Certificate of Origin | Two things you need to know

1. Beware of inquiries about the certificate of origin return

With the accelerated implementation of my country’s free trade zone strategy, the certificate of origin has become a 'golden key' to explore the international market. However, according to the principles of international administrative cooperation, when the customs of the importing country have questions about the certificate of origin, it can be routinely implemented. Inquiry or topic inquiry. In 2015, Wuxi Inspection and Quarantine Bureau issued more than 50,000 certificates of origin, and received 55 inquiries about the return of certificates. The inquiries related to the authenticity, accuracy, standards of origin, direct shipping rules, manufacturers, etc. For all aspects of content, most countries are inquired about ASEAN, especially Indonesia.

Inquiries about the return of certificates will result in enterprises not being able to enjoy tariff reductions and exemptions in a timely manner and extend the customs clearance process. In the process of processing the return of the certificate, it was found that the company’s own reasons were dominant, such as multiple versions of trade documents, inconsistent application for certificates of origin, domestic customs declarations and commercial invoices to customers, and unclear logistics information that led to questioning the direct shipping rules. Therefore, Foreign trade enterprises need to strengthen internal management, improve the level of declaration, and fill in the certificate of origin truthfully and accurately to make full use of the preferential policies of origin.

2. The declaration of the name of the certificate of origin must be standardized

Recently, the Hongkou Office of the Shanghai Inspection and Quarantine Bureau received a certificate return inquiry from the Indonesian Customs. The letter stated that the name BISCUIT PACKAGE declared for the FORM E certificate of origin was not specific enough to accurately determine the HS of the product. The item number, therefore, does not comply with the provisions of Rule 5 in the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Rules of Origin Visa Procedure. After investigation, the Hongkou office visa officer learned that the domestic customs declaration item of this batch of goods is called PACKAGE MACHINE, because foreign customers purchase this packaging machine for packaging food biscuits, and the foreign customs clearance item name is included in the ocean bill of lading. Changed to BISCUIT PACKAGE. For the convenience of customs clearance for foreign customers, domestic enterprises should also declare the product name as BISCUIT PACKAGE when applying for the FORM E certificate. At the same time, by checking the HS code classification rules, the visa officer will further confirm the HS of the batch of goods. The coding classification is correct, which excludes the possibility of replacing the actual product name with the name of the low-tariff product, thereby evading import tariffs or paying less import tariffs.

To this end, the inspection and quarantine department reminds relevant export companies:

The first is to standardize the declaration of the name of the certificate of origin, do not make up the name of the product at will, make a declaration that is not truthful, or provide false information, and effectively avoid the risk of encountering foreign customs' return inquiries.

The second is to strengthen communication with foreign customers, reduce hidden troubles, and not blindly follow some unreasonable product name requirements put forward by foreign customers.

The third is to enhance the awareness of integrity and compliance with laws and regulations, strengthen the review and control of foreign trade documents such as contracts and invoices, and truthfully declare the names of goods and other relevant information to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of visa content from the source.