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 resolved by the Appeal Committee within the Romanian Railway Safety Authority-ASFR, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Appeal Committee.

The decision of the Appeal 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 Appeal Committee, they may proceed 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 steps:

- receiving/registering and validating appeals;

- investigating appeals;

- making decisions;

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

Handling of Complaints

The following activities may be subject to complaint:

- delays considered to be unjustified in the certification process;

- activities and actions of holders of certificates issued by ASFR that 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 another activity for which ASFR is responsible. If the complaint concerns a certified client, the review of the complaint also considers the effectiveness of the certified system. The certification body is subject to confidentiality requirements to the extent that they concern the complainant and the subject of the complaint. The handling of complaints is a documented process of receipt, evaluation, and decision-making, subject to confidentiality requirements and publicly accessible.

The complaint handling process includes:

- receipt, validation, and investigation of the complaint;

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