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 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 the date of registration.

If the appellant does not agree with the decision of the Appeal 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 steps:

- receiving/registering and validating appeals;

- investigating the appeals;

- making decisions;

- initiating and tracking corrections/appropriate corrective actions. The certification body is responsible for decisions at all levels of the appeals handling process. If this decision involves suspension/withdrawal of the certificate, this decision is made public through the website. Withdrawal of the certificate entails removal from the Certificate Registers.

Handling complaints

The following activities may be subject to complaints:

- delays considered to be unjustified in the certification process;

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

- activities related to another holder of a certificate issued by ASFR. Upon receiving a complaint, the conformity assessment body (ASFR) must confirm whether the complaint refers to certified activities or other activities for which ASFR is responsible. If the complaint concerns a certified client, the examination of the complaint also considers 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. Handling of complaints is a documented process of receipt, evaluation, and decision-making, subject to confidentiality requirements and accessible to the public.

The complaints handling process includes:

- receiving, validating, and investigating the complaint;

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