China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) is a national accreditation body established and authorized by the National Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China in accordance with the provisions of the "Regulations on Certification and Accreditation of the People's Republic of China". It is responsible for the accreditation of certification bodies, laboratories, inspection bodies and other related institutions. [1]
CNAS is a merger of the former China National Accreditation Service for Certification Bodies (CNAB) and the former China National Accreditation Service for Laboratories (CNAL). CNAS plays a binding role in accreditation by evaluating and supervising the management and activities of conformity assessment bodies (such as certification bodies, laboratories, and inspection bodies), confirming whether they are capable of carrying out corresponding conformity assessment activities (such as certification, testing and calibration, inspection, etc.), and confirming the authority of their conformity assessment activities.
The organizational structure of the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment includes: the General Committee, the Executive Committee, the Technical Committee of Certification Bodies, the Technical Committee of Laboratories, the Technical Committee of Inspection Bodies, the Assessment Committee, the Appeal Committee and the Secretariat. The members of the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment are composed of 63 units from five aspects, including government departments, conformity assessment bodies, conformity assessment service objects, conformity assessment users, professional institutions and technical experts.
On February 1, 2021, China News Service reported that the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) Scientific Research Laboratory Professional Committee was established in Beijing a few days ago.
The purpose of the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment is to promote the construction of conformity assessment bodies in accordance with relevant standards and specifications, and to promote conformity assessment bodies to effectively provide services to the society with fair behavior, scientific means and accurate results.
The main tasks of the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment are:
1. Establish and operate the national accreditation system for conformity assessment bodies in accordance with relevant laws and regulations of my country, international and national standards and specifications, and formulate and publish normative documents such as rules, criteria, and guidelines for accreditation work;
2. Carry out capacity evaluation for conformity assessment bodies that apply at home and abroad, make accreditation decisions, and supervise and manage the accreditation of accredited conformity assessment bodies;
3. Be responsible for guiding and supervising the use of the accreditation committee logo and accreditation mark;
4. Organize and carry out personnel training related to accreditation, and conduct qualification assessment and employment management for reviewers;
5. Provide relevant technical services for conformity assessment bodies and provide public information of accredited conformity assessment bodies to all sectors of society;
6. Participate in international activities related to conformity assessment and accreditation, and sign bilateral or multilateral accreditation cooperation agreements with relevant accreditation and related institutions and international cooperation organizations;
7. Handle appeals and complaints related to accreditation;
8. Undertake work entrusted by relevant government departments;
9. Carry out other activities related to accreditation.
China's national accreditation system for conformity assessment has been integrated into the international mutual recognition system, and has an important position and plays an important role in the international mutual recognition system. The former China National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (CNAB) is a formal member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC) and has signed the IAF MLA (Multilateral Mutual Recognition Agreement) and PAC MLA respectively. The former China National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (CNAL) is a formal member of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the Asia-Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) and has signed the ILAC MRA (Multilateral Mutual Recognition Agreement) and APLAC MRA. At present, my country has signed mutual recognition agreements with 35 quality management system certification and environmental management system certification and accreditation bodies in other countries and regions, and has signed mutual recognition agreements with 54 laboratory accreditation bodies in other countries and regions. The China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) will continue to maintain the status of the former CNAB and the former CNAL as formal members and signatories of the mutual recognition agreements in IAF, ILAC, APLAC and PAC.
