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.
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.
For the purposes of Article 41:
‘piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle’ means goods listed in Sections XVI, XVII and XVIII of the combined nomenclature;
‘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.
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.
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.
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.