Chapter Five: Customs Procedures
Section A - Certification of Origin
Article 501: Certificate of Origin
1. The Parties shall establish by January 1, 1994 a Certificate of Origin for the purpose of certifying that a good being exported from the territory of a Party into the territory of another Party qualifies as an originating good, and may thereafter revise the Certificate by agreement.
2. Each Party may require that a Certificate of Origin for a good imported into its territory be completed in a language required under its law.
3. Each Party shall:
a) require an exporter in its territory to complete and sign a Certificate of Origin for any exportation of a good for which an importer may claim preferential tariff treatment on importation of the good into the territory of another Party; and
b) provide that where an exporter in its territory is not the producer of the good, the exporter may complete and sign a Certificate on the basis of
(i) its knowledge of whether the good qualifies as an originating good,
(ii) its reasonable reliance on the producer's written representation that the good qualifies as an originating good, or
(iii) a completed and signed Certificate for the good voluntarily provided to the exporter by the producer.
4. Nothing in paragraph 3 shall be construed to require a producer to provide a Certificate of Origin to an exporter.
5. Each Party shall provide that a Certificate of Origin that has been completed and signed by an exporter or a producer in the territory of another Party that is applicable to:
a) a single importation of a good into the Party's territory, or
b) multiple importations of identical goods into the Party's territory that occur within a specified period, not exceeding 12 months, set out therein by the exporter or producer,
shall be accepted by its customs administration for four years after the
date on which the Certificate was signed.
Article 502: Obligations Regarding Importations
1. Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, each Party shall require an importer in its territory that claims preferential tariff treatment for a good imported into its territory from the territory of another Party to:
a) make a written declaration, based on a valid Certificate of Origin, that the good qualifies as an originating good;
b) have the Certificate in its possession at the time the declaration is made;
c) provide, on the request of that Party's customs administration, a copy of the Certificate; and
d) promptly make a corrected declaration and pay any duties owing where the importer has reason to believe that a Certificate on which a declaration was based contains information that is not correct.
2. Each Party shall provide that, where an importer in its territory claims preferential tariff treatment for a good imported into its territory from the territory of another Party:
a) the Party may deny preferential tariff treatment to the good if the importer fails to comply with any requirement under this Chapter; and
b) the importer shall not be subject to penalties for the making of an incorrect declaration, if it voluntarily makes a corrected declaration pursuant to paragraph 1(d).
3. Each Party shall provide that, where a good would have qualified as an originating good when it was imported into the territory of that Party but no claim for preferential tariff treatment was made at that time, the importer of the good may, no later than one year after the date on which the good was imported, apply for a refund of any excess duties paid as the result of the good not having been accorded preferential tariff treatment, on presentation of:
a) a written declaration that the good qualified as an originating good at the time of importation;
b) a copy of the Certificate of Origin; and
c) such other documentation relating to the importation of the good as that Party may require.
Each Party shall provide that a Certificate of Origin shall not be required for:
a) a commercial importation of a good whose value does not exceed US$1,000 or its equivalent amount in the Party's currency, or such higher amount as it may establish, except that it may require that the invoice accompanying the importation include a statement certifying that the good qualifies as an originating good,
b) a non-commercial importation of a good whose value does not exceed US$1,000 or its equivalent amount in the Party's currency, or such higher amount as it may establish, or
c) an importation of a good for which the Party into whose territory the good is imported has waived the requirement for a Certificate of Origin,
provided that the importation does not form part of a series of importations that may reasonably be considered to have been undertaken or arranged for the purpose of avoiding the certification requirements of Articles 501 and 502.
Article 504: Obligations Regarding Exportations
1. Each Party shall provide that:
a) an exporter in its territory, or a producer in its territory that has provided a copy of a Certificate of Origin to that exporter pursuant to Article 501(3)(b)(iii), shall provide a copy of the Certificate to its customs administration on request; and
b) an exporter or a producer in its territory that has completed and signed a Certificate of Origin, and that has reason to believe that the Certificate contains information that is not correct, shall promptly notify in writing all persons to whom the Certificate was given by the exporter or producer of any change that could affect the accuracy or validity of the Certificate.
2. Each Party:
a) shall provide that a false certification by an exporter or a producer in its territory that a good to be exported to the territory of another Party qualifies as an originating good shall have the same legal consequences, with appropriate modifications, as would apply to an importer in its territory for a contravention of its customs laws and regulations regarding the making of a false statement or representation; and
b) may apply such measures as the circumstances may warrant where an exporter or a producer in its territory fails to comply with any requirement of this Chapter.
3. No Party may impose penalties on an exporter or a producer in its territory that voluntarily provides written notification pursuant to paragraph (1)(b) with respect to the making of an incorrect certification.
