International Business News – Q: What is the difference between a Certificate of Origin and a Declaration of Origin?
A: The certificate of origin and the declaration of origin have the same function, and can be used to prove the origin of the goods contained in them. If it is a certificate of origin and a declaration of origin under a preferential trade agreement , you can also apply to the importer for preferential tariff treatment. The difference between the two is that the issuing body is different: the certificate of origin requires the enterprise to apply to the visa agency for issuance; the declaration of origin is issued by the enterprise independently, and is exempt from the application to the visa agency.
Q: What types of certificates of origin are included?
A: According to the classification of use, the types of certificates of origin can be divided into non-preferential certificates of origin, GSP certificates of origin, regional preferential certificates of origin and special certificates of origin.
Q: What is a non-preferential certificate of origin?
A: A non-preferential certificate of origin, also known as a general certificate of origin, is a document issued by each country in accordance with their respective non-preferential rules of origin to prove that the goods originate in a specific country or region. The customs of the importing country often implements non-preferential trade measures such as most-favored-nation treatment, anti-dumping and countervailing, safeguard measures, origin marking management, country-specific quantitative restrictions, and tariff quotas on imported goods based on the general certificate of origin. At present, the goods exported from my country to most countries or regions in the world can apply for a non-preferential certificate of origin as long as they comply with China’s non-preferential rules of origin.
Q: What is a GSP certificate of origin?
A: GSP is the abbreviation of the general system of Preferences (GSP). It is A universal, non-discriminatory and non-reciprocal tariff preference system that developed countries (donor country) give to developing countries or regions (favored countries) to export manufactured products and semi-manufactured products. It is further import tariff reduction and exemption based on the most-favored nation tax rate. GSP CO (CepA) is a certificate of origin issued by an authorized visa authority of the beneficiary country in accordance with the rules of origin and related requirements in the GSP scheme. The certificate format follows the “GSP Certificate of Origin (Combined Declaration and Certification) Form A”, which is printed by the recipient country in accordance with the uniform format stipulated by the UNCTAD Special Committee on Preferences, and is completed and issued in accordance with the relevant regulations of the donor country.
With the continuous improvement of China’s economic development and people’s living standards, various developed economies have successively abolished the GSP treatment granted to China. For example, from 2012 to 2019, Ukraine, Canada, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the European Union, Turkey, Japan and other countries or regions, have successively abolished the GSP tariff preferential treatment given to China’s exports; in 2021, the Eurasian Economic Union announced the abolition of GSP tariff preferential treatment given to China.
After the cancellation of the GSP treatment, if the goods exported from my country to relevant countries or regions need to prove the origin, they can apply for a non-preferential certificate of origin, and the most-favored-nation tax rate shall be applied. If the relevant country or region signs and implements a free trade agreement with my country, the enterprise can also apply for a preferential certificate of origin under the free trade agreement, and the agreed tax rate shall be applied.
Due to the non-reciprocity of the GSP, the GSP certificate of origin can be regarded as a special “one-way preferential” certificate of origin. In China and similar: the least developed countries (LDCs) special preferential tariff treatment certificate of origin of Taiwan’s agricultural products under the zero tariff policy certificate of origin.
Q: What is a Regional Preferential Certificate of Origin?
A: regional preferential certificate of origin, it is to point to participate in the regional free trade agreements and preferential trade arrangements of member authorized visa agencies according to the certificate of origin issued by the relevant rules of origin,it is the necessary written evidence of preferential tariff treatment when goods are imported from one party to the other, and is described as “paper gold” and “coupons” of international trade., called the “paper gold” of the international trade “coupon”.
Q: What is a dedicated certificate of origin?
A: As of April 2022, companies can register in the China-Iceland Free Trade Agreement, the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement, the China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement, the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement,” (RCEP) to issue a declaration of origin, and the goods can enjoy preferential tariffs in the importing country by virtue of this declaration. It should be noted that my country stipulates that only approved exporters recognized by the customs can issue a declaration of origin.
Q: Is the declaration of origin in my country the same in terms of format and content?
A: Different preferential trade agreements have different requirements for the content of the declaration of origin – the declaration of origin of the China-Iceland Free Trade Agreement adopts a fixed format; the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement and the China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement The declaration requirements should be marked with fixed text and linked to relevant commercial documents; the “China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement” and “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” (RCEP) country of origin declarations also have corresponding minimum information requirements contained in the declaration regulation.
