Extension of transfer period for certificates issued by SGS Malaysia Sdn Bhd

On 31 December 2015 Accreditation Services International (ASI) withdrew the RSPO accreditation of SGS Malaysia Sdn Bhd. According to ASI accreditation procedures, certificates issued by SGS Malaysia Sdn Bhd. prior to the withdrawal remain valid for a period of ninety (90) days after the date of withdrawal (until 30 March 2016). This time period is intended to permit certificate holders to enter into an agreement with another accredited certification body to enable the transfer of the certificate.

ASI and RSPO would like to announce that the transfer period will be extended by 90 days, until 30 June 2016. The content of the RSPO and ASI guidance for certification bodies on the transfer of RSPO certificates in case of an accreditation withdrawal issued on 19 January 2016 remains applicable.

This extension was agreed to enable certificate holders to find a new certification body and to enable certification bodies to manage the transfers without compromising the credibility of the RSPO certificates due to time pressure. The list of RSPO accredited certification bodies is available here.

For more information please contact: László Máthé – lmathe (at) accreditation-services.com – and Jan van Driel – janvandriel (at) rspo.org.