Certifications granted by BAS may be suspended or withdrawn or the scope of certification may be reduced. 
•    Suspension: Invalidation of a certificate for a limited period of time. 
•    Withdrawal: Permanent invalidation of a certificate. 

    
A)     Suspension of Certification - A Client’s certification may be suspended as a consequence of:
The Client has failed to meet certification requirements, insufficient to warrant withdrawal, and failures have not been corrected by an agreed upon date, for example: 

•    Failure to respond adequately to identified nonconformities 
•    Management system does not reflect the current organization and processes as a result of changes, acquisitions, diversification, etc. 
•    Major part of the management system not implemented 

Violation of the terms of the signed Certification Agreement; 

•    Non-payment of fees 
•    Incorrect use of the certification mark and reference to certification 

Surveillance audits and recertification audits not allowed to be conducted according to required frequency or as scheduled; 

Evidence received from authorities, etc., that could affect the status of certificate, e.g.: 

•    Evidence of nonconformity to regulatory/statutory requirements relevant for the certified management system 
•    Evidence of an ineffective management system in cases of serious incidents/accidents 
•    The Client has voluntarily requested suspension.
The management and authorized personnel within the BAS unit who issued the certificate shall decide on the action to be taken, based on review of the evidence. If suspension of the Client’s certification is decided, the Client will be formally notified.
BAS may also choose to give the Client a warning that suspension is being considered.

B)    Withdrawal of Certification - A Client’s certification may be withdrawn as a consequence of:

•    The Client has failed to meet certification requirements of a serious nature as to cause withdrawal without suspending certification first, and failures have not been corrected by an agreed upon date; 
•    The Client has failed to resolve the issues causing a suspension of certification; 
•    The Client has terminated the certified activity.
The management and authorized personnel within the BAS unit who issued the certificate shall decide on the action to be taken, based on review of the evidence. If withdrawal of the Client’s certification is decided, the Client will be formally notified.

     The decision to withdraw a certificate shall be formally communicated to the Client including the requirements to:
•    Terminate use of the certification mark and any reference to certification 
•    Return certificate(s) and copies to BAS

C)    Reduction of Scope - Where the failure of the quality system is related to a specific part of the Client’s organization (physical locations, organizational units, or activities), the Client’s scope of certification shall be reduced to exclude the part of the business that does not meet requirements. Only design, service, and/or special processes that are outsourced may be excluded or reduced from the Client’s scope of certification.

The Client has the right to appeal any certification decision made by BAS. An appeal may be filed according to the appeals handling procedure.

BAS requires that the certified client conforms to the following requirements when making reference to its certification status in communication media:

•    Will not use or permit any inaccurate, misleading, or unauthorized statements regarding certification; 
•    Will not use or permit use of certification documents, or any part thereof, in a misleading manner; 
•    Will discontinue using all advertising, stationery, and literature with references to certification upon suspension or withdrawal of certification; 
•    Will amend all advertising matter when the scope of certification has been reduced; 
•    Will not reference the certified management system to be used in such a way as to imply that BAS certifies a product, service, or process; 
•    Will not imply that the certification applies to activities outside the scope of certification; 
•    Will not use certification in such a manner that would cause BAS, PAB, or the certification system to fall into disrepute and to lose public trust.