Sanctions & Withdrawals

IOAS maintains Policies and Procedures to apply sanctions when we observe continued non-compliance of certification bodies with the applicable scheme owner norms.  Typically, sanctions are applied in a progressive manner and include warning letters, termination of application, recurrent non-compliances and intent to suspend.  For the latter, if the issues are not resolved, the intent to suspend leads to suspension or, ultimately, withdrawal of accreditation in the most serious cases. 

When a suspension or withdrawal sanction is imposed, the certification body is given the opportunity to appeal.  During the Appeal Process the sanction is not put into effect and is not made public.  

If a certification body voluntarily withdraws their IOAS accreditation, this is not published on the IOAS website but rather announced in our news posts.  The current status of all Certification Body Accreditations can be checked on our website.  

Summary of Recent IOAS Suspensions and Withdrawals

2024

  • OCERT Ltda. – on November 22, 2024, IOAS terminated OCERT’s application for ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation for (EU) 2018/848.
  • NASAA Certified Organic Pty. Ltd. – On April 10, 2024, IOAS withdrew NASAA Certified Organic Pty. Ltd.’s IFOAM and ISO/IEC 17065 – EU Reg. 2007/834 (Equivalence) accreditation.
  • AfriCert Ltd. – On April 2, 2024, the IOAS Accreditation Committee decided to lift the suspension of AfriCert Ltd.’s ISO/IEC 17065 – EU Reg. 2007/834 (Equivalence) accreditation.
  • Certificadora de Productos Sustentables, SC (CPS) – On April 2, 2024, IOAS withdrew CPS’s ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation. CPS maintains no other accreditations through IOAS.
  • NASAA Certified Organic Pty. Ltd. – On March 21, 2024, the IOAS Accreditation Committee decided to lift the suspension of NASAA Certified Organic Pty. Ltd. for the accreditation of ISO/IEC 17065, for the standards National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce Edition 3.8, Freshcare – Food Safety & Quality Standard Edition 4., Freshcare – Supply Chain Standard Edition 2., and NASAA Organic and Biodynamic Standard.
  • CCPB S.R.L. – On January 3, 2024, IOAS withdrew CCPB’s Textile Exchange accreditation for Bangladesh and India. Please see CCPB’s accreditation page for details of all remaining accreditations and recommendations in full.

