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Preferential origin agreements (or free trade agreements) generally have 3 methods by which goods can qualify depending on the specific tariff heading: wholly obtained, cumulation and change … of tariff heading (CTH). This article will discuss what happens when a good must qualify via CTH but cannot fulfill the rules.

One of the conditions of a trade agreement is that goods must travel directly between the signatory countries. How is the direct transport rule enforced in practice? This article provides an … overview of the answers based on the experience of local practitioners from Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Ukraine, Mexico, and Vietnam.

If an importer or exporter is unsure about the origin of their goods, or simply wants legal certainty, they can apply for a Binding Origin Information decision (BOI).A BOI, also referred to as … an advance ruling on origin, is a written decision on the origin of the good, issued by Customs to a company prior to an importation or exportation. The decision can cover preferential or non-preferential origin.

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‘Importer’s knowledge’ allows the importer to claim preferential tariff treatment based on evidence they have obtained about the originating status of imported products. This evidence must be … in the importer’s possession, be in form of supporting documents or records which may be provided by the exporter or producer and provide evidence that the product qualifies as originating.

The authors of this article argue that harmonization should be high on the agenda both of those who make, and of those who enforce, legislation. To illustrate, they explain some of the issues … faced by businesses due to the lack of harmonization of rules, or to the non-harmonized implementation of these rules. Three topics are addressed: the difficulty of identifying preferential rules of origin for a given HS code; the process to obtain a Customs registration number in the European Union; and the implementation of the AEO Programme in Ukraine.

Trade agreements have their own unique rules of origin to determine whether something has preferential origin. They also each have their own rules on how preferential origin should be evidenced. … This can be confusing when a business is using multiple trade agreements. The focus of this article is on a particular method of evidencing preferential origin: importer’s knowledge. This is a relatively new concept in the EU, first appearing in the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, replicated in the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and now contained in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Product-specific rules (PSRs) of preferential origin are the requirements for a product, which incorporates non-originating materials, to be originating in a country. PSRs are created based on … origin criteria. One criterion is a change in tariff classification (examples of other criteria: a production process, a maximum value or weight of non-originating materials). It means that any non-originating material used in the production of the product must be classified in a chapter, heading or subheading1 other than that of the product.

After months of wrangling the EU and the UK agreed upon the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on the 24th of December 2020. This trade agreement came as a huge relief to most traders and … businesses who have exposure to the EU/UK supply chain. However, it was not long before this ‘Christmas present’ revealed some very significant conditions that invalidated many of the benefits that most thought the TCA presented. For Customs and trade professionals, this would have been anticipated to some extent, but to regular business owners who had come to rely on the frictionless trade that the EU’s Customs Union and single market facilitated, these conditions came as a very unwelcome shock.

The 3rd Customs Practitioners conference (national conference in Lithuania) was held on 10 December 2020 under the slogan: "There is no good supply chain without good customs!". We provide an … overview of the presentations, which covered international, EU and national legislation, Brexit, preferential origin of goods, import/ export VAT and post-clearance audits.

2020 has presented a new possibility for the trade with Ukraine – cumulation. Cumulation is one of the rules of origin, provided by the Regional Pan-Euro-Med Convention. This rule applies, when … two or more countries have identical rules of origin and trade agreements between each other. This possibility as well has to be acknowledged by the parties and published.

What does the EU-UK TCA mean for businesses that sell finished goods of EU origin to EU customers from the UK, and vice versa? This article addresses questions increasingly asked by businesses … with distribution centre models. Specifically, questions relating to how to mitigate customs duty when trading originating goods between the UK and the EU in 2021.

We overviewed the EU requirements for an EU exporter to get the Exporter Reference Number to include in the statement on origin (in Part I) and continue answering these questions: What is the … Exporter Reference Number of the UK exporter? Who may act as an EU/UK exporter? What is a “commercial document” on which the statement on origin may be made out?

Reader's questions: Does Northern Ireland belong (as of 1 January 2021) to two customs territories: the United Kingdom and the European Union? What customs formalities apply to the movement of … goods from the EU to Northern Ireland and vice versa? What about zero tariffs and preferential origin of goods?

Zero duties in the EU-UK trade will apply only to originating products. In most cases the proof of origin will be the statement on origin made out by the exporter in a commercial document. Reader’s … questions: „There is an Exporter Reference Number indicated in the form of the statement on origin. When and how should an EU exporter obtain it? How long does it take? May the exporter issue the statement on origin after exportation of the goods?“.

On 24 December 2020 European Commission announced that an agreement with the United Kingdom on the terms of future cooperation was reached. The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement shall be … provisionally applied as of 1 January 2021. It provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas on all goods that comply with the appropriate rules of origin. What are these rules and the documents proving the originating status of the goods?

The WCO Secretariat has published an update of the Comparative Study on certification of origin, the previous version of which was issued in 2014, in order to take into consideration new trends … both on non-preferential and preferential origin.

The article seeks to identify legal issues related to the implementation of economic activities in maritime areas by analyzing the customs law of the European Union (EU) and its regulations (Union … Customs Code (UCC) and the regulations related to its implementation) defining the boundaries of the EU customs territory, determining the customs origin of goods and describing the order of the customs procedures. The author also presents suggestions on how the identified legal issues should be addressed by amending EU customs legislation and what are the tax risks associated with them.

The Indian Central Board of Indirect taxes & Customs (CBIC) has introduced new regulations under section 156 read with section 28DA of Customs Act, 1962 related to Rules of Origin under Trade … agreements. These rules may be called “CAROTAR 2020” (Customs Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements). The CAROTAR 2020 shall come into force on 21 September 2020, thereby deemed to provide sufficient time for transition and to ensure that the prescribed/ required conditions be complied with.

The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam will enter into force on 1 August 2020. In the article, we overview the benefits for trade it … will bring, the proof of origin requirements, transitional provisions, and the application of the FTA and the Generalised System of Preferences.