G/RO/N/231  
 
18 January  2022 
(22-0382) Page: 1/7 
Committee on Rules of Origin  Original: English  
 
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 5 AND PARAGRAPH 4 OF  
ANNEX II TO THE AGREEMENT ON RULES OF ORIGIN  
NON-PREFERENTIAL AND PREFERENTIAL RULES OF ORIGIN  
1. According to Article 5.1 of the Agreement on Rules of Origin, each Member shall provide to 
the Secretariat, within 90 days after the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement for it, its 
rules of origin, judicial decisions, and administrative rulings o f general application relating to rules 
of origin in effect on that date. If, by inadvertence, a rule of origin has not been provided, the 
Member concerned shall provide it immediately after this fact becomes known. Article 5.2 of the 
Agreement stipulates,  moreover, that during the period referred to in Article 2, Members introducing 
modifications, other than de minimis  modifications, to their rules of origin or introducing new rules 
of origin, shall publish a notice to that effect at least 60 days before t he entry into force of the 
modified or new rule in such a manner as to enable interested parties to become acquainted with 
the intention to modify a rule of origin or to introduce a new rule of origin, unless exceptional 
circumstances arise or threaten to arise for a Member.  
2. Furthermore, paragraph 4 of Annex II to the Agreement on Rules of Origin envisages that 
Members shall promptly  provide to the Secretariat their existing or new preferