The applicant may contest the decisions of the Certification Committee within the Romanian Railway Safety Authority-ASFR within 30 calendar days.

The appeal will be submitted to the AFER registry and will be settled by the Appeals Committee within the Romanian Railway Safety Authority-ASFR, according to the Operating Regulation of the Appeals Committee.

The decision of the Appeals Committee is final and irrevocable and will be communicated to the appellant within 30 calendar days from registration.

If the appellant does not agree with the decision of the Appeals Committee, he may act in accordance with the provisions of the legislation in force.

Handling of appeals

The process of handling appeals by the certification body includes the following stages:

- receiving/registering and validating appeals;

- investigating the appeals;

- making decisions;

- initiating and monitoring appropriate corrections/corrective actions. The certification body is responsible for decisions at all levels of the appeal handling process. If this decision involves suspension/withdrawal of the certificate, this decision is made public via the web page. Withdrawal of the certificate involves deletion from the Certificate Registers.

Handling complaints

The following activities may be complained about:

- delays considered to be unjustified in the certification process;

- activities and actions of holders of certificates issued by ASFR, which contravene the rules/procedures against which certification was carried out;

- activities related to another holder of a certificate issued by ASFR. Upon receipt of a complaint, the conformity assessment body (ASFR) must confirm whether the complaint concerns certified activities or other activity for which ASFR is responsible. If the complaint concerns a certified client, examination of the complaint also takes into account the effectiveness of the certified system. The certification body is subject to confidentiality requirements, insofar as they relate to the complainant and the subject of the complaint. Complaint handling is a documented process of receiving, evaluating, and making decisions, subject to confidentiality requirements and accessible to the public.

The process of handling complaints includes:

- receipt, validation and investigation of the complaint;

- tracking and recording complaints, including actions (corrections and corrective actions) taken to resolve them.