Jul 21st, 2021
3 mins
As members will be aware, for exports from the UK to the EU, products must be UK-originating in accordance with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and its Product Specific Rules (PSRs) for them to be eligible to claim preference. The same applies to products imported from the EU to the UK which must be EU-originating.
A ‘proof of origin’ is used to demonstrate that the products meet the Rules of Origin and qualifies as originating. It is, therefore, eligible to claim preference.
Defra have recently updated guidance in this area, specifically in relation to Supplier Declarations.
Suppliers’ declarations are used to provide evidence of the originating status of goods and are made out by the business supplying goods, or materials that will be incorporated into goods, that are then exported, to illustrate their originating status. They are required at export and can be verified by the customs authorities as part of their checks to ensure the goods met the Rules of Origin.
The updated Defra Guidance can be accessed here
Business can get a binding origin decision from the relevant importing customs authority. For those importing into the UK that would be HMRC (website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-advance-origin-ruling ).
For those importing into the EU, it would be the relevant EU MS custom authority. However, a decision in one MS should be binding on all. Irish Revenue website, for example, can be found here: https://www.revenue.ie/en/customs-traders-and-agents/importing-and-exporting/origin/preferential-and-nonpreferential-origin/binding-origin-information-boi.aspx .
