Certificate of origin
It is often submitted to a customs authority of the importing country to justify the product's eligibility for entry and/or its entitlement to preferential treatment.
[2] Taking into account this fact, the International Chamber of Commerce provides a simpler and more comprehensive definition which covers both self-certification and authorized certification:[3] A certificate of origin is an important international trade document that certifies that goods in a particular export shipment are wholly obtained, produced, manufactured or processed in a particular country.
Sometimes, there is no prescribed form, which means the exporter or the manufacturer is allowed to simply provide a (sworn) declaration about the origin of the goods.
Therefore, it is important for traders to examine the applicable trade agreement carefully to find out whether or not they will need a certificate of origin for a certain shipment.
They may also check and compare the exemption thresholds of various trade agreements by using the Rules of Origin Facilitator,[10] a free tool developed by the International Trade Centre - a free tool developed in a joint initiative with the WCO and WTO to assist small and medium-sized enterprises.
The customs officer may need to check the authenticity of the certificate at hand by comparing the reference number thereof and examining the signature and stamp on it surface.
[12] In the event that the customs authority remain in doubt despite there is no sign of non-compliance on the certificate of origin, it may ask to physically check the imported goods.
Normally the issuing authority can be one of the following institutions: - Chambers of commerce ICC accredited chambers using International Certificate of Origin Guidelines - Customs authorities Under bilateral or regional trade agreements - Other government bodies or agencies assigned by the agreement, normally belongs to the Ministry of Trade.
The reason is that rules of origin must pass the verification in the importing country so that the goods can be determined as eligible for preferential treatment or not.
Moreover, sometimes the origin of the good itself is an evidence of quality and prestige, so it may be beneficial to obtain one, although it does not help traders gain preferential tariff treatment.
The following parts on forms and formats will add clarification to the diversity of this type of certificate of origin.
It means that the more trade agreements a country participates in, the more forms of preferential certificate of origin its traders may need to be familiar with.
However, virtually all certificate of origin forms adopt a similar template, with fields to be filled in covering the country of origin, shipper's name and address, consignee's name and address, transport detail, product description and quantity, and the issuing body's stamp and signature if authorized certification is required.
Paper-based certificates are widely used because in most cases, they have to bear the signatures and stamps of the exporters or manufacturers, and those of the issuing authorities.
Moreover, the verification and acceptance of electronic documents still take time to be widely applied, so the abolition of paper-based certificates of origin is impossible in the near future.
Although more and more trade agreements allow the traders to print the certificates themselves, it is quite common that they are pre-printed by a competent authority and sold or delivered to the applicants.
[17] Electronic certificates of origin are not only a means to facilitate and provide a secure trading environment but also save time, costs and increase transparency.
[19][20] The use of electronic certificates of origin is anticipated to increase considering the support from both the business community but also from policy makers.
Notably, The WTO's Agreement on Trade Facilitation came into force, bringing a new benchmark for the use of electronic documents, including certificates of origin.
The followings are some most significant initiatives: In a joint initiative with the WCO and WTO, the International Trade Centre introduces Rules of Origin Facilitator,[22] which provides free and user-friendly access to ITC's database of rules of origin and origin-related documentation in hundreds of trade agreements.
The Facilitator is also combined with the huge tariff and trade agreements databases that have been constructed and continuously maintained by ITC's Market Access Map since 2006,[23] resulting in a unique market intelligence solution enabling companies, particularly ones from developing countries, to benefit from trade agreements worldwide.
The Facilitator currently contains a data for more than 150 free trade agreements applied by more than 190 countries as well as non-preferential regimes of the EU, the US and Switzerland.
This database is gradually expanding with the ultimate goal to cover over 400 free trade agreements and preferential schemes that are currently active in the world.
Apart from its unique searching feature, the Facilitator allows traders to get free and direct access to thousands of legal documentation, including hundreds of forms of certificates of origin.
Under these Conventions, signatory governments were able to allow organizations “which possess the necessary authority and offer the necessary guarantees” to the State to issue certificates of origin.
