9.1 The certification period

9.1.1 Certification shall only be granted to Charter applicants and participants who conform to the BMPA Quality Pork Charter rules, procedures and the specific requirements of the pork modules and relevant appendices.

9.1.2 The certification period for the BMPA Quality Pork Charter is 12 months and it runs from the 1 April to 31 March each year (see Appendix 1). 

9.1.3 Surveillance audits shall not be carried over to the following certification period unless there are extenuating circumstances, in which case the BMPA shall be informed of the reasons in writing in a timely manner and as a minimum one month before the end of the certification period. 

9.1.4 Where an application is made after the commencement of the certification period i.e. after 1 April, the audit fees shall be proportionate to the number of months remaining during the certification period. In calculating the audit fee, the service provider shall take into consideration the number of audits that can reasonably be undertaken during the remaining certification period.