In this article, we will describe the procedure for dealing with appeals received by Telecommunication Engineering Centre from the Appellant Authority. The Appellant can be anybody, i.e. OEMs, Importers, or the LRs. The TEC Registration applicants must file an appeal against any adverse decisions taken by TEC or the Appropriate Authority with respect to their certification application.
Appeal for the TEC certificate’s Effectiveness
Appellant can also appeal against Appellant Authority’s decision to put the certification under the following:
- Abeyance
- Suspension
- Forced withdrawal of certification
- Any other action that impedes the attainment of certification
The Appeal must be made to the Appeals Officer of the TEC in writing. The Appeal must be submitted within 30 days from the date of adverse decisions.
Appeal Examination for TEC Registration
Initially, the Appeals Officer can examine the appeals for their validity. If prima-facie they appear to be valid and have some substance, they will be taken up for further actions. Otherwise, the Authority will inform the Appellant appropriately. Appeals Officer must acknowledge the receipt of appeals.
Designated Appeals Committee
The Appropriate Authority can place the admitted appeals before the designated Appeals Committee. The Designated Appeals Committee generally consists of three members nominated by the AA. While nominating members for the Committee, Appropriate Authority must ensure that the Appellant must not directly involve the nominated members in the decision-making process. Also, the Designated Appeal Committee is responsible for considering the Appeal.
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Appeal Hearing for TEC Registration
The Appropriate Authority will allow presenting the Appeal in person(s) during the hearing process. Accordingly, the Appellant can depute his or her representative for a hearing. However, the deputed representative(s) must be from its staff only. Also, the dealing officer involved in the adverse decision can provide technical inputs. But the Appeals committee must not involve the appellant in the decision-making process.
Evidence submission to support Appeal
After examination of the Appeal, the Committee can seek clarifications and information from all appropriate sources. If considered necessary, the Committee can also ask TEC to depute its staff or expert to investigate the matter. Then, based on the data gathered through the above-stated means, the Appeal Committee can make the final decision within a reasonable time. And finally, the Appeals officer can inform the Appellant accordingly.
The Appeal Officer must also inform the dealing officer of that particular case regarding the outcome of the Appeal.
Appeal Withdrawal
The Appellant can withdraw the Appeal in writing at any time during the review. However, if, for any reason, the Appellant withdraws the Appeal, then the AA will not consider any future Telecommunication Engineering Centre appeal on the same grounds.
The Appeal Officer shall maintain records pertaining to all appeals. This includes the following essential details:
- Date of receipt
- Name of the Appellant
- Address of the Appellant
- Details of Appeal
- Outcome
- Final disposal
The Authority will not consider any further appeal in this regard. Also, the procedure of Appeal is not applicable for adverse action(s) that the Telegraph Authority can take under provisions of license conditions.
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Cases where the Appeal gets rejected for TEC registration
Some of the examples of the appeals filed to the Telecommunication Engineering Centre are mentioned in the following points:
- Refusal to accept an application
- Refusal to accept test results or reports
- Refusal to proceed with evaluations
- Refusal to grant certification
- Decisions to close the application
- Deny certification
- Any adverse action imposed or taken
