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A Certificate of Origin or Declaration of Origin (often abbreviated to C/O, CO or DOO) is a document widely used in international trade transactions which attests that the product listed therein has met certain criteria to be considered as originating in a particular country. A certificate of origin / declaration of origin is generally prepared and completed by the exporter or the manufacturer, and may be subject to official certification by an authorized third party. It is often submitted to a customs authority of the importing country to justify the product’s eligibility for entry and/or its entitlement to preferential treatment. Guidelines for issuance of Certificates of Origin by chambers of commerce globally are issued by the International Chamber of Commerce.

Concept of certificate of origin

It is noted that Chapter 2 of the Revised Kyoto Convention provides a strict definition to “certificate of origin”. The scope of this concept covers only the specific form issued by an authorized third party:

Certificate of origin means a specific form identifying the goods, in which the authority or body empowered to issue it certifies expressly that the goods to which the certificate relates originate in a specific country. This certificate may also include a declaration by the manufacturer, producer, supplier, exporter or other competent person;

in which, a “declaration of origin” is defined as follows:

Declaration of origin means an appropriate statement as to the origin of the goods made, in connection with their exportation, by the manufacturer, producer, supplier, exporter or other competent person on the commercial invoice or any other document relating to the goods;

However, the concept has been used in practice in a broader sense, which includes self-certified certificates of origin as well (e.g., in NAFTA). Taking into account this fact, the International Chamber of Commerce provides a simpler and more comprehensive definition which covers both self-certification and authorized certification:

A certificate of origin is an important international trade document that certifies that goods in a particular export shipment are wholly obtained, produced, manufactured or processed in a particular country. It also serves as a declaration by the exporter.

In this topic, declaration of origin will also be mentioned because it is an important proof of origin beside the more popularly used certificate of origin.

The importance of certificate of origin

In general, a certificate of origin is essential in international trade transactions because it is the proof certifying the origin of the product, which is in turn the basis to determine the tariffs and other trade measures that will be applied.

Although satisfying rules of origin in principle means that a product has qualified for the originating status, and is thus entitled to preferential tariffs, in most cases, a claim for preferences must be accompanied by a certificate of origin presented to the customs authority at the port of entry. Unlike the exporter or manufacturer, who is responsible for (and capable of) proving to the issuing authority (or self-certifying) the origin of the product, the importer often has little knowledge of how the product meets the origin criteria. The importer is instead required to present a proof, e.g., a certificate of origin issued or obtained by the exporter or manufacturer. Such separation of obligations means that even if a product may actually originate in a particular country, the importer’s failure to submit a certificate of origin may cause the good to be barred from enjoying preferences.

For instance, the rules of origin in the free trade agreement between Chile and Thailand provides that:

Article 4.13: Certificate of Origin A claim that goods are eligible for preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement shall be supported by a Certificate of Origin issued by the exporting Party in the form as prescribed in Section A of Annex 4.13 (Form of Certificate of Origin of Chile, issued by its competent authority) or Section B of Annex 4.13 (Form of Certificate of Origin of Thailand, issued by its competent authority).

Apart from border purposes, a certificate of origin also plays a certain role in certifying the source of a product and thus its prestige (for instance Swiss watches). Therefore, the importer may need it to show to his consumers in the destination market. In some cases, a certificate of origin helps to determine whether a product can be legally imported, particularly when the importing country is applying a ban or a sanction on goods originating in certain countries.