22. Accredited Certification Bodies under NPOP

Karnataka State Organic Certification Agency (KSOCA)

Karnataka State Organic Certification Agency is a Government of Karnataka undertaking, serving as an organic certification agency in the state for the benefit of organic farmers.  After establishment of   a separate organic certification division in the Karnataka State Seeds Certification Agency (KSSCA),  it was renamed as  Karnataka State Seed and Organic Certification Agency (KSOCA). The agency got approval  as an organic accreditation body under NPOP with effect from 17-08-2015 (individual and ICS group). It has made MoU with Aditi Organic Certification Pvt.Ltd. and Association for Promotion of Organic Farming (APOF) Bengaluru in organic certification.

Objectives:

• To provide reliable, prompt, efficient and superior organic certification services at reasonable cost to organic farmers and other stakeholders
• To guarantee genuinty of organic produce to the consumers

Organic certification services available in KSOCA :

• Organic farm (Individual
• Group organic farmers (ICS)
• Organic Wild collection
• Organic product processing
• Organic Product Traders, and
• Organic input approval

Procedure for organic certification

Applicant ( a farmer/group of farmers/processor/ trader) seeking organic certification by KSOCA shall contact through email (ksocabng@gmail.com) /post( KAIC premises, opp. Baptist Hospital, Hebbal, Bengaluru-24, Telephone (080-23418302) / personal visit to KSOCA office  to obtain  the application package for organic certification.

The application package including the application form, frequently asked questions (FAQs), procedure for certification, details on fees, brochure will be given/ sent to the operator. The application form may be filled, signed and returned to KSOCA for registration. After the scrutiny of  application and acceptance by the evaluator , the offer letter (approximate fee for the inspection and certification ) and a copy of the agreement will be sent to the operator by the evaluator .The operator is registered on tracenet as per the APEDA procedure.

Mode of Payment of certification charges

The operator has to pay 75% of the estimated certification fee as an advance for the inspection and certification services. The signed copy of the agreement shall be sent by operator along with fees. On receipt of the payment, KSOCA fixes the inspection date in consultation with the  operator and sends the intimation letter.  After inspection of the farm, the detailed inspection report along with copy of the agreement and the final invoice based on the actual expenses will be sent to the operator by the evaluator and the balance amount need to be settled by the operator.

Trace net entry

For individual operator: the detailed crop list along with the major and minor non-conformities and the deadline for corrective actions is entered in the trace net. For group of farmers  the certification body verifies the data entered in the trace net by the group and also enters the major and minor non-conformities along with the deadline for taking corrective actions.

Certification

After receipt of the full payment, the evaluator reviews the file of operator   and submits the same to the certification committee. The certification committee takes a final decision based on the corrective measures taken by the operator against the non-conformities raised in the inspection report.The quality manager, KSOCA will generate the certificate through the trace net and sends the same to operator.

Renewal:

Validity of the certificate will be for a period of one year from the date of issue and it shall be renewed every year on payment of required fee and further inspection and certification.