Envirocare Labs PT Table
Envirocare Labs Pvt. Ltd. (PT Cell)
Terms and Conditions for PT participation Document No. EL F 01-7.1.03
Prepared, approved and issued by QMg Issue No. & Issue Date 01/01.11.2024
Amd No. & Amd. Date 00/00000000

TERMS & CONDITIONS for PT (Proficiency Testing) Participation

In this terms and conditions use of “masculine” gender shall include the “feminine” gender and “singular” shall include “plural” wherever relevant to the context, and vice versa. Wherever the term PT is used it shall mean ILC (Inter Laboratory Comparison) / EQAS (External Quality Assurance Round) as relevant to the context. Terms and Definitions used here have meaning as defined in ISO/IEC 17043 or ISO/IEC 17025. PT Provider means Envirocare Labs Pvt. Ltd PT Cell.

Information brochure on PT Scheme include following and is in public domain (www.proficiencytesting) as per PT Provider prevalent policies :

  • PT Calendars and Registration Form
  • Terms & Conditions for participation
  • PT Protocol
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
  • Accredited Scope as per ISO/IEC 17043.

For support in the registration process, email at www.proficiencytesting.in or send a Whatsapp at +91- 9167702413 providing following information (1) Organization Name (2) Email id (3) Groups or Sub-groups in which PT required as Water, Air, Food, Minerals, Fertilizers etc.

Criteria to Be Met For Participation


Participation in the proficiency testing scheme is open to all interested parties, including those participating directly and indirectly (via customers). Both accredited and non-accredited organizations are eligible to participate, subject to the eligibility criteria defined within the proficiency testing protocol and/or the proficiency testing design and plan.

Participants must keep detailed technical and other records, as required by ISO/IEC 17025, for all PT activities to allow for audit trails. This includes original analysis data, logged data, calculations, photos, videos, calibration details, and reference material use. The PT provider may request these records when PT results are submitted, but they must be provided within the given time if asked. Regulatory bodies or accreditation organizations may also review these records during audits, and they are crucial for root cause analysis. If a participant fails to provide the requested records or information, their results may be marked ‘Results Not Considered’ or their participation may be ‘Cancelled,’ as decided by the PT provider. Decision of PT Provider in this regard shall be final. The PT provider implements measures to prevent collusion and result falsification; however, the ultimate responsibility and risk for preventing such activities lie with the customer and participant. Customers and participants are strongly advised against engaging in collusion or result falsification. The PT provider reserves the right to ban such customers and participants from future participation or take other appropriate actions.

Please also refer to our ‘CODE OF CONDUCT’ on www.proficiencytesting.in PT Provider except high standards of ethics and integrity from customer and participant as well as work in accordance with laws of the land.

  • PT calendars are to be considered as quotation. Fees for participation for PT Scheme/ Round is given in the PT Calendar.
  • The registration process is online, with the online process itself serving as the registration form and no separate registration form required to be emailed, except where an alternative agreement has been formally established with the PT provider.
  • Customers can use the system-generated pro forma invoice for their in-house approvals. The bill/tax invoice is created once payment is received. PT provider only provide a digitally signed copy of the invoice; hard copies are not sent
  • Registration is temporary till the payment is made. 100% Payments are to be made in advance including GST. PT Reports are not released till payment issues are resolved.
  • If GSTIN is in name of individual/ Organization other than participant or payment is to be done by someone else, please inform the PT provider in advance
  • The full PT round cost is payable regardless of whether the participant reports results for one or more parameters in a round, except where an agreement has been established with the PT provider. Participants may leave the result reporting column blank for any parameter if they do not wish to report a result for that parameter. Participation for parameters where results are not reported is not carried forward, and participants must register again in the future with payment.
  • PT round fees are subject to change in the future. The fees agreed upon at the time of registration, as indicated in the pro forma invoice or bill, are payable. The PT provider’s decision in this regard is final.
  • Tax (GST) will be charged extra as applicable. PT Round costs include PT Item delivery charges in India except where pre-informed. However, if there is any local tax, road tax, Octroi etc. in some State, the same is to be borne by the customer, and all related local paperwork or clearance is to be done/handled by the customer and or participant. Many times, participants may be in interiors. The customer and or participant shall have to pick PT Item from a nearby place to the participant if door delivery is not possible when requested. The customer and or participant may be asked to provide an alternate address or pick PT Item at its own cost from a centralized place. PT Provider tries its best to sort out these issues before PT Item dispatch, but any exigencies may be there.
  • Registration is on first cum first basis. Participants who register late may be shifted to next PT Round. PT Provider may suggest/ request for participation in a specific PT Round for meeting the minimum participants requirement or otherwise.
  • PT provider is accredited by NABL as per ISO/IEC 17043. The certificate of accreditation and scope is available on the website www.proficiencytesting.in. Please clarify before registration if the participant has any confusion on the status of PT provider accreditation. PT schemes, whether covering accredited parameters or non-accredited parameters or both accredited as well as non-accredited parameters, are run as per ISO/IEC 17043. The non-accredited parameters in a PT scheme or non-accredited PT Scheme introduced from time to time are brought under the purview of accreditation in subsequent cycles in line with the policies of the organization providing recognition. In compliance with NABL-133 (Policy for Use of NABL Symbol / Claim of Accreditation) separate PT report is issued for accredited and non-accredited parameters in a PT Scheme.

