1.QAS shall be independent of any organization for which it conducts audits, testing or certification services. QAS shall also be independent of any other economic operator having an interest in the product as well as of any competitor of the organization.
2. QAS and any part of the same legal entity shall not offer or provide management system consultancy.
3. QAS shall not certify the management system of another certification body.
4. QAS and any part of the same legal entity shall not offer or provide internal audits to its certified clients.
5. QAS shall not certify a management system on which a client has received management system consultancy or internal audits, where the relationship between the consultancy organization and QAS poses an unacceptable threat to the impartiality of QAS.
QAS shall not state or imply that certification would be simpler, easier, faster or less expensive if a specified consultancy organization were used.
6. QAS shall not advertise, commit to, guarantee, or imply the outcome of the audits or certification services, on the basis of financial or other inducements.
7. QAS shall not outsource audits to management system consultancy organizations. This does not apply to individuals contracted as auditors. However, a contracted auditor cannot audit an organization if a consulting company that the auditor also represents provided consulting services to that organization within the prior two years.
8. To ensure that there is no conflict of interests, personnel who are former employees of or have provided consultancy services to the client, their authorized representative or a supplier being audited by QAS.
9. QAS shall take action to respond to any threats to its impartiality arising from the actions of other persons, bodies or organizations.
10. All QAS personnel, either internal or external, or committees, who could influence the certification activities, shall act impartially and shall not allow commercial, financial or other pressures to compromise impartiality.
