Most delays in PGS-India certification come from a deadline someone didn't know about. Chapter 6 of the official guidelines lists them, and a few more sit elsewhere in the document. Here they all are, in one place, sourced rather than guessed.
The ones that bite most often
- 7 daysBefore harvest — last day to upload the peer appraisal summary sheet
- 60 daysAfter harvest — last day to upload actual yields
- 30 daysRC's limit to decide on certification, or the group's decision is auto-approved
- 12 monthsWithout a summary sheet and the group is suspended
Local Group Deadlines
| What | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Peer appraisal window | During the crop growth period — from 15 days after sowing to 15 days before harvest |
| Plantation crops | Two peer appraisals — one during flowering, another six months later |
| Peer appraisal summary sheet upload | No later than 7 days before the harvest date |
| Actual yield upload | Within 60 days of harvest |
| First training | Within 6 months of registration; at least one training a year |
| Group meetings | Four a year, at least two each season (§6.1.1); §4.2 sets 2 a year for perennial-crop groups and 4 for annual-crop groups |
| Resubmission after RC returns a decision | Within 15 days |
| Holding stock | Within the validity of the scope certificate |
| Unsold stock with no TCs issued | Deleted automatically by the website 12 months after the harvest date |
| Continuous non-submission of summary sheets | Two seasons or 12 months → group suspended; revival restarts at PGS-Green-1 |
Perishables work on a shorter cycle. Livestock products, vegetables and fruits may be traded daily or weekly at the group's discretion, with yields uploaded weekly or fortnightly and TCs issued in batch mode on the same weekly or fortnightly basis.
Regional Council Deadlines
| What | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Accept a Local Group, individual farmer or processor application | Within 30 days of submission |
| First inspection and endorsement, when a group asks the RC to endorse it | Within 60 days, then grant registration |
| Approve a certification decision | Within 30 days of the summary sheet — or 15 days on resubmission after a return |
| Certify an individual farmer or processor | Within 30 days of physical inspection |
| Approve actual yields | Within 15 days of the group uploading them |
| Physical inspection of Local Groups | Within 12 months the first time, then at least once every 24 months — and at least 50% of groups each year |
| Physical inspection of individual farmers and processing units | At least once a year |
| Approve a processor's annual system plan | Within 15 days of submission |
The 30-day certification limit has teeth: if the RC doesn't endorse or otherwise act on the group's decision within 30 days, the decision is auto-approved on the PGS-India website and a non-compliance is recorded against the RC.
Zonal Council Deadlines
| What | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Monitor and physically evaluate each RC | At least once in 12 months |
| Annual report on RCs | Once a year, in January–February, covering January to December |
| Decide a Local Group's appeal against certification denial | Within 30 days of the appeal |
| Investigate a complaint and report to the Secretariat | Within 60 days of receiving it |
Validity and Appeals
- Scope certificate: valid for 12 months from the date the RC approves the decision; issued season-wise (kharif, rabi and zaid).
- Appeals in general: disposed of within 30 days of receipt, or 90 days where an investigation is needed.
- Appealing a sanction: within 2 weeks of being notified — covered in detail in the appeals episode.
For how these deadlines fit into the certification sequence itself, see the certification process.