Operation

  • PT Round can be run earlier/postponed, or two or more PT Round may be merged, or timeline may be modified. A parameter can be removed/added in a PT Round or range of testing may be varied at the time of running. This may be due to operational reasons; new developments; due to nature of product or matrix; regulatory requirements, homogeneity or stability issues, request from participants and or reasons beyond control. Decision of PT Provider in this regard is final. PT Provider has no liability to provide any such parameter again in any future PT Round to participant. Release of PT reports or timeline may be affected due to circumstances beyond control. Any relevant changes are communicated to registered participants.
  • Rounds may have to be re-run due to problems in homogeneity and stability or any other technical issues or unavoidable circumstances. Fee is refunded except for tax part only when PT Round cannot be run for more than 12 months from date of closure of registration. Refund of fee else otherwise is subject to sole discretion of PT provider on such grounds as found to be satisfactory.
  • There may be changes in timeline of PT rounds due to holiday(s) or unavoidable circumstances and participants are informed.
  • PT Items are sent on address registered with us or as agreed with customer and or participant and all communications are done on emails given there in.
  • Communications are through emails only.
  • PT Reports are given in soft format only (PDF) via email / on downloadable from Portal.
  • PT Provider is not responsible for any lapses due to incomplete registration / non-payments or delay in receipt of payments or failure to match payment in PT Provider account and or problems with email / internet / online transactions and similar issues. We acknowledge all emails within 72 hours (3 Days) except for Participants Result Sheets or PT Item Receipt Acknowledgement Forms. For Participant Result Sheet if results are not received, PT Provider contacts participants after result submission date and resolves the issue. In case no acknowledgement and information is received as per timeline provided for the PT Round it is equal responsibility of participants to contact on telephone and or email so that matter is sorted out.
  • It is the responsibility of the customer and participant to update their contact information with the PT provider in the event of any changes. The PT provider is not responsible for miscommunication resulting from personnel changes at the customer’s or participant’s organization, or for continued correspondence with former personnel, as such changes may take time to process.
  • Methods to be adopted for testing are listed in PT Calendar and scheme information and further informed in instructions given to participants. Same or equivalent methods are to be followed, however, with in methods based on same principle, there may be operational variations. PT Provider may provide specific instructions for the purpose of uniformity.
  • PT Provider provides ‘Draft Result Sheet’ and PT Report (Final) with performance evaluation to only those participants who have cleared the participation fee. Where the participation fee is not received/resolved, PT Provider is not responsible if subsequently it is found that any results provided by participants are entered wrong due to any reason or participant is not able to take any corrective action on its performance in a timely manner. PT Provider also does not provide performance evaluation of participant to organizations providing recognition or regulators or customer, if participation fee is pending. PT Participants are therefore advised to clear their payments as per the timeline agreed.
  • PT Provider may provide a partial/restricted PT Report (Final) in some circumstances e.g. where the participant assigned value is not to be disclosed due to customer-specific requirements / due to the very nature of design and planning of PT Scheme / due to non-payment of participation fee.
  • All clarifications must be taken in writing on email; conclusions drawn from telephonic discussions or Whatsapp are at participants’ own risk.
  • PT Provider may refuse provision of PT Services to the customer or participant in case of influencing/ canvassing/ threatening/ disrespectful behavior/ use of abusive language/ proven evidence of fraudulent behavior/ suspected collusion or issues affecting impartiality, confidentiality and integrity / pending payments/harassment/business conflicts/nuisance/misuse and or theft of reports, data and information, plagiarism. PT provider may forfeit any payments made for PT purposes in such scenarios, and the decision of the PT provider shall be final.
  • PT Provider may use external service providers for preparation/production of PT Item; testing of PT Items for homogeneity and stability and to meet other requirements of ISO/IEC 17043: 2023 except for (a) the design and planning of PT schemes (b) the evaluation of performance and (c) the authorization of reports. However, as and when required ELPT may use a Technical Experts/ Advisory Committee while conducting different PT Schemes.

