28. Federal Law, with which an Accreditation Act is enacted in 2012 and the Law on Measures and Verification Act and the Kesselgesetz are amended

The National Council has decided

Article 1

Federal law on the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies
(Accreditation Act 2012-AkkG 2012)

Section 1

General provisions

§ 1. (constitutional provision) The release, modification, cancellation and enforcement of regulations as contained in this Federal Act are also in the matters of the Federal Republic of Germany, with regard to which the B-VG determines otherwise. The matters governed by these rules may be directly concerned by federal authorities.

§ 2. This federal law is amended by Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 laying down rules for the accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 339/93, OJ L 327, 31.12.1993, p. No. 30., the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies (in particular testing, inspection, calibration and certification bodies) and lays down the necessary procedural provisions.

§ 3. (1) Accreditation Body is the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth. Within its scope of action, it has to entrust an organizational unit with the operational implementation of the accreditation and to equip it with the necessary resources. The responsible organizational unit is named "Accreditation Austria".

(2) Accreditation bodies shall be accredited, which shall carry out assessments of conformity in the compulsory and in the voluntary sector.

§ 4. (1) Accredited conformity assessment bodies shall be entitled to carry out the accreditation mark and the federal coat of arms in the scope of the competence recognised by the accreditation body.

(2) Accredited conformity assessment bodies shall have associated reports (in particular inspection and inspection reports and calibration certificates) as well as certificates issued in the scope of the accreditation granted Accreditation marks.

(3) The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, the Family and Youth has to determine by means of a regulation the appearance of the accreditation signs and more detailed provisions on their use.

§ 5. Activities relating to the operation of accredited conformity assessment bodies and carried out in the framework of these bodies shall not be subject to the provisions of the 1994 WO. Where conformity assessment bodies use operating facilities in their activities, they shall apply the provisions of the provisions of the provisions of the 1994 Regulation in the respective applicable version.

Section 2

Accreditation procedure

§ 6. (1) The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth has set up an accreditation advisory board.

(2) The accreditation advisory board is responsible for the following tasks:

1.		advice on procedural and/or technical requirements with regard to accreditation in compulsory areas of conformity assessment, as well as the recommendation of the normative documents to be used for this purpose,
2.		Accompanying procedures in accreditation procedures, whether carried out in the compulsory or voluntary sector,
3.		Advice on increasing acceptance and the general orientation of accreditation.

(3) The prerequisite for the accreditation procedure is the existence of appropriate standards and/or specific requirements and rules. Those authorities which make the accreditation mandatory must ensure that they submit the specific requirements for accreditation of the accreditation body or proposals for specific accreditation bodies. Submit application documents of the accreditation concerned, which may be submitted to the Accreditation Advisory Board for advice after consultation of a technical committee.

(4) With regard to paragraph 2 (2) (2), the Accreditation Advisory Board must, in any event, decide on the following matters:

1.		Selection of experts for initial and rehearsals,
2.		granting or rejecting accreditation as a result of first-and repeat-evaluations,
3.		Establishment of technical committees,
4.		Treatment of all other accreditation-related topics, which will be addressed to him by the accreditation body.
5.		To obtain an additional expert opinion in the event of a reasoned appeal to issue or reject the accreditation by a member of the Accreditation Advisory Board in accordance with paragraph 5.

(5) The Accreditation Advisory Board, acting in accordance with Section 2 (2) (1) and (2) and (4), shall include the following members entitled to vote:

1.		A representative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth,
2.		A representative of the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection,
3.		a representative of the Federal Ministry of Health,
4.		A representative of the Federal Ministry of the Interior,
5.		A representative of the Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management,
6.		A representative of the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture,
7.		A representative of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology, and
8.		a representative of the liaison office of the federal states.