Q: What is a back-to-back certificate of origin?
A: The back-to-back certificate of origin is a special certificate of origin under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). A certificate of origin or a declaration of origin issued by an intermediate member country based on the original certificate of origin issued by the contracting party of the first export, within the stated quantity and validity period. Using back-to-back certificates of origin to re-export goods and enjoy agreed tax rates in the importing country greatly improves the flexibility of companies in sales strategies and logistics arrangements.
Q: What are the certificate of origin visa agencies?
A: In my country, the General Administration of Customs manages the visa work for certificates of origin. The certificate of origin issuing agencies include the competent customs at all levels under the General Administration of Customs, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and its local branches. Enterprises can apply for the certificate of origin for export goods through the above agencies.
Q: How to apply for the certificate of origin of exported goods at the customs?
A: The issuance process of the certificate of origin of export goods by the customs includes: enterprise filing, certificate declaration, origin confirmation and certificate issuance.
Before the customs handle the business related to the certificate of origin, the enterprise should first go through the recordation of the origin of the general enterprise at the local customs.
There are two ways of filing. “Two certificates in one” recordation: For enterprises that need to go through the recordation of foreign trade operators at the Commerce Department, the “two certificates in one” will automatically complete the recordation of the origin enterprise; if the information is incomplete, it is only necessary to change the recordation and supplement the relevant information. Manual entry and filing: For enterprises that do not need to go through the filing of foreign trade operators, they can enter the comprehensive service platform of origin through the China International Trade “Single Window” or “Internet + Customs” integrated platform, click “New User Registration”, and follow the prompts to enter the filing application interface, perform operations such as electronic information entry, document scanning, or photographing and uploading to the platform.
For enterprises that need to self-print certificates, upload and authorize the electronic seal of the enterprise and the signature and handwriting information of authorized personnel at the same time.
After completion of origin for the record, the enterprise can log in the China international trade “single window” or “Internet + customs” integration platform to apply certificate of origin, depending on the certificate of origin in the specification, the import and export both sides information, shipping details, product description, using the information such as the origin of the standard for declare.
In the process of reviewing the certificate of origin, the customs will confirm the authenticity of the certificate of origin or whether the product conforms to the rules of origin when necessary.
After the certificate of origin is approved, for the certificate of origin that has been opened for self-service printing, the enterprise can use the color printer with automatic double-sided printing to print the certificate of origin on A4 paper. For certificates of origin that have not yet been opened for self-service printing, the enterprise must use a dot matrix printer to print the certificate of origin on the applied blank certificate, stamp the Chinese and English seals of the enterprise according to the requirements of the certificate, and sign the authorized personnel, and then go to the visa customs site to issue the certificate formalities.
When an enterprise initiates filing for the first time, the system will give the visa authority and the license authority. Subsequent enterprises can according to the real business needs, to their respective filing authorities to initiate changes to the visa authority, the licensing authority application.
Q: How to apply for a declaration of origin?
A: my country stipulates that the declaration of origin should be issued by an approved exporter accredited by the Chinese customs. Approved exporters should meet the following conditions: a high-level customs certified enterprise; master the rules of origin under relevant agreements; establish a complete management system for origin qualification documents. Eligible enterprises can initiate an application for the certification of an approved exporter through the customs management information system for approved exporters.
Approved exporters who have completed external information exchange or publicity, if they need to issue a declaration of origin, can go through the customs approved exporter management information system, select the type of declaration of origin that needs to be issued, click to enter the details interface and operate according to the prompts : Enter the basic information, invoice information and cargo information of the declaration of origin. If a China-Switzerland Declaration of Origin or a China-Mauritius Declaration of Origin is issued, the relevant commercial document attachments should also be uploaded before printing. It should be noted that the goods listed in the declaration of origin must all be in the approved exporter’s goods information list.
If an RCEP back-to-back declaration of origin needs to be issued, the approved exporter must first enter the original certificate of origin data in the declaration system of the elements of origin of the preferential trade agreement (this operation is not required for those who have implemented electronic networking) before issuing the back-to-back declaration of origin.
The declaration of origin is issued through the customs-approved exporter management information system, and does not require customs review. Approved exporters are responsible for the authenticity and accuracy of their declarations of origin.
After the declaration of origin is issued, according to the specific requirements of the applicable agreement, the person issuing the declaration shall sign or affix the seal to confirm that the goods listed in the declaration of origin conform to the rules of origin of the relevant agreement.