smart143,
Your inspector is correct.
Below is an excerpt from a paper written by Walt Sperko who is the current chairman of the ASME IX committee.
Summary of Changes in
ASME Section IX, 2013 Edition
As published in the Welding Journal, October, 2013
Everyone knows that a groove weld qualification qualifies a WPS for all sizes of fillet
welds, all thicknesses of base metal and all diameters of pipe and tube. This is
true -- except when impact testing is a requirement. Readers should note that supplementary essential variables, when applicable, override the standard qualification limits, including the above general rule. Specifically, QW-403.6 (The minimum thickness qualified is the thickness of the test coupon or 5/8 in (16 mm), which ever is less.) and QW-410.9 (single pass qualifies multiple pass welding, but not vice versa) restrict the above general rule for fillet weld qualification by groove weld test. A note has been added to QW-451.4 pointing out that fillet welds qualified by groove weld test are subject to restrictions imposed by supplementary essential variables when qualification of the WPS with impact testing is a requirement.
Regards,
DD