(6) If the Accreditation Advisory Board is active in matters relating to paragraph 2 Z 3, the circle of its members shall be extended to include the following representatives:

1.		One representative of the federal states,
2.		a representative of the Austrian Economic Chamber,
3.		a representative of the Federation of Industrialists,
4.		a representative of the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture,
5.		a representative of the Federal Chamber of Architects and Engineering Consultants,
6.		a representative of the Austrian Medical Association,
7.		a representative of the Austrian Dentists ' Chamber,
8.		A representative of the Austrian Pharmacists ' Chamber,
9.		a representative of the Austrian Veterinary Chamber,
10.		A representative of the Technical Bureau of the Technical Bureau,
11.		A representative of the Federal Chamber of Workers and Employees,
12.		a representative of the Austrian Trade Union Confederation,
13.		a representative of the Association for Consumer Information,
14.		a representative of Austrolab (Association of Accredited Bodies),
15.		a representative of the Austrian Standards Institute (Austrian Standards Institute) and
16.		a representative of the Austrian Association of Electrical Engineering.

(7) A representative of the "Accreditation Austria" of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth of the Federal Republic of Germany will chair the Accreditation Advisory Board.

(8) The Accreditation Advisory Board has to draw up a point of order, which requires the consent of the representatives in accordance with paragraph 5. The Rules of Procedure shall contain more detailed provisions, in particular on the conduct, representation and decision-making, including the right of appeal.

§ 7. (1) Conformity assessment bodies

1.		the requirements of the standards applicable to the accreditation in question, which have been published by the European Commission in the Official Journal of the European Union,
2.		where appropriate for the accreditation concerned, the technical specifications set out in accordance with Article 13 (3) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008; and
3.		the requirements of the guidance documents issued by the recognised body in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, as appropriate for the accreditation concerned;
.

(2) The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth can use the regulation to establish the references of the guidelines of the accreditation Austria to comparable EU law regulations and guidelines of international organisations. and shall declare these guides binding, provided that this is necessary to ensure the recognition of the conformity assessment bodies in relation to the international level, or if this is a time-and cost-saving assessment of the applications easier.

§ 8. The granting, refusal, withdrawal, suspension, restriction and extension of the accreditation shall be effected by means of a communication.

§ 9. (1) The accreditation body shall be entitled, in the course of the accreditation procedure, to instruct experts to carry out the assessment and to draw up a report on the assessment, to the extent that this is necessary for the purpose of examining the performance of Accreditation requirements are necessary. Such experts shall be responsible for the task of carrying out the broadest possible technical knowledge and experience with regard to the bodies to be accredited.

(2) Where non-conformities are recognised in the course of the assessment, the expert shall inform the conformity assessment body in writing. The conformity assessment body shall, within eight weeks, beginning from the last day of the assessment, set the necessary corrective measures and submit appropriate evidence directly to the expert.

(3) If no evidence is provided within the eight-week period, the responsible expert shall complete his assessment report and submit it to the accreditation body.

(4) Where insufficient evidence has been submitted to the expert within a time limit set out in paragraph 2, the expert shall inform the conformity assessment body in writing and shall inform him that within 4 more weeks he shall inform him of the either appropriate evidence is submitted, or it concludes the review report and the accreditation body is sent.

(5) The responsible expert shall, without delay, submit to the accreditation body a report on the non-conformities referred to in paragraph 2.

(6) In addition to the factual understanding, experts are obliged to maintain the confidentiality of all the processes and facts which have become known to them in connection with the conduct of an appraisal. Documents which have been made available for the purpose of carrying out the assessment may in no case be made accessible to third parties, whether or not they are made accessible or duplicated.

(7) Experts shall have a duty to reject a review if there are grounds for doubt as to their full unpartiality, such as advisory activities for the conformity assessment body to be reviewed.

(8) Experts shall be obliged to carry out assessments in accordance with the requirements of the accreditation body and to use the working documents provided for as appropriate.

(9) Experts shall be obliged to continue to develop at their own expense and to notify the accreditation body of any substantial changes.

(10) Experts are required, at the request of the Accreditation Body, to make any necessary corrections, in particular with regard to the assessment report or information on the facts established in the course of the assessment, without any claim to To carry out costs.

§ 10. (1) Special administrative charges are to be paid for the acts to be carried out under the provisions of this Federal Act, which are to be paid by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, the Family and Youth in agreement with the Federal Minister for Finance shall be fixed in a lump sum by Regulation in accordance with the burden of such official acts.

