Origin
The origin of goods means in which county the goods were mainly manufactured. It is important to separate the two different types of origin:
- Origin of the goods based on which customs preferential treatment i.e. reduced duty rates are granted for the goods. Read more about preferential treatment based on origin.
- Origin of the goods without preferential treatment. This is called a general origin of goods. Read more about the general origin of goods on this page.
General origin of goods
When the origin of the goods does not involve granting preferential treatment, the general rules of origin are used for determining the origin. These situations include the following
- application of general duty levels on import
- management of quantitative restrictions of import
- anti-dumping measures
- customs statistics and other commercial reasons
The country of origin of the goods is mandatory information in import declarations.
According to the general rules of origin, goods wholly produced or manufactured in a single country are regarded as having their origin in that country. Goods the production of which involves more than one country are deemed to originate in the country where they underwent their last, substantial processing or working. The general rules of origin of the Union may differ from the corresponding rules of other countries. Therefore, the same product may acquire different origins depending on which country’s rules of origin are applied. Upon import, the country of origin of a product is usually determined based on the rules of the country of import.
Indicating non-preferential origin
Importers are required to have proof of the country of origin of their products. Proof of the non-preferential origin of goods can be presented e.g. with manufacturing and processing documentation, certificates on materials, production descriptions, and other commercial documents.
Non-preferential certificates of origin are usually granted by chambers of commerce of different countries. Preferential treatment, i.e. a reduced duty rate, is never granted based on a non-preferential certificate of origin unless there are separate provisions on it concerning certain special products. Note that solely a non-preferential certificate of origin does not constitute sufficient proof of non-preferential origin.
According to Article 3g (1)(d) of Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014 it shall be prohibited to import or purchase, as from 30 September 2023, directly or indirectly, iron and steel products as listed in Annex XVII into the Union when processed in a third country incorporating iron and steel products originating in Russia.
Therefore, upon import importers must present proof from which country of origin the iron and steel products used in the processing originate, if the product was processes in a country outside the EU.
How to provide proof of the country of origin
The Regulation does not specify which documents are considered as proof. For example, the following documents can however be presented as proof of the products county of origin:
- Certain proofs of origin (e.g. certificate of origin)
- Technical product details and production descriptions
- Official documents
- Documents pertaining to the industrial process (e.g. documentation on the manufacturing and processing of the goods and the manufacturer’s material certificates, such as the Mill Test Certificate)
- Documents on geographical indications
- Decisions on origin or classification drafted by a country outside the EU
- Import declarations and their details from a county outside the EU.
Provide the documented proof in the customs declaration with negation code “Y824 (Evidence of the country of origin of the iron and steel inputs used for processing of the product in a third country).”
Customs assesses the sufficiency of the proof case by case
Customs considers on a case-by-case basis whether the proof is sufficient. If no proof of the country of origin is presented, Customs will not accept the declaration. For example, presenting only the certificate of origin is not sufficient proof. Customs does not give prior approval of the documents or their sufficiency, rather the assessment is carried out when the customs declaration is processed, if necessary.