2023

  • AfriCert Ltd. – On December 19, 2023, IOAS suspended AfriCert Ltd.’s ISO/IEC 17065 (EU Equivalence) accreditation and terminated application for Regulation (EU) 2018/848.
  • GSCI Services Pvt. Ltd. – On December 12th, 2023 the IOAS Accreditation Committee voted to lift the suspension of GSCI Services Pvt. Ltd for the accreditation of ISO/IEC 17065  and Textile Exchange (CCS, GRS, RCS and OCS).
  • Natural Organic Certification Agro Pvt. Ltd – On 24 October 2023, IOAS terminated Natural Organic Certification Agro Pvt. Ltd.’s application for accreditation and surveillance for ISO/IEC 17065:2012: Standard Regulation (EU) 2018/848 (EU Compliance) and COR.
  • NASAA Certified Organic Pty. Ltd. – October 13, 2023 IOAS suspended NASAA Certified Organic Pty. Ltd.’s IFOAM, ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and EU Equivalence assessment.
  • Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre Certification Ltd (HKORC) – October 4th, 2023  IOAS lifted the suspension for the accreditation of HKORC for ISO/IEC 17065 (aquaculture) and IFOAM (aquaculture).
  • NASAA Certified Organic Pty. Ltd. (known as NCO) – 5 October 2023, IOAS terminated NCO’s application for accreditation and surveillance for ISO/IEC 17065:2012: Standard Regulation (EU) 2018/848 (EU Compliance).
  • Agrior Ltd. – October 5th 2023, IOAS terminated Agrior Ltd.’s application for accreditation under the Global Organic Textiles Standard (GOTS).
  • GSCI Services Pvt. Ltd. – August 11, 2023,  IOAS suspended GSCI’s accreditation for Textile Exchange (all scopes) and ISO/IEC 17065 following an unsuccessful appeal.
  • CCPB S.R.L. – July 20, 2023 IOAS suspended CCPB’s Textile Exchange accreditation for Bangladesh and India.
  • CU Inspections & Certifications India Pvt. Ltd. (CU India) – July 13, 20023, IOAS recommend the lifting of the suspension under COR for CAN/CGSB-32.312 (all categories) and grower group certification. CFIA lifted the suspension of CU India as of July 20, 2023.
  • AsureQuality Ltd. – May 22, 2023, IOAS withdrew the accreditation of AsureQuality Ltd. for Textile Exchange – Responsible Animal Fiber Standards (Responsible Wool Standard 2.2 (2021), Responsible Mohair Standard 1.2 (2021), Responsible Alpaca Standard 1.0 (2021)) for the specific sub scope “Groups”.
  • CU Inspections & Certifications India Pvt. Ltd. (CU India) – May 17, 2023.  IOAS lift the suspension for the accreditation of CU India for ISO/IEC 17065 (all scopes), GOTS (all scopes) and Textile Exchange (all scopes).
  • AsureQuality Ltd. – March 29, 2023, IOAS suspended the accreditation of AsureQuality Ltd. for Textile Exchange – Responsible Animal Fiber Standards (Responsible Wool Standard 2.2 (2021), Responsible Mohair Standard 1.2 (2021), Responsible Alpaca Standard 1.0 (2021)) for the specific sub scope “Groups”.
  • CU Inspections & Certifications India Pvt. Ltd. (CU India) – March 3, 2023.  IOAS suspended the accreditation of CU India for ISO/IEC 17065 (all scopes), GOTS (all scopes) and Textile Exchange (all scopes) and recommended suspension under COR for CAN/CGSB-32.312 (all categories) and grower group certification. On March 9, 2023 CFIA accreditation of CU India was suspended.
  • Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre Certification Ltd (HKORC) – February 24, 2023.  IOAS suspended the accreditation of HKORC for ISO/IEC 17065 (aquaculture) and IFOAM (aquaculture), following an unsuccessful appeal.
  • Extensive Standard Technical Services Co. Ltd. – February 3rd, 2023 IOAS withdrew Extensive Standard Technical Services Co. Ltd. ‘s ISO/IEC 17065 and Textile Exchange accreditation and terminated their application for GOTs accreditation following an unsuccessful appeal this decision was upheld and withdrawal now takes immediate

2022

  • Biocert International Pvt. Ltd. – September 23, 2022 IOAS withdrew Biocert international’s IFOAM and ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and suspended the recommendation for accreditation for COR and EU accreditation following Biocert’s failure to comply with previous sanctions and/or to resolve non-conformities. On October 21st 2022 CFIA formally withdrew Biocert’s COR accreditation.
  • Biocert International Pvt. Ltd. – May 31, 2022. IOAS suspended Biocert’s international IFOAM and ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and suspended the recommendation for accreditation for COR and EU accreditation.
  • Istituto per la Certificazione Etica e Ambientale (ICEA) – May 12th IOAS suspended their recommendation for ICEA’s COR accreditation.  July 4th, 2022  following the end of the IOAS appeal notice period CFIA cancelled ICEA’s COR accreditation.
  • ALGI International Inc. – 22 June 2022,  following an unsuccessful appeal IOAS withdrew ALGI’s Textile Exchange and ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation.
  • CCPB S.R.L. – May 25th, IOAS recommendations for suspension lifted, May 27th, CFIA COR suspension lifted.
  • LETIS S.A., Argentina – May 11th, 2022, following an unsuccessful appeal against the IOAS decision on March 3rd, 2022, IOAS withdrew LETIS’s ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and EU recommendations for accreditation for the country of Turkey. Please see LETIS accreditation page for details of all remaining accreditations and recommendations in full.
  • ACT Organic Company Ltd.  – April 28th,  2022, IOAS lift the suspension of ACT Organic Company Ltd. COR, EU, IFOAM and ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and recommendation for accreditation. May 3rd, 2022 CFIA suspension lifted.
  • CCPB S.R.L. – CFIA COR accreditation was suspended as of April 19, 2022.
  • Istituto per la Certificazione Etica e Ambientale (ICEA) – April 1st,  2022 IOAS lifted the suspension of ICEA’s Textile Exchange and GOTS  (categories 1-3) accreditation.
  • ACT Organic Company Ltd.  – March 25th,  2022 the IOAS took the decision to suspend ACT Organic Company Ltd. COR, EU, IFOAM and ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and recommendation for accreditation. March 30, 2022 CFIA accreditation of ACT is suspended.
  • ALGI International Inc. – February 10th, 2022 IOAS suspended ALGI’s Textile Exchange and ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation.

