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1. A conformity assessment body shall be established under national law and shall have legal personality.

2. A conformity assessment body shall be a third-party body that is independent of the organisation or the ICT products, ICT services, ICT processes or managed security services that it assesses.

3. A body that belongs to a business association or professional federation representing undertakings involved in the design, manufacturing, provision, assembly, use or maintenance of ICT products, ICT services, ICT processes or managed security services which it assesses may be considered to be a conformity assessment body, provided that its independence and the absence of any conflict of interest are demonstrated.

4. The conformity assessment bodies, their top level management and the persons responsible for carrying out the conformity assessment tasks shall not be the designer, manufacturer, supplier, installer, purchaser, owner, user or maintainer of the ICT product, ICT service, ICT process or managed security service which is assessed, or the authorised representative of any of those parties. That prohibition shall not preclude the use of the ICT products assessed that are necessary for the operations of the conformity assessment body or the use of such ICT products for personal purposes.

5. The conformity assessment bodies, their top level management and the persons responsible for carrying out the conformity assessment tasks shall not be directly involved in the design, manufacture or construction, the provision, the marketing, installation, use or maintenance of the ICT products, ICT services, ICT processes or managed security services which are assessed, or represent parties engaged in those activities. The conformity assessment bodies, their top level management and the persons responsible for carrying out the conformity assessment tasks shall not engage in any activity that may conflict with their independence of judgement or integrity in relation to their conformity assessment activities. That prohibition shall apply, in particular, to consultancy services.

6. If a conformity assessment body is owned or operated by a public entity or institution, the independence and absence of any conflict of interest shall be ensured between the national cybersecurity certification authority and the conformity assessment body, and shall be documented.

7. Conformity assessment bodies shall ensure that the activities of their subsidiaries and subcontractors do not affect the confidentiality, objectivity or impartiality of their conformity assessment activities.

8. Conformity assessment bodies and their staff shall carry out conformity assessment activities with the highest degree of professional integrity and the requisite technical competence in the specific field, and shall be free from all pressures and inducements which might influence their judgement or the results of their conformity assessment activities, including pressures and inducements of a financial nature, especially as regards persons or groups of persons with an interest in the results of those activities.

9. A conformity assessment body shall be capable of carrying out all the conformity assessment tasks assigned to it under this Regulation, regardless of whether those tasks are carried out by the conformity assessment body itself or on its behalf and under its responsibility. Any subcontracting to, or consultation of, external staff shall be properly documented, shall not involve any intermediaries and shall be subject to a written agreement covering, among other things, confidentiality and conflicts of interest. The conformity assessment body in question shall take full responsibility for the tasks performed.

10. At all times and for each conformity assessment procedure and each type, category or sub-category of ICT products, ICT services, ICT processes or managed security services, a conformity assessment body shall have at its disposal the necessary:

(a) staff with technical knowledge and sufficient and appropriate experience to perform the conformity assessment tasks;

(b) descriptions of procedures in accordance with which conformity assessment is to be carried out, to ensure the transparency of those procedures and the possibility of reproducing them. It shall have in place appropriate policies and procedures that distinguish between tasks that it carries out as a body notified pursuant to Article 61 and its other activities;

(c) procedures for the performance of activities which take due account of the size of an undertaking, the sector in which it operates, its structure, the degree of complexity of the technology of the ICT product, ICT service, ICT process or managed security service in question and the mass or serial nature of the production process.

11. A conformity assessment body shall have the means necessary to perform the technical and administrative tasks connected with the conformity assessment activities in an appropriate manner, and shall have access to all necessary equipment and facilities.

12. The persons responsible for carrying out conformity assessment activities shall have the following:

(a) sound technical and vocational training covering all conformity assessment activities;

(b) satisfactory knowledge of the requirements of the conformity assessments they carry out and adequate authority to carry out those assessments;

(c) appropriate knowledge and understanding of the applicable requirements and testing standards;

(d) the ability to draw up certificates, records and reports demonstrating that conformity assessments have been carried out.

13. The impartiality of the conformity assessment bodies, of their top-level management, of the persons responsible for carrying out conformity assessment activities, and of any subcontractors shall be guaranteed.

14. The remuneration of the top-level management and of the persons responsible for carrying out conformity assessment activities shall not depend on the number of conformity assessments carried out or on the results of those assessments.

15. Conformity assessment bodies shall take out liability insurance unless liability is assumed by the Member State in accordance with its national law, or the Member State itself is directly responsible for the conformity assessment.

16. The conformity assessment body and its staff, its committees, its subsidiaries, its subcontractors, and any associated body or the staff of external bodies of a conformity assessment body shall maintain confidentiality and observe professional secrecy with regard to all information obtained in carrying out their conformity assessment tasks under this Regulation or pursuant to any provision of national law giving effect to this Regulation, except where disclosure is required by Union or Member State law to which such persons are subject, and except in relation to the competent authorities of the Member States in which its activities are carried out. Intellectual property rights shall be protected. The conformity assessment body shall have documented procedures in place in respect of the requirements of this point.

17. With the exception of point 16, the requirements of this Annex shall not preclude exchanges of technical information and regulatory guidance between a conformity assessment body and a person who applies for certification or who is considering whether to apply for certification.

18. Conformity assessment bodies shall operate in accordance with a set of consistent, fair and reasonable terms and conditions, taking into account the interests of SMEs in relation to fees.

19. Conformity assessment bodies shall meet the requirements of the relevant harmonised standard as defined in Article 2, point (9), of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 for the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies performing the certification of ICT products, ICT services, ICT processes or managed security services.

20. Conformity assessment bodies shall ensure that testing laboratories used for conformity assessment purposes meet the requirements of the relevant harmonised standard as defined in Article 2, point (9), of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 for the accreditation of laboratories that perform testing.