ABOUT US
Introduction
The Mauritius Accreditation Service (MAURITAS) has been established as a department within the Ministry responsible for the subject of Industrial Development , following the adoption of the MAURITAS Act by the National Assembly in December 1998. The function of MAURITAS is to provide accreditation services to testing/calibration laboratories; inspection bodies; and certification bodies operating certification of products, personnel and management systems. Laboratories, inspection bodies and certification bodies are also termed conformity assessment bodies (CABs) since their main function is to determine conformity to standards and specifications.
Another important function of MAURITAS is to establish agreements on mutual recognition with other national, regional and international accreditation bodies and obtain and maintain international acceptance of the competence of organisations accredited by MAURITAS.
Historical Background
MAURITAS forms part of the National Quality Infrastructure and is responsible for ensuring that accredited bodies are competent to carry out work they undertake. The National Quality Infrastructure provides a global picture of the important roles to be played by Standards, Metrology and Accreditation.
The Mauritian economy is now fully embarked in securing its
transition from a system based on trade preferences to one based
on Global competition. All the agencies that form part of the
conformity assessment infrastructure (CAI) will assist in
facilitating exchanges with our trading partners through the
removal of Technical Barriers
to Trade (TBT). These include amongst others the
national accreditation body. If Mauritian enterprises are to trade
in global markets, they will need amongst others to demonstrate
conformity of potential export products with international
standards.
Mauritius needs to have a full-fledged conformity assessment
infrastructure (CAI) in order to be able to demonstrate conformity
and also to ensure that this demonstration if recognized
regionally and internationally by our trading partners.
What is accreditation?
Accreditation is defined as the procedure by which an authoritative body gives formal recognition that a body or person is competent to carry out specific tasks. The key words from the above definition in the process of accreditation are “authoritative”, formal recognition” and “competent”.
MAURITAS is the sole national authority in
Mauritius for granting accreditation to conformity assessment
bodies involved in calibration, testing, inspection and
certification. Such bodies may be engaged in conformity assessment
for the benefit of Government, business and consumers at large
either in the voluntary or regulatory sector. MAURITAS fulfils
this function by assessing conformity assessment bodies (CABs) to
determine whether they are technically competent.
Thus, through accreditation MAURITAS builds and maintains
confidence for the benefit of all interested parties.
Why accreditation?
At the international level, the purpose of Accreditation is to remove technical barriers to trade by ensuring that the results of conformity assessment are accepted and recognized among trading partners. Accreditation also improves the quality and reliability of services provided to local users of conformity assessment bodies and is thus important at the national level for the protection of the health and safety of the population and for the protection of the environment.
Is MAURITAS accreditation recognized internationally?
In order to be able to grant accreditation to
Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs), MAURITAS itself must comply
with ISO/IEC 17011- Conformity assessment -- Requirements for
accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies.
This standard sets out the requirements for the competence,
consistent operation and impartiality of accreditation bodies
assessing and accrediting Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs).
MAURITAS became signatory to the Mutual Recognition Arrangement
(MRA) of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
(ILAC) and to the Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) of
the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) for the following
scopes:
- Testing to ISO/IEC 17025 on 04 October 2018
- Calibration to ISO 17025 on 04 October 2018
- Certification to ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 17021-3 to the sub-scope - Quality Management Systems (QMS) to ISO 9001 on 17 October 2018
- Certification to ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/TS 22003 to the sub-scope – Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) to ISO 22000 on 05 November 2020
The signatory status of MAURITAS at the level of ILAC and IAF can be accessed on the following links:
At regional level, MAURITAS is signatory to the African Accreditation Cooperation (AFRAC) MRA for the following scopes:
- Testing to ISO/IEC 17025 on 25 September 2018
- Calibration to ISO 17025 on 25 September 2018
- Certification to ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 17021-3 to the sub-scope - Quality Management Systems (QMS) to ISO 9001 on 25 September 2018
- Certification to ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/TS 22003 to the sub-scope – Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) to ISO 22000 on 17 July 2020
The signatory status of MAUIRTAS at the level of AFRAC can be
accessed on the following link:
At sub-regional level, MAURITAS is signatory to the South African Development Community Cooperation in Accreditation (SADCA) MRA for the following scopes:
- Testing to ISO/IEC 17025 on 14 March 2019
- Calibration to ISO 17025 on 14 March 2019
- Certification to ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 17021-3 to the sub-scope - Quality Management Systems (QMS) to ISO 9001 on 07 August 2020
The signatory status of MAUIRTAS at the
level of SADCA can be accessed on the following link:
Legislations
Mauritius Accreditation Service (Certification Body Accreditation Fees) Regulations 2007
Mauritius Accreditation Service (Certification Body Accreditation Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2013
Mauritius Accreditation Service (Laboratory Accreditation Fees) Regulations 2004
Mauritius Accreditation Service (Laboratory Accreditation Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2013
Mauritius Accreditation Service Act (Act 23 of 1998 - 1 August 1999 amended 10/17 (cio 24/7/17)