2021

  • OneCert International Pvt. Ltd. – October 8th, 2021, IOAS withdrew Onecert’s Global Organic Textile Standard and Textile Exchange accreditation for all countries. OneCert International disagree with this determination and have requested recourse to arbitration as is their right under their contract with IOAS. The arbitration process shall follow the procedures of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. Please see Onecert’s accreditation page for details of all remaining accreditations and recommendations in full.
  • Istituto per la Certificazione Etica e Ambientale (ICEA) – October 8th, 2021 IOAS suspended ICEA’s Textile Exchange and GOTS  (categories 1-3) accreditation.
  • Faircert Certification Services Pvt. Ltd. – November 1st, 2021, IOAS withdrew Faircert’s ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and recommendation for accreditation under the EU scheme.
  • Certificadora BIOTROPICO S.A.S., Colombia – July 5th, 2021, IOAS lifted the suspension of  Biotropico’s ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and recommendation for accreditation under the COR and EU schemes.
  • Company of Organic Agriculture in Palestine (COAP) – July 5th, 2021, IOAS lifted the suspension of accreditation and recommendation for accreditation under the ISO/IEC17065 and EU schemes.
  • Faircert Certification Services Pvt. Ltd. – June 16th, 2021, IOAS suspended Faircert’s ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and recommendation for accreditation under the EU scheme.
  • Certificadora BIOTROPICO S.A.S., Colombia – March 16th, 2021, IOAS suspended Biotropico’s ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and recommendation for accreditation under the COR and EU schemes.
  • Vedic Organic Certification Agency (VOCA), India – January 29, 2021, VOCA voluntarily withdrew from accreditation and assessment for accreditation under the ISO/IEC17065 and EU schemes.

2020

  • Company of Organic Agriculture in Palestine (COAP) – November 19th, 2020, IOAS suspended accreditation and recommendation for accreditation under the ISO/IEC17065 and EU schemes.
  • Istituto per la Certificazione Etica e Ambientale (ICEA), Italy – November 23rd, 2020, IOAS lifted the suspension on ICEA’s Global Organic Textile Standard and Textile Exchange accreditation.
  • Vedic Organic Certification Agency (VOCA), India – November 13th, 2020, IOAS suspended accreditation and recommendation for accreditation under the ISO/IEC17065 and EU schemes.
  • LETIS S.A., Argentina – November 13th, 2020, IOAS lifted the suspension accreditation and recommendations for a number of countries under the ISO/IEC17065 and EU schemes. Please see LETIS accreditation page for details of all accreditations and recommendations in full.
  • LETIS S.A., Argentina – October 19th, 2020, IOAS withdrew LETIS’s Global Organic Textile Standard and Textile Exchange accreditation for all countries. Please see LETIS accreditation page for details of all remaining accreditations and recommendations in full.
  • LETIS S.A., Argentina – September 10th, 2020, IOAS suspended LETIS’s Global Organic Textile Standard and Textile Exchange accreditation for all countries and suspended accreditation and recommendations for a number of countries under the ISO/IEC17065 and EU schemes. Please see LETIS accreditation page for details of all accreditations and recommendations in full.
  • LETIS S.A., Argentina – August 11th, 2020, IOAS suspended LETIS’s Global Organic Textile Standard and Textile Exchange (except for activity in Argentina and Peru) accreditation.
  • Istituto per la Certificazione Etica e Ambientale (ICEA), Italy – August 11th, 2020, IOAS suspended ICEA’s Global Organic Textile Standard and Textile Exchange accreditation.

2019

  • Company of Organic Agriculture in Palestine (COAP), Palestine – March 21st, 2019, the IOAS took the decision to remove the suspension applied on February 7th regarding the accreditation of COAP’s ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and the recommendation for EU accreditation.
  • Company of Organic Agriculture in Palestine (COAP), Palestine – February 7th, 2019, the IOAS took the decision to suspend COAP’s ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and the recommendation for EU accreditation.