About EQSAB

Overview

“Standards for a connected Eurasian market.”

EQSAB operates a private accreditation scheme for certification bodies. Its assessments are conducted against ISO/IEC 17021-1, the international standard setting requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems, and against ISO/IEC 17065 for bodies certifying products, including CE marking technical files and GMP schemes. Accreditation is granted only after document review, office assessment, and witness audit, and is maintained through annual surveillance.

EQSAB serves markets where certification bodies seek a structured, independent assessment of their competence and impartiality outside the national accreditation infrastructure — including private supply chains, developing regional markets, and sectors where IAF-recognised accreditation is not a stated requirement. The aim is to bridge the gap between rigid legacy accreditation infrastructure and the pace of modern cross-border commerce, without weakening the technical bar a certification body must clear.

Statement of legal status

EQSAB is an independent, private accreditation authority. EQSAB is not a signatory to the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (IAF MLA).

In consequence:

• EQSAB accreditation does not constitute or imply recognition under the IAF MLA, ILAC MRA, or by any national accreditation body (such as NABCB, UKAS, ANAB, or DAkkS).
• Certificates issued by EQSAB-accredited bodies may not be accepted where a tender, regulation, or customer specification requires certification under IAF-recognised accreditation. Verifying acceptability is the responsibility of the relying party.
• Accreditation by EQSAB confirms one thing: that the certification body has been assessed by EQSAB against the requirements of ISO/IEC 17021-1 for technical competence and impartiality, and remains subject to EQSAB surveillance.

This statement is reproduced on every accreditation certificate EQSAB issues, in the mark usage rules that bind accredited bodies, and in the footer of every page of this site. Accredited bodies are contractually prohibited from describing EQSAB accreditation as IAF-recognised, and doing so is grounds for suspension. The controlling document is EQSAB-GP-002.

Governance

EQSAB separates three functions so that no single person both assesses and decides:

• Assessment. Contracted assessors conduct document reviews, office assessments, and witness audits. Assessors declare conflicts before each assignment and never assess a body they have consulted for.
• Decision. Accreditation decisions — grant, extension, suspension, withdrawal — are taken by a decision panel that did not participate in the assessment concerned.
• Oversight. An impartiality committee with external membership reviews the scheme's operation, complaint handling, and any threats to independence, and can veto decisions it finds compromised.

Impartiality

EQSAB does not provide consultancy, training toward certification, or internal audit services to certification bodies or to their clients, and does not accredit any body in which its principals hold an interest. Fee income from any single accredited body is monitored as a proportion of total income and reported to the impartiality committee.

Registered entity

The scheme is operated by EQSAB Compliance Services, a privately held entity registered in India, operating in India and Eurasia. Registration particulars, the registered address, and the identity of responsible officers appear on every certificate and contract issued by the authority and are available on request from the registry.