FAQ's: Certificate of Origin
Q.
What is a Certificate of Origin?
Answer:
A Certificate of Origin (CO) is a document which is used for
certification that the products exported are wholly obtained, produced
or manufactured in India. It is generally an integral part of export
documents.
Q.
Why is it required?
Answer:
India is signatory to World Trade Organization because of which
Indian exports are accorded preferential treatment available to
all WTO members. Secondly, India has also entered into bilateral
and multilateral trade pacts with its trade partners because of
which Indian exports get into these countries at concessional import
duty regime. In order to avail the preferential treatment, the Indian
exporter are required to furnish the proof that the goods manufactured
are, indeed, of Indian origin. Hence, the need for Certificate of
Origin.
Q.
Does it help importers of Indian goods?
Answer:
Yes. It is a document that helps improve the competitive
edge of your exports. It enables your buyers to claim preferential
tariff treatment when importing your products under many schemes
of preferences such as available under WTO, Generalised System of
Preferences (GSP), Commonwealth Preference (CP),
Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP), CO for MFA etc.
Q.
Are different Certificate of Origins required by your importers
to avail different
concessions?
Answer:
Generally, yes. Your importer will usually tell you the type
of Certificate of Origin required by him. The Certificate of Origins
could be broadly classified under two categories.
- Certificate Of Origin ( Preferential)
- Certificate Of Origin ( Non-Preferential)
Preferential
Certificate of Origins as Certificate for Exports for Textile Quota
(under MFA), GSP etc. are issued by designated Government Offices.
For
most of other countries Non-Preferential Certificate of Origins
are required and that are issued by Chamber of Commerce & Industries.
Q.
Can any Chamber of Commerce and Industry/ Association issue the
Certificate of Origins?
Answer:
No. Only bodies authorized by DGFT, Union Ministry of Commerce
and Industry can issue Certificate of Origin. It is important to
know which Office/ Chamber of Commerce can issue the Certificate
of Origin.
Q.
Where from can I find out the list of authorized agencies who can
issue Certificate of Origins?
Answer:
Handbook of Procedures Vol-1, Export Import Policy (2002-070
issued by Director General of Foreign Trade, Ministry enlists the
authorized agencies as below:
Appendix -35
Agencies authorized to issue GSP
Appendix -35A
Agencies authorized to issue CO for SAPTA and Bangkok
Agreement
Appendix -35B
Agencies authorized to issues Non-Preferential
Certificate of Origin
Appendix -4C
Agencies authorized to issue Non-Preferential
Certificate of Origin.
Q.
How can I start getting Certificate of Origins issued from IIA?
Ans : You need to get the Proforma of Certificate of Origin from
IIA. Fill it up and submit it alongwith documents required to
be attested (like Invoice and Packing List). You could also download
the format from IIA's website.
Q. What are the advantages if you get the Certificate issued
from IIA?
Ans. There are several advantages:
- IIA is open six days a week (open on Saturdays)
- Maximum processing time (15 minutes per document)
- Convenient Timings from 09.30 AM to 07.00 PM
- Besides Certification, IIA also guides the exporters on the
International Trade Law requirements related to Certificate of Origin.
Q. Which countries do not accept Non-Preferential Certificate of Origin?
Ans. The following countries do not accept Non-Preferential Certificate of Origin
AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, NORWAY, SWITZERLAND, UNITED STATE OF AMERICA , REPUBLIC OF BELARUS, REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA, RUSSIAN FEDERATION
EUROPEAN UNION: BELGIUM, CRECH REPUBLIC, DENMARK, GERMANY, ESTONIA, GREECE, SPAIN, FRANCE, IRELAND, ITALY, CYPRUS, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, LUXEMBOURG, HUNGARY, MALTA, NETHERLAND, AUSTRIA, POLAND, PORTUGAL, SLOVENIA, SLOVAKIA, FINLAND, SWEDEN, UNITED KINGDOM
For
any other query, you are welcome to contact :
Mr. D.S. Verma (Executive Director)
Indian Industries Association
IIA Bhawan, Phase-II, Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar
LUCKNOW - 226010
Tel : +91-522-2720090
E-mail : iia@iiaonline.in,
Website: http://www.iiaonline.in