(2) The lump sums shall be based on the time required for the preparatory work and the time to be carried out, the number of institutions required, the number of test procedures described in the application and the average cash outlays. (in particular transport and travel costs, printing grades, materials and postal charges).

(3) The administrative levies referred to in paragraph 1 shall be broken down by

1.		the fees for accreditation, graded according to the basic fee and a fee as a function of the nature and scope of the accreditation;
2.		the fees for the extension of accreditation;
3.		the fees charged for the monitoring of accreditation;
4.		the fees charged for issuing and confirmations.

(4) The communications pursuant to section 12 (1) and the other correspondence with the accreditation body, which is caused by this federal law, with the exception of the applications pursuant to § 8, are subject to the fees in accordance with the Fees Act 1957 in the respectively applicable law. Version free.

(5) If it is foreseeable that an accreditation procedure requires significant cash outlays, the requesting body may act as a corresponding advance (Section 76 (4) of the AVG).

§ 11. (1) The accreditation body may at any time, in the presence of important reasons (such as, in particular, criminal complaints, written complaints, reasonable suspicion of the presence of educational reasons), the accredited conformity assessment body. Subject to monitoring.

(2) The cost of the supervision referred to in paragraph 1 shall be borne by the conformity assessment body, unless deficiencies have been identified in the monitoring; in this case, the cost of the proceedings shall be from the accreditation body. .

Section 3

Obligations of accredited conformity assessment bodies

§ 12. The accredited conformity assessment body shall immediately inform the accreditation body in writing of any significant changes which relate to the accreditation status or the operation of the accreditation body, in particular in connection with: are standing with

1.		their legal, economic and/or economic organizational status,
2.		the top management or other key personnel,
3.		the basic rules,
4.		the resources or locations,
5.		the scope of accreditation, or
6.		other matters which may have an impact on the ability of the conformity assessment body to be able to do so.

(2) Accredited conformity assessment bodies shall be obliged to participate in aptitude tests which have been initiated or arranged by the accreditation body and shall be subject to the costs of the tests already carried out or to be carried out for other reasons. Comparative tests or ring tests should be taken into account accordingly.

(3) Accredited conformity assessment bodies shall provide the accreditation body and the authorised experts with all the documents which provide an insight into the functioning of the conformity assessment bodies on request.

(4) Accredited conformity assessment bodies shall be obliged to provide representatives of the accreditation body or an expert appointed by it without unnecessary delay and without any claim to compensation for the expenses incurred as a result thereof, the To allow access to localities and to provide appropriate information and to allow for inspection.

(5) Accredited conformity assessment bodies shall enable the accreditation body to monitor the performance of the conformity assessment activities.

(6) Accredited conformity assessment bodies shall draw up an annual report and submit it to the accreditation body by the first March of the following year at the latest.

(7) Accredited conformity assessment bodies are required to make provision, in a manner and to an extent which is common in the case of real business transactions, by taking out insurance in order to ensure that claims for damages in the They can be satisfied with their conformity assessment activities. The minimum level of cover sums for personal injury, property damage and property damage should be determined by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth by Regulation.

(8) Accredited conformity assessment bodies must keep records serving to make the reports issued (§ 4 para. 2) and certificates available for the purpose of re-enforceability and consistency of the records for ten years.

Section 4

Termination of accreditation

§ 13. (1) The entitlement to exercise the accreditation ends

1.		with the withdrawal of accreditation,
2.		with the demise of the legal subject, or
3.		with the deferment of the authorisation by the accredited conformity assessment body.

(2) Without prejudice to paragraph 1, the accreditation may be exercised for the period of six months by another legal entity. In doing so, the relevant conditions for accredited bodies shall be maintained. The provisions relating to withdrawal pursuant to § 14 shall not be affected thereby.

Withdrawal of accreditation

§ 14. The accreditation shall be withdrawn by communication if:

1.		the essential accreditation requirements are not met,
2.		the obligations arising out of the accreditation or administrative orders pursuant to § 12 shall not be complied with,
3.		during the suspension of the accreditation exercise, or
4.		the accreditation symbol is repeatedly used abusively
and the conditions for suspension in accordance with § 16 are not available.

Suspension of accreditation

§ 15. At the request of accredited conformity assessment bodies, the accreditation may be suspended for six months if, on the basis of the exchange of the seat, the building activity at the seat or in the premises of the accredited Conformity assessment body, or prolonged absence of conducting persons, a scheduled assessment not carried out or the accredited activity cannot be exercised.

§ 16. (1) The suspension of accreditation may take place for six months from the date of office, if:

1.		the non-conformities established by the accreditation body are not remedied within the time limits specified in section 9; or
2.		Scheduled assessments are not carried out on a timely basis due to the fault of the accredited conformity assessment body; or
3.		shall not be complied with by means of time limits.

(2) A partial suspension of the accreditation may take place for six months if essential requirements for the exercise of a certain part of the accreditation are eliminated and these are not remedied within the time limits according to § 9.

(3) The suspension of the accreditation shall be repealed as soon as the reasons for the suspension have been omitted.

Limitation of accreditation

§ 17. The scope of accreditation shall be restricted if:

1.		have omitted essential requirements for the exercise of the relevant part of the accreditation;
2.		the repeated deficiencies in the exercise of the relevant part of the accreditation are noted.

Section 5

Criminal provisions

§ 18. Who

1.		shall not comply with official orders in accordance with § 12, or only with unjustified delay, or
2.		the accredited activity in one of the provisions of Regulation (EC) concerning the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products, No 765/2008, this Federal Law or the one on its the basis of regulations adopted in a non-appropriate manner, or
3.		that the accreditation mark is used abusively,
shall be subject to an administrative surrender and shall be punished by the district administrative authority with a fine of up to 10,000 euros.

Enforcement

§ 19. With the enforcement of this federal law is

1.		as regards Section 10 (1) of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, the Family and Youth, in agreement with the Federal Minister for Finance,
2.		as regards Section 10 (4), the Federal Minister of Finance,
3.		Moreover, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, the Family and Youth
.

6.

Transitional and final provisions

§ 20. (1) The regulations for the accreditation of certification bodies shall be repealed without replacement by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth after a new letter of accreditation has been issued.

(2) The procedure for the certification of the certification bodies already accredited shall be initiated by the authorities.

(3) The accreditations on the date of the entry into force of this law, which have been granted by the Austrian Institute of Building Technology in accordance with national law, remain until the expiry of their period of validity, but at the latest until the end of the period of validity of the law. End of the transitional period laid down in Article 39 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 (31 December 2014).

§ 21. (1) The Accreditation Act, BGBl. No 468/1992, as last amended by BGBl. I n ° 85/2002, expires at the expiry of xx.xx.2012.

(2) The Regulation on the recognition of calibration results and calibration results, BGBl. II No 427/1999, will expire at the end of xx.xx.2012.

(3) The validity of the Accreditation Fee Ordinance, BGBl. No 70/1994, as last amended by BGBl. II No 490/2001, the Accreditation Insurance Regulation, BGBl. II No 13/1997, as last amended by BGBl. II No 490/2001 and the Accreditation Mark Regulation, BGBl. II No 380/2008, shall not be affected by the repeal.

(4) § § 1 to 4, 7, 8 and 10 to 12 of the Calibration Service Ordinance, BGBl. No 42/1994 in the BGBl version. II No 490/2001, shall be repealed.

§ 22. The gender-specific terms and designations used in this law each include the male and female form.

Article 2

Amendment of the Measure and Verification Act

The measure and calibration law, BGBl. No 152/1950, as last amended by BGBl. I n ° 115/2010, shall be amended as follows:

§ § § 58 and 59 are deleted.

Article 3

Amendment of the Kesselgesetz

The Kesselgesetz, BGBl. No 211/1992, as last amended by BGBl. I No 80/2007, is hereby amended as follows:

§ 25 is deleted.

Fischer

Faymann