The Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) as the National Governing Body of the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) undertakes periodic reviews of its standards and technical documents to ensure that they take into account the various developments concerning accreditation and certification requirements, amongst others.
The normative document titled Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) and Its Implementation Agreement (MTCS 8/2015) sets out the key components, requirements and implementation arrangement of the MTCS. At the recent 77th Meeting of the MTCC Board of Trustees held on 22 October 2018, the MTCC Board of Trustees has approved the amendment which allows for the maximum period of five (5) years for the recertification audit for forest management certification of natural and plantation forests, in line with the PEFC Normative document – Annex 6 on Certification and Accreditation Procedures and the ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015(E) Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems (Clause 9.1.3.2, Note 3). With the approval by the MTCC Board of Trustees, the MTCS 8/2015 is effectively cancelled and replaced with the MTCS 9/2018.
The MTCS 9/2018 which came into force on 22 October 2018 is applicable to all new certificates issued by Certification Bodies, while existing certificate holders will be granted the five (5) years maximum validity of certificate upon successful completion of the recertification audit.
Should you need any clarification regarding this document, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Siti Syaliza, Senior Manager (Forest Management) at [email protected] or 03-2161 2298.