT FROM MRAs

• Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC) signatory status in the MRAs is a global passport for enterprises in Singapore.
• There is no need for duplicative re-testing, re-inspection or re-calibration of goods upon entry to importing countries.
• Moreover, government agencies these days rely more on results from accredited facilities as well as those of the MRA partners, as they begin to realise the credibility of accreditation programmes that are based on internationally recognised standards.

 

ASIA PACIFIC ACCREDITATION COOPERATION (APAC)

• The APAC was established on 1 January 2019 by the amalgamation of two former regional accreditation cooperations – the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) and the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC).
• APAC ‘s primary role is to manage and expand a mutual recognition arrangement (MRA) among accreditation bodies in the Asia Pacific region.
• The MRA facilitates the acceptance of conformity assessment results across the region and with other regions around the world.
• APAC is recognized by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as one of four APEC Specialist Regional Bodies (SRBs) that support the work of the APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance.

NATIONAL ACCREDITATION BOARD FOR CERTIFICATION BODIES (NABCB)

NABCB, a constituent Board of the Quality Council of India, an autonomous body attached to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is responsible for the accreditation of certification/inspection bodies as per applicable international standards under an international system of equivalence. This signifies that the accreditation of personnel certification bodies by NABCB is now accepted as equivalent at the international level.

 

Source: PIB

 

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