Award Decision Rules
GSQA-PRG-004
Required decision content
A decision identifies the application, product scope, named markets, programme rules and regulatory basis, review version, independent decision-maker, date and reasons. An award cites the core indicator, applicable requirement, official source, report and page. A non-award distinguishes unmet technical requirements from insufficient evidence. Reasons must allow the affected party to identify disputed matters and available reconsideration.
Classification of procedural outcomes
Technical non-fulfilment, insufficient evidence, withdrawal, overdue additional documents and no substantive response for six months are recorded separately. Procedural closure does not establish technical product failure and is not a brand blacklist.
Publication after a decision
Publication requires completed publication-rights checks, the actual publishable documents and licence conditions. A public-facing page, applicant declaration or successful-download message cannot replace the decision record.
Conditions checked before a decision
Confirm authority, model, market, complete evidence, core margin, document authentication, publication and conflict management. An applicant’s own checkbox or the verification findings alone do not constitute a formal award.
Different personnel verify and decide
The decision-maker does not participate in the case’s technical verification. They examine the itemised findings, resolution of omissions and relevant documents, and record their own reasons. Reconsideration personnel are independent of both earlier stages.
Distinguishing outcomes
An award states its scope and period. A non-award states whether technical requirements were not met or evidence was insufficient. Closure for overdue documents, voluntary withdrawal and six months without a substantive response are distinct procedural outcomes and must not be represented as technical failure.
Reconsideration following formal notice
The notice is retained in the application centre and states the decision number, scope, applicable rules, reasons and reconsideration procedure. Reconsideration may be requested free of charge within 30 calendar days of receipt. The request itself does not change the existing status.
Notice and verifiable outcomes
The formal notice retains the decision number, scope, rules version, reasons and reconsideration route. Availability in the applicant centre and email transmission are separate matters; email must not be marked delivered without supporting transmission records. Inaccessible notices, disputed receipt dates and system failures are recorded with relevant details and examined under the notice and reconsideration procedures.
Decision and publication
Award decisions, public records and mark permission each have corresponding conditions. Publication checks actual authorised files, rights, models, markets and periods; generating a certificate cannot replace a decision. Corrections or reconsideration retain the original and link the later outcome, rather than backdating a change or overwriting earlier reasons without a trace.
Scope changes and procedural outcomes
Closure, withdrawal or expiry without a substantive response does not itself establish technical nonconformity and is not a brand blacklist. Evidence for one market does not replace evidence for another. A scope adjustment must be recorded with supporting material before the decision; unassessed markets must not remain on a certificate.