Certificate of Origin

A certificate of Origin is an instrument that establishes evidence on the origin of goods imported into any country. The Certificate of Origin carries many other information points, such as the product's details, its destination, and the export countries. It is a necessary instrument for export or cross-border trade, as agreed upon by trade agreements and treaties by nations. Get your IEC through IndiaFilings

Importance of Certificate of Origin

As mentioned above, a Certificate of Origin is a certificate that is used to identify the country of manufacturing any goods or commodity.

These certificates are essential for exporters to prove where their goods come from and therefore stake their claim to whatever benefits goods of Indian origin may be eligible for in the country of exports.
The main requirement for a Certificate of Origin is for clearing customs. If the goods, exported/imported, do not come with a Certificate of Origin, the Customs officer tasked with checking the goods will not allow the goods to leave the warehouse.
The Customs officer uses the Certificate of Origin to determine the duties that must be paid and to check whether the goods exported/imported are illegal.
A certificate of Origin is mainly needed to check whether the goods being exported/imported are legal and whether such export or import is subject to duties.

Types of Certificate of Origin

There are two kinds of Certificate of Origin that Chambers of Commerce may issue:

Non-preferential Certificate of Origin

Non – Preferential Certificate of Origin (CoO NP) states that the goods being exported are not given any preferential tariff treatment, and the due duties must be levied upon the goods being moved.

Preferential Certificate of Origin

A Preferential Certificate of Origin is given to goods subject to preferential tariff treatment in the payment of duties. These duties may be a reduction of the standard tariff, or they also may be a complete exemption of the tariffs. Such a situation arises when two or more nations reach a trade agreement entailing such exemptions when goods are exported or imported between these nations.

Prescribed Authority to Issue Certificate of Origin

A Certificate of Origin is issued by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and the Trade Promotion Council of India. This certificate issued by these two bodies is essential for exporters in India to prove that the commodities being exported are of Indian origin.

It also proves that the commodity exported is wholly obtained, manufactured, or produced in India.
The exporter must sign a Certificate of Origin with a permanent indemnity bond on a non-judicial stamp paper of Rs 10, duly notarized (format for Indemnity Bond is available with the Certificate of Origin Dept).
The certificate must also be signed and stamped by the Chamber of Commerce or any other authority with such qualification. It is the most commonly used document to prove the origin of goods.

Common Digital Platform for Issuance of Certificate of Origin

The standard digital platform is single-point access for the Preferential Certificate of Origin (CoO) for all Free Trade Agreements / Preferential Trade Agreements for all agencies and all products. This CoO e-platform is designed to facilitate exporters through a secure, electronic, paperless Certificate of the Origin issuance process. All designated Certificate of Origin issuing agencies is required to work through this portal.

Services of Common Digital Platform

Certificate of Origin (CoO) for exports from India under the following trade agreements are already being applied and issued through the e-platform.

ICPTA – India Chile Preferential Trade Agreement
SAFTA – South Asia Free Trade Agreement
SAPTA – SAARC Preferential Trade Agreement
IKCEP – India Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
IJCEPA – India Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
AIFTA – ASEAN India Free Trade Agreement
ISFTA – India Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement
APTA – Asia Pacific Trade Agreement
GSP – Generalized System of Preferences
GSTP – Global System of Trade Preferences
IMCECA – India Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement
ISCECA – India Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement
India-Mercosur Preferential Trade Agreement
India-Thailand Early Harvest Scheme
India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (India-UAE CEPA)
ICPTA – India Chile Preferential Trade Agreement

A Framework Agreement to Promote Economic Cooperation between India and Chile was signed on January 20, 2005. The Framework Agreement envisaged a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between the two countries

SAFTA – South Asia Free Trade Agreement

The South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) is the free trade arrangement of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The agreement came into force in 2006, succeeding the 1993 SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement. SAFTA signatory countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

SAPTA – SAARC Preferential Trade Agreement

The SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) reflected the desire of the Member States to promote and sustain mutual trade and economic cooperation within the SAARC region through the exchange of tariff concessions. Member countries are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

IKCEP – India Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA): India and South Korea (Republic of Korea) signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to expand the business and commercial opportunities between these two countries. EIC has the sole authority to issue a Certificate of Origin under this agreement.

IJCEPA – India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

This agreement is between India and Japan to improve and protect investments made between the two countries. Under this agreement, the EIC has the sole authority to issue a Certificate of Origin.

AIFTA – ASEAN India Free Trade Agreement

The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement was signed and entered into force on 1 January 2010. Under the Agreement, ASEAN Member States and India have agreed to open their respective markets by progressively reducing and eliminating duties on 76.4% coverage of goods.

ISFTA – India Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement

This agreement is a free trade agreement between India and Sri Lanka. Under this agreement, EIC has the sole authority to issue a Certificate of Origin.

APTA – Asia Pacific Trade Agreement

India, China, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh exchange tariff concession under APTA. APTA offers liberalization of tariff and non-tariff barriers to expand trade in goods in the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) region.

GSP – Generalized System of Preferences

A generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is a preferential trade arrangement extended by developed countries to developing countries. Developed countries give GSPs to imports from India. GSP involves reduced tariffs on eligible products exported by India to the markets of GSP-providing countries. GSP promotes sustainable development in India by helping our country to increase and diversify trade with developed countries. India is one of the primary beneficiaries in terms of export volume realized under GSP. Click here for more details on the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)

GSTP – Global System of Trade Preferences

Global System of Trade Preference (GSTP): This system extends tariff concessions between developing countries that are parties to an agreement. Export Inspection Council (EIC) is authorized to issue a Certificate of Origin under GSTP.

IMCECA – India Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement

This is an agreement between India and Malaysia, and the EIC has the sole authority to issue a Certificate of Origin.

ISCECA – India Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement

The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between India and Singapore was signed on 29^th June 2005 to strengthen and enhance the economic, trade, and investment cooperation between the two nations.

India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (India-UAE CEPA)

The CEPA aims to eliminate tariffs to more than 10,000 tariff lines within a period of 10 years, and it is expected to have a major impact on trading between India, the UAE and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.