The Accreditation Body of Montenegro (ATCG) does not promote its services or carry out marketing activities in other countries, nor does it act as a competitor to other national accreditation bodies.

ATCG primarily conducts the accreditation process for conformity assessment bodies that are legal entities established in Montenegro.

ATCG may accept an application for accreditation from a body established outside the territory of Montenegro only in exceptional cases, namely when:

• the country in which the body is established does not have a national accreditation body and has not decided to use the services of a national accreditation body of another country;
• the national accreditation body does not provide accreditation services for the conformity assessment activities for which accreditation is sought;
• the national accreditation body is not a signatory to the relevant multilateral recognition arrangements (MLA/MRA) for the respective accreditation scheme.

Where applicable, ATCG notifies the competent national accreditation body of the receipt of the application and its intention to accept it, and invites it to participate in the accreditation process.

If circumstances change with regard to the fulfilment of the above conditions, the accreditation shall be transferred to the competent national accreditation body.

ATCG may advise a body established in Montenegro to submit its application for accreditation to the national accreditation body of another country where ATCG does not provide accreditation services for the relevant scheme or the requested field of conformity assessment.

Where an accredited body established in Montenegro has locations or performs conformity assessment activities outside the territory of Montenegro, ATCG ensures that the accredited body bears full responsibility for all activities covered by the accreditation, including those performed by its foreign locations. All locations shall operate under the same management and within the same management system, and the accredited body shall have established and effective mechanisms for oversight and control of their activities. Foreign locations shall not offer services within the accredited scope under their own name or logo. Conformity assessment documents shall contain exclusively the name and address of the accredited body as the holder of the accreditation. The accreditation certificate is granted solely to the accredited body as a legal entity, while all covered locations are listed within the scope of accreditation.

When accrediting activities performed outside the territory of Montenegro, ATCG cooperates, to the greatest extent possible, with the national accreditation bodies of the respective countries, including the possibility of subcontracting certain activities within the accreditation process. ATCG retains ultimate responsibility for the accreditation granted. ATCG also cooperates with the competent national accreditation bodies regarding the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies established abroad that perform activities in Montenegro.

The policy applied by ATCG with regard to cross-border accreditation is set out in document PA.03 – Rules for Cross-Border Accreditation, available in the section “Documents / Accreditation Criteria and Rules”.