Alignment of FSMA and IFA

According to point 6.5 of the FSMA-PSR Add-on General Rules Specifications v1.3 (September 2022), the valid_to date of FSMA PSR shall not exceed that of IFA FV. The Date of add-on assessment is not important for compliance with this rule. 

If a CB has issued a non-aligned FSMA certificate after the initial FSMA audit, it’s necessary to resolve the issue.  (FSMA and IFA FV shall have aligned certification cycles going forward).  

To align FSMA cycle with IFA, the CB can: 

• Audit again IFA + FSMA to amend the error when they first took certification decision  
• Shorten the IFA (or the FSMA, whichever is longer) 

Shortening the cycle is also possible at any point of the cycle without an audit.