Section B - Administration and Enforcement
Each Party shall provide that:
a) an exporter or a producer in its territory that completes and signs a Certificate of Origin shall maintain in its territory, for five years after the date on which the Certificate was signed or for such longer period as the Party may specify, all records relating to the origin of a good for which preferential tariff treatment was claimed in the territory of another Party, including records associated with
(i) the purchase of, cost of, value of, and payment for, the good that is exported from its territory,
(ii) the purchase of, cost of, value of, and payment for, all materials, including indirect materials, used in the production of the good that is exported from its territory, and
(iii) the production of the good in the form in which the good is exported from its territory; and
b) an importer claiming preferential tariff treatment for a good imported into the Party's territory shall maintain in that territory, for five years after the date of importation of the good or for such longer period as the Party may specify, such documentation, including a copy of the Certificate, as the Party may require relating to the importation of the good.
Article 506: Origin Verifications
1. For purposes of determining whether a good imported into its territory from the territory of another Party qualifies as an originating good, a Party may, through its customs administration, conduct a verification solely by means of:
a) written questionnaires to an exporter or a producer in the territory of another Party;
b) visits to the premises of an exporter or a producer in the territory of another Party to review the records referred to in Article 505(a) and observe the facilities used in the production of the good; or
c) such other procedure as the Parties may agree.
2. Prior to conducting a verification visit pursuant to paragraph (1)(b), a Party shall, through its customs administration:
a) deliver a written notification of its intention to conduct the visit to
(i) the exporter or producer whose premises are to be visited,
(ii) the customs administration of the Party in whose territory the visit is to occur, and
(iii) if requested by the Party in whose territory the visit is to occur, the embassy of that Party in the territory of the Party proposing to conduct the visit; and
(b) obtain the written consent of the exporter or producer whose premises are to be visited.
3. The notification referred to in paragraph 2 shall include:
a) the identity of the customs administration issuing the notification;
(b) the name of the exporter or producer whose premises are to be visited;
c) the date and place of the proposed verification visit;
d) the object and scope of the proposed verification visit, including specific reference to the good that is the subject of the verification;
e) the names and titles of the officials performing the verification visit; and
f) the legal authority for the verification visit.
4. Where an exporter or a producer has not given its written consent to a proposed verification visit within 30 days of receipt of notification pursuant to paragraph 2, the notifying Party may deny preferential tariff treatment to the good that would have been the subject of the visit.
5. Each Party shall provide that, where its customs administration receives notification pursuant to paragraph 2, the customs administration may, within 15 days of receipt of the notification, postpone the proposed verification visit for a period not exceeding 60 days from the date of such receipt, or for such longer period as the Parties may agree.
6. A Party shall not deny preferential tariff treatment to a good based solely on the postponement of a verification visit pursuant to paragraph 5.
7. Each Party shall permit an exporter or a producer whose good is the subject of a verification visit by another Party to designate two observers to be present during the visit, provided that:
a) the observers do not participate in a manner other than as observers; and
b) the failure of the exporter or producer to designate observers shall not result in the postponement of the visit.
8. Each Party shall, through its customs administration, conduct a verification of a regional value-content requirement in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles applied in the territory of the Party from which the good was exported.
9. The Party conducting a verification shall provide the exporter or producer whose good is the subject of the verification with a written determination of whether the good qualifies as an originating good, including findings of fact and the legal basis for the determination.
10. Where verifications by a Party indicate a pattern of conduct by an exporter or a producer of false or unsupported representations that a good imported into its territory qualifies as an originating good, the Party may withhold preferential tariff treatment to identical goods exported or produced by such person until that person establishes compliance with Chapter Four (Rules of Origin).
11. Each Party shall provide that where it determines that a certain good imported into its territory does not qualify as an originating good based on a tariff classification or a value applied by the Party to one or more materials used in the production of the good, which differs from the tariff classification or value applied to the materials by the Party from whose territory the good was exported, the Party's determination shall not become effective until it notifies in writing both the importer of the good and the person that completed and signed the Certificate of Origin for the good of its determination.
12. A Party shall not apply a determination made under paragraph 11 to an importation made before the effective date of the determination where:
a) the customs administration of the Party from whose territory the good was exported has issued an advance ruling under Article 509 or any other ruling on the tariff classification or on the value of such materials, or has given consistent treatment to the entry of the materials under the tariff classification or value at issue, on which a person is entitled to rely; and
b) the advance ruling or consistent treatment was given prior to notification of the determination.
13. If a Party denies preferential tariff treatment to a good pursuant to a determination made under paragraph 11, it shall postpone the effective date of the denial for a period not exceeding 90 days where the importer of the good, or the person who completed and signed the Certificate of Origin for the good, demonstrates that it has relied in good faith to its detriment on the tariff classification or value applied to such materials by the customs administration of the Party from whose territory the good was exported.
1. Each Party shall maintain, in accordance with its law, the confidentiality of confidential business information collected pursuant to this Chapter and shall protect that information from disclosure that could prejudice the competitive position of the persons providing the information.
2. The confidential business information collected pursuant to this Chapter may only be disclosed to those authorities responsible for the administration and enforcement of determinations of origin, and of customs and revenue matters.
1. Each Party shall maintain measures imposing criminal, civil or administrative penalties for violations of its laws and regulations relating to this Chapter.
2. Nothing in Articles 502(2), 504(3) or 506(6) shall be construed to prevent a Party from applying such measures as the circumstances may warrant.
Continue on to Article 509: Advance Rulings
If you have questions or comments, please e-mail [email protected]