Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (repealed)Show full title

CHAPTER 1 U.K. Non-preferential origin

Section 1 U.K. Working or processing conferring origin

Article 35 U.K.

This chapter lays down, for textiles and textile articles falling within Section XI of the combined nomenclature, and for certain products other than textiles and textile articles, the working or processing which shall be regarded as satisfying the criteria laid down in Article 24 of the Code and shall confer on the products concerned the origin of the country in which they were carried out.

‘Country’ means either a third country or the Community as appropriate.

Subsection 1 U.K. Textiles and textile articles falling within Section XI of the combined nomenclature

Article 36 U.K.

For textiles and textile articles falling within Section XI of the combined nomenclature, a complete process, as specified in Article 37, shall be regarded as a working or processing conferring origin in terms of Article 24 of the Code.

Article 37 U.K.

Working or processing as a result of which the products obtained receive a classification under a heading of the combined nomenclature other than those covering the various non-originating materials used shall be regarded as complete processes.

However, for products listed in Annex 10, only the specific processes referred to in column 3 of that Annex in connection with each product obtained shall be regarded as complete, whether or not they involve a change of heading.

The method of applying the rules in Annex 10 is described in the introductory notes in Annex 9.

Article 38 U.K.

For the purposes of the preceding Article, the following shall in any event be considered as insufficient working or processing to confer the status of originating products whether or not there is a change of heading:

(a)

operations to ensure the preservation of products in good condition during transport and storage (ventilation, spreading out, drying, removal of damaged parts and like operations);

(b)

simple operations consisting of removal of dust, sifting or screening, sorting, classifying, matching (including the making-up of sets of articles), washing, cutting up;

(c)

(i)

changes of packing and breaking-up and assembly of consignments;

(ii)

simple placing in bags, cases, boxes, fixing on cards or boards, etc., and all other simple packing operations;

(d)

the affixing of marks, labels or other like distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;

(e)

simple assembly of parts of products to constitute a complete product;

(f)

a combination of two or more operations specified in (a) to (e).

Subsection 2 U.K. Products other than textiles and textile articles falling within Section XI of the combined nomenclature

Article 39 U.K.

In the case of products obtained which are listed in Annex 11, the working or processing referred to in column 3 of the Annex shall be regarded as a process or operation conferring origin under Article 24 of the Code.

The method of applying the rules set out in Annex 11 is described in the introductory notes in Annex 9.

Subsection 3 U.K. Common provisions for all products

Article 40 U.K.

Where the lists in Annexes 10 and 11 provide that origin is conferred if the value of the non-originating materials used does not exceed a given percentage of the ex-works price of the products obtained, such percentage shall be calculated as follows:

• ‘value’ means the customs value at the time of import of the non-originating materials used or, if this is not known and cannot be ascertained, the first ascertainable price paid for such materials in the country of processing,

• ‘ex-works price’ means the ex-works price of the product obtained minus any internal taxes which are, or may be, repaid when such product is exported,

• ‘value acquired as a result of assembly operations’ means the increase in value resulting from the assembly itself, together with any finishing and checking operations, and from the incorporation of any parts originating in the country where the operations in question were carried out, including profit and the general costs borne in that country as a result of the operations.

Section 2 U.K. Implementing provisions relating to spare parts

Article 41 U.K.

Essential spare parts for use with any piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle put into free circulation or previously exported shall be deemed to have the same origin as that piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle provided the conditions laid down in this section are fulfilled.

Article 42 U.K.

The presumption of origin referred to in the preceding Article shall be accepted only:

• if this is necessary for importation into the country of destination,

• if the incorporation of the said essential spare parts in the piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle concerned at the production stage would not have prevented the piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle from having Community origin or that of the country of manufacture.

Article 43 U.K.

For the purposes of Article 41:

(a)

‘piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle’ means goods listed in Sections XVI, XVII and XVIII of the combined nomenclature;

(b)

‘essential spare parts’ means parts which are:

• components without which the proper operation of the goods referred to in (a) which have been put into free circulation or previously exported cannot be ensured, and

• characteristic of those goods, and

• intended for their normal maintenance and to replace parts of the same kind which are damaged or have become unserviceable.

Article 44 U.K.

Where an application is presented to the competent authorities or authorized agencies of the Member States for a certificate of origin for essential spare parts within the meaning of Article 41, box 6 (Item number, marks, numbers, number and kind of packages, description of goods) of that certificate and the application relating thereto shall include a declaration by the person concerned that the goods mentioned therein are intended for the normal maintenance of a piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle previously exported, together with the exact particulars of the said piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle.

Whenever possible, the person concerned shall also give the particulars of the certificate of origin (issuing authority, number and date of certificate) under cover of which was exported the piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle for whose maintenance the parts are intended.

Article 45 U.K.

Where the origin of essential spare parts within the meaning of Article 41 must be proved for their release for free circulation in the Community by the production of a certificate of origin, the certificate shall include the particulars referred to in Article 44.

Article 46 U.K.

In order to ensure application of the rules laid down in this section, the competent authorities of the Member States may require additional proof, in particular:

• production of the invoice or a copy of the invoice relating to the piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle put into free circulation or previously exported,

• the contract or a copy of the contract or any other document showing that delivery is being made as part of the normal maintenance service.

Section 3 U.K. Implementing provisions relating to certificates of origin

Subsection 1 U.K. Provisions relating to universal certificates of origin

Article 47 U.K.

When the origin of a product is or has to be proved on importation by the production of a certificate of origin, that certificate shall fulfil the following conditions:

(a)

it shall be made out by a reliable authority or agency duly authorized for that purpose by the country of issue;

(b)

it shall contain all the particulars necessary for identifying the product to which it relates, in particular:

• the number of packages, their nature, and the marks and numbers they bear,

• the type of product,

• the gross and net weight of the product; these particulars may, however, be replaced by others, such as the number or volume, when the product is subject to appreciable changes in weight during carriage or when its weight cannot be ascertained or when it is normally identified by such other particulars,

• the name of the consignor;

(c)

it shall certify unambiguously that the product to which it relates originated in a specific country.

Article 48 U.K.

1. A certificate of origin issued by the competent authorities or authorized agencies of the Member States shall comply with the conditions prescribed by Article 47 (a) and (b).

2. The certificates and the applications relating to them shall be made out on forms corresponding to the specimens in Annex 12.

3. Such certificates of origin shall certify that the goods originated in the Community.

However, when the exigencies of export trade so require, they may certify that the goods originated in a particular Member State.

If the conditions of Article 24 of the Code are fulfilled only as a result of a series of operations or processes carried out in different Member States, the goods may only be certified as being of Community origin.

Article 49 U.K.

Certificates of origin shall be issued upon written request of the person concerned.

Where the circumstances so warrant, in particular where the applicant maintains a regular flow of exports, the Member States may decide not to require an application for each export operation, on condition that the provisions concerning origin are complied with.

Where the exigencies of trade so require, one or more extra copies of an origin certificate may be issued.

Such copies shall be made out on forms corresponding to the specimen in Annex 12.

Article 50 U.K.

1. The certificate shall measure 210 x 297 mm. A tolerance of up to minus 5 mm or plus 8 mm in the length shall be allowed. The paper used shall be white, free of mechanical pulp, dressed for writing purposes and weigh at least 64 g/m² or between 25 and 30 g/m² where air-mail paper is used. It shall have a printed guilloche pattern background in sepia such as to reveal any falsification by mechanical or chemical means.

2. The application form shall be printed in the official language or in one or more of the official languages of the exporting Member State. The certificate of origin form shall be printed in one or more of the official languages of the Community or, depending on the practice and requirements of trade, in any other language.

3. Member States may reserve the right to print the certificate of origin forms or may have them printed by approved printers. In the latter case, each certificate must bear a reference to such approval. Each certificate of origin form must bear the name and address of the printer or a mark by which the printer can be identified. It shall also bear a serial number, either printed or stamped, by which it can be identified.

Article 51 U.K.

The application form and the certificate of origin shall be completed in typescript or by hand in block capitals, in an identical manner, in one of the official languages of the Community or, depending on the practice and requirements of trade, in any other languages.

Article 52 U.K.

Each origin certificate referred to in Article 48 shall bear a serial number by which it can be identified. The application for the certificate and all copies of the certificate itself shall bear the same number.

In addition, the competent authorities or authorized agencies of the Member States may number such documents by order of issue.

Article 53 U.K.

The competent authorities of the Member States shall determine what additional particulars, if any, are to be given in the application. Such additional particulars shall be kept to a strict minimum.

Each Member State shall inform the Commission of the provisions it adopts in pursuance of the preceding paragraph. The Commission shall immediately communicate this information to the other Member States.

Article 54 U.K.

The competent authorities or authorized agencies of the Member States which have issued certificates of origin shall retain the applications for a minimum of two years.

However, applications may also be retained in the form of copies thereof, provided that these have the same probative value under the law of the Member State concerned.

Subsection 2 U.K. Specific provisions relating to certificates of origin for certain agricultural products subject to special import arrangements

Article 55 U.K.

Articles 56 to 65 lay down the conditions for use of certificates of origin relating to agricultural products originating in third countries for which special non-preferential import arrangements have been established, in so far as these arrangements refer to the following provisions.

(a) U.K. Certificates of origin

Article 56 U.K.

1. Certificates of origin relating to agricultural products originating in third countries for which special non-preferential import arrangements are established shall be made out on a form conforming to the specimen in Annex 13.

2. Such certificates shall be issued by the competent governmental authorities of the third countries concerned, hereinafter referred to as the issuing authorities, if the products to which the certificates relate can be considered as products originating in those countries within the meaning of the rules in force in the Community.

3. Such certificates shall also certify all necessary information provided for in the Community legislation governing the special import arrangements referred to in Article 55.

4. Without prejudice to specific provisions under the special import arrangements referred to in Article 55 the period of validity of the certificates of origin shall be ten months from the date of issue by the issuing authorities.

Article 57 U.K.

1. Certificates of origin drawn up in accordance with the provisions of this subsection shall consist only of a single sheet identified by the word ‘original’ next to the title of the document.

If additional copies are necessary, they shall bear the designation ‘copy’ next to the title of the document.

2. The competent authorities in the Community shall accept as valid only the original of the certificate of origin.

Article 58 U.K.

1. The certificate of origin shall measure 210 x 297 mm; a tolerance of up to plus 8 mm or minus 5 mm in the length may be allowed. The paper used shall be white, not containing mechanical pulp, and shall weigh not less than 40 g/m². The face of the original shall have a printed yellow guilloche pattern background making any falsification by mechanical or chemical means apparent.

2. The certificates shall be printed and completed in one of the official languages of the Community.

Article 59 U.K.

1. The certificate shall be completed in typescript or by means of a mechanical data-processing system, or similar procedure.

2. Entries must not be erased or overwritten. Any changes shall be made by crossing out the wrong entry and if necessary adding the correct particulars. Such changes shall be initialled by the person making them and endorsed by the issuing authorities.

Article 60 U.K.

1. Box 5 of the certificates of origin issued in accordance with Articles 56 to 59 shall contain any additional particulars which may be required for the implementation of the special import arrangements to which they relate as referred to in Article 56 (3).

2. Unused spaces in boxes 5, 6 and 7 shall be struck through in such a way that nothing can be added at a later stage.

Article 61 U.K.

Each certificate of origin shall bear a serial number, whether or not printed, by which it can be identified, and shall be stamped by the issuing authority and signed by the person or persons empowered to do so.

The certificate shall be issued when the products to which it relates are exported, and the issuing authority shall keep a copy of each certificate issued.

Article 62 U.K.

Exceptionally, the certificates of origin referred to above may be issued after the export of the products to which they relate, where the failure to issue them at the time of such export was a result of involuntary error or omission or special circumstances.

The issuing authorities may not issue retrospectively a certificate of origin provided for in Articles 56 to 61 until they have checked that the particulars in the exporter's application correspond to those in the relevant export file.

Certificates issued retrospectively shall bear one of the following:

• expedido a posteriori,

• udstedt efterfølgende,

• Nachträglich ausgestellt,

• Εκδοθέν εκ των υστέρων,

• Issued retrospectively,

• Délivré a posteriori,

• rilasciato a posteriori,

• afgegeven a posteriori,

• emitido a posteriori,

in the ‘Remarks’ box.

(b) U.K. Administrative cooperation

Article 63 U.K.

1. Where the special import arrangements for certain agricultural products provide for the use of the certificate of origin laid down in Articles 56 to 62, the entitlement to use such arrangements shall be subject to the setting up of an administrative cooperation procedure unless specified otherwise in the arrangements concerned.

To this end the third countries concerned shall send the Commission of the European Communities:

• the names and addresses of the issuing authorities for certificates of origin together with specimens of the stamps used by the said authorities,

• the names and addresses of the government authorities to which requests for the subsequent verification of origin certificates provided for in Article 64 below should be sent.

The Commission shall transmit all the above information to the competent authorities of the Member States.

2. Where the third countries in question fail to send the Commission the information specified in paragraph 1, the competent authorities in the Community shall refuse access entitlement to the special import arrangements.

Article 64 U.K.

1. Subsequent verification of the certificates of origin referred to in Articles 56 to 62 shall be carried out at random and whenever reasonable doubt has arisen as to the authenticity of the certificate or the accuracy of the information it contains.

For origin matters the verification shall be carried out on the initiative of the customs authorities.

For the purposes of agricultural rules, the verification may be carried out, where appropriate, by other competent authorities.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the competent authorities in the Community shall return the certificate of origin or a copy thereof to the governmental authority designated by the exporting country, giving, where appropriate, the reasons of form or substance for an enquiry. If the invoice has been produced, the original or a copy thereof shall be attached to the returned certificate. The authorities shall also provide any information that has been obtained suggesting that the particulars given on the certificates are inaccurate or that the certificate is not authentic.

Should the customs authorities in the Community decide to suspend the application of the special import arrangements concerned pending the results of the verification they shall grant release of the products subject to such precautions as they consider necessary.

Article 65 U.K.

1. The results of subsequent verifications shall be communicated to the competent authorities in the Community as soon as possible.

The said results must make it possible to determine whether the origin certificates remitted in the conditions laid down in Article 64 above apply to the goods actually exported and whether the latter may actually give rise to application of the special importation arrangements concerned.

2. If there is no reply within a maximum time limit of six months to requests for subsequent verification, the competent authorities in the Community shall definitively refuse to grant entitlement to the special import arrangements.