Re-inspection: when and who pays

This article describes common industry practice, not official rules.

A re-inspection is commonly booked after an inspection did not pass and the supplier has sorted or reworked the goods. It is also booked when the goods were not ready at the earlier visit, so the inspector could not finish the check. Who pays is a commercial term. It is usually settled in the purchase contract and in the booking with the inspection company.

When a re-inspection is usually booked

A re-inspection commonly follows a failed inspection. The factory sorts or reworks the goods, and then the buyer asks for another check on the corrected lot.

The other common case is an unfinished lot. The inspector arrives, finds the goods still in production or not yet packed, and the visit ends without a result. The re-inspection is then, in practice, the inspection that was planned for that lot, moved to a later date.

What a re-inspection usually covers

The scope of a re-inspection is set in the inspection instruction. In some cases the whole checklist is repeated. In other cases the visit covers only the points that failed, plus a fresh sample of the reworked goods. Which approach applies is something the buyer and the inspection company agree before the booking.

Reading the earlier report helps here. The failed points show what the inspector found, and the checklist shows what was checked.

Where a failed point could touch a legal, safety or certification question, whether a legal or certification requirement applies is for the regulator or an accredited laboratory to confirm.

How it is booked

The re-inspection follows the scope set in the inspection instruction. It is booked with the inspection company, and the booking usually names the factory, the lot and the new date window.

If the goods were reworked, it helps to tell the inspection company what changed. That lets the visit be planned around the goods as they are now, not as they were at the earlier visit.

Who pays

Who pays for an inspection or a re-inspection is a commercial term. It is set in the purchase contract and in the booking with the inspection company.

A common arrangement is that the buyer books the inspection company and pays for it. Some contracts pass the cost of a re-inspection after a failed inspection to the supplier. If the contract does not cover the point, it is worth settling it with the supplier before the booking goes ahead.

What to agree in advance

A common approach is to put these points in writing before the goods are inspected:

• who books the re-inspection
• who pays for it
• what counts as a pass, usually tied to the checklist or to the buyer's specification
• what happens if the goods fail again
• whether the shipping date moves, and by how much, as agreed in the contract

The shipping date is often the point that gets left open. Moving it is commonly agreed in the contract, because a later visit can affect the container booking.

The purchase contract and the inspection instruction are the two documents to check when a re-inspection is planned.