A spokesman for the Launceston-based timber company said yesterday that contrary to claims by the Tasmanian Greens, Gunns was preparing for the April audit.

Bass Greens MHA Kim Booth said at the end of last week that Gunns had recently pulled out of the FSC certification for controlled wood sourced from Tasmania.

Mr Booth said that the withdrawal indicated that the attempts to provide a fully FSC- certified feedstock for the company's proposed Bell Bay pulp mill were faltering.

The Gunns' spokesman said that Mr Booth's comments were "completely incorrect".

He said that the audit team was due to assess the company's Tasmanian operations in a couple of months after already completing audits of its West Australian operations and in the so-called Green triangle area of Victoria and South Australia.

A briefing paper from the Rainforest Alliance Smartwood program, which conducts the audits, says that the company's pre- assessment for certification had been completed and Gunns staff were now working on closing the identified gaps.

Once completed, Gunns would then apply for a FSC forest management main evaluation.

There is no required time frame for Gunns to apply for a main evaluation, according to Rainforest Alliance.