Use of PT Reports or Any Other Documents and Records from PT Provider:

The report or any other documents and records of PT Provider are strictly for use by customer or participant for (i) Participation in PT with PT Provider (ii) To monitor performance and or to improve the participants’ performance (ii) to show to relevant regulators and or organizations providing recognition as part of audit/assessment requirements. PT Report or any document or records in part or whole shall not be shared and or used by customer or participant to any individual or organization including its other divisions/sections for any reason other than as stated above without taking the permission of MD of PT Provider in writing. PT Provider can bar future participation for customers or participants if misuse or unauthorized sharing or use or tempering or copy-pasting of any records or documents of PT Provider is found. The customer may be provided with a PT Report as applicable and agreed for a particular purpose.

Confidentiality:

  • Identity of customers or participants is kept confidential through unique coding and is known only to persons involved in the operation of the PT Scheme. Participants may, by chance, be given the same code number in different PT schemes. ELPT has a continuing obligation to identify and report any actual orpotential conflicts of interest arising during the operation of the PT Scheme. If an actual or potential organizational conflict of interest is identified, ELPT will immediately make a full disclosure to the appropriate parties and take actions to eliminate or minimize risks to confidentiality and to maintain confidentiality
  • The information provided by customers or participants to the PT Provider is kept confidential, including any information created during PT Activities.
  • i) When the PT Provider is required by law or authorized by contractual arrangements to release confidential information, the consent of the participating laboratory is obtained, unless prohibited by law. However, the records of PT Scheme participation shall be accessible to NABL. Results shall also be shared with regulators when requested by them. Results may also be shared with the customer for whom a PT Scheme is provided through a contractual arrangement for its participants.
  • ii) Participants can also be asked to waive confidentiality within the PT Scheme for the purpose of discussion and mutual assistance or as required due to the very nature of the PT Scheme.
  • iii) PT Provider shares documents and records with organizations providing recognition e.g. NABL as part of
    its audit or assessment requirements.
  • iv) The PT Provider may use data and experience from the operation of PT Schemes for further developments, including but not limited to use in research publications, conferences, and PT Conclaves. However, the identity of the participants shall be kept confidential
  • v) The identity of any external service provider used is not disclosed in reports or otherwise to ensure confidentiality.
  • vi) Information about a customer or participant from source other than the participant or customer shall be kept confidential by the PT Provider. The identity of the source shall be kept confidential by the PT Provider and shall not be shared with the customer or participant unless agreed upon by the source.

Legal:

  • PT Services may be affected due to number of factors beyond control of PT Provider. This may include Act of GOD, War, Pandemic, Man Made disasters and similar other unavoidable circumstances, failures in distribution of PT Item, re-run, postponement or cancellation of PT Round due to non-availability of requisite number of participants, issues related to homogeneity and stability etc. The liability of PT Provider is limited to refund of participation fees for the PT Round excluding tax. PT Provider absolves itself of any legal or financial liability arising out of activities of any of customer or participant participating in PT or any claims arising directly or indirectly from participation including its representatives, external service providers or experts or employees or representatives.
  • All disputes are subject to original jurisdiction of Courts in Bombay.
  • PT Participation is subject to acceptance of all terms and conditions as above irrespective of any terms and conditions given in any purchase order, contract, tender by customer or participant and whether objected or not by ELPT.
  • Typographical errors are subject to correction.

Appeal and Feedback and Complaints:

All due diligence is exercised in running the PT Scheme yet if anyone has any concern about any aspect of PT Activities, one is encouraged to make an appeal, submit feedback or lodge a complaint by writing on email id given below. Keep yourself updated by obtaining latest information from PT Provider from time to time.

Envirocare Labs PT Cell
Proficiency Testing Provider P-0045
M: +91-9167702413
Email: [email protected]