Terms and Conditions for Assessment Services

1. General

  1. Unless otherwise agreed in writing all offers or services and all contracts between HCA Halal Certification Services (the Company) and Client in relation to assessment services shall be governed by these general conditions.
  2. The Company may perform services for persons or entities issuing instructions (the Client).
  3. Unless the Company receives prior written instructions to contrary from Client, no other party is entitled to give instructions, particularly on the scope of the services or the delivery of reports or certificates (the “Certificates of Conformity”)

2. Provision of Services

  1. The company will provide services using reasonable care and skill and in accordance with the terms of the relevant product Standard specification sheet and/or any relevant trade custom, usage, or practice; and/or such methods as the Company shall consider appropriate.
  2. Information stated in Certificates of Conformity is derived from the results of inspection or testing procedures carried out and our assessment of such results.
  3. Certificates of Conformity issued by the Company will reflect the facts as recorded by it at the time of its intervention. The Company is under obligation to refer to, or report upon, any facts or circumstances which are outside the specific instructions received or alternative parameters applied.
  4. Client acknowledges that the Company, by providing the services, neither takes the place of Client or any third party, nor releases them from any other obligations, nor otherwise assumes, abridges, abrogates, or undertakes to discharge any duty of Client to any third party or that of any third part to Client.
  5. The Company acknowledges that the brand names or codes applied to the designated Halal Products as listed may be changed by the Client during the duration of the agreement. The Company agrees that it will not object to any changed brand name chosen by the Company during the duration of the agreement and agrees to issue replacement original Certificates of Conformity for the changed brand names or codes.

3. Obligations of Client

The Client will:

  1. Ensure that sufficient information, instructions, and documents are given in time to enable the required services to be performed;
  2. Ensure all necessary access for the Company’s auditors to the premises where the services are to be conducted;
  3. Supply any special equipment and personnel necessary for the performance of the service if required;
  4. Ensure that all necessary measures are taken for safety and security of working conditions, sites, and installations during the performance of services;
  5. Fulfil the certification requirements including implementing changes communicated by the Company in the audit findings. The Client must inform the Company of changes that may impair its ability to comply with the certification requirements. Any breach of this obligation to inform may lead to the withdrawal of the certificate of Conformity.
  6. Inform the Company of any major non-conformity identified during internal audits undertaken by the Client, its partners, or public authorities;
  7. Only makes claims regarding the certification of goods covered under the scope of the certificate;
  8. Make all necessary arrangements for the investigation of customer or other external complaints. The Client shall keep a record of all customer complaints made known to it, take appropriate action with respect to such complaints and any deficiencies found in products that affect compliance with the requirements for certification; document the actions taken; and makes these records available to the Company when requested;
  9. Only reproduce certification documents in their entirety or as specified by the certification scheme, if provided by the Client to third parties;
  10. Not use its certification in such a manner as to bring the Company into disrepute and not make any statement regarding its certification that the Company may consider misleading or unauthorized;
  11. Inform the Company, without delay, of changes that may affect its ability to conform with the certification requirements, such as the status of the Client’s ownership, key managerial, decision-making, or technical staff, modifications to the product or the production method, contact address and production sites, major changes to the quality, cleaning, or production management system.
  12. Authorize the participation of third party observers if required by the Company.
  13. Allows the Company to provide details to the public of the client’s Halal certifications to meet the requirements of the Certification Standard. These details will be limited to Client’s Company Name, Certification Scope, Certificate Number and Certificate Expiry Date

4. Fees and Payment

  1. Fees not established between the Company and Client at the time the order is placed, or a contract is negotiated shall be at the Company’s standard rates at the time of the contract.
  2. Client will pay the invoice not later than the “Due Date” as specified in the contract
  3. In the event any unforeseen problems or expenses arise during carrying out the services the Company shall endeavour to inform Client and shall be entitled to charge additional fees to cover extra time and cost necessarily incurred to complete the services.
  4. If the Company is unable to perform all or part of the services for any cause whatsoever outside the Company’s control including failure by Client to comply with any of its obligations provided for in clause 3 above the Company shall nevertheless be entitled to payment of:
    • the amount of all non-refundable expenses incurred by the Company; and
    • a proportion of the agreed fee equal to the proportion of the services carried out.

5. Suspension or Termination of Service

The Company shall be entitled to immediately and without liability either suspend or terminate provision of the services in the event of:

  1. failure by the Client to comply with any of its obligations hereunder and such failure is not remedied within 10 days that notice of such failure has been notified to Client; or
  2. any suspension of payment, arrangement with creditors, bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership, or cessation of business by Client.

The conditions for the suspension and/or withdrawal of Certificate of Conformity are set out in the Product Certification Scheme details.

6. Limitation of Liability and Indemnification

  1. The company is neither an insurer nor a guarantor and refuses all liability in such capacity. Clients seeking a guarantee against loss or damage should obtain appropriate insurance.
  2. Certificates of Conformity are issued based on information, documents and/or samples provided by, or on behalf of, Client and solely for the benefit of Client who is responsible for acting as it sees fit based on such Certificates of Conformity.
  3. Neither the Company nor any of its officers, employees, agents, or subcontractors shall be liable to Client nor any third party for any actions taken or not taken based on such Certificates of Conformity nor for any incorrect results arising from unclear, erroneous, incomplete, misleading, or false information provided to the Company.
  4. The Company shall not be liable for any delayed, partial, or total non-performance of the services arising directly or indirectly from any event outside the Company’s control including failure by Client to comply with any of its obligations hereunder.
  5. The liability of the Company in respect of any claim for loss, damage or expense of any nature and howsoever arising shall in no circumstances exceed a total aggregate sum equal to the amount of the fee paid in respect of the specific service which gives rise to such claim.
  6. The Company shall have no liability for any indirect or consequential loss including without limitation loss of profits, loss of business, loss of opportunity, loss of goodwill and cost of product recall. It shall further have no liability for any loss, damage or expenses arising from the claims of any third party (including, without limitation, product liability claims) that may be incurred by the Client.
  7. In the event of any claim, Client must give written notice to the Company within 30 days of discovery of the facts alleged to justify such claim and, in any case, the Company shall be discharged from all liability for all claims for loss, damage or expense unless suit is brought within one year from:
    • the date of performance by the Company of the service which gives rise to the claim; or
    • the date when the service should have been completed in the event of any alleged non-performance.
  8. Client shall guarantee, hold harmless and indemnify the Company and its officers, employees, agents, or subcontractors against all claims (actual or threatened) by any third party for loss, damage or expense of whatsoever nature including all legal expenses and related costs and howsoever arising relating to the performance, purported performance, or non-performance, of any services.

8. Governing Law, Jurisdiction and Dispute Resolution

Unless specifically agreed otherwise, all disputes arising out or in connection with Contractual Relationship(s) hereunder shall be governed by the laws of New South Wales.