Of course, even if that flexibility from pages 173-186 is NOT built in, there's always the NCR route. Deviate, write the non-conformance, disposition to leave it alone with acceptance by the client.
Any QC program is only as good as the people who enforce it. I've seen 1 page QC documents which were created just for the sake of having one to fulfill a subcontractor requirement, and others in the nuclear arena that practically need a supercomputer to maintain and are enforced to the letter.
The answer to the original question posed by the OP, in my opinion, is impossible to justify without any context whatsoever, unless of course answered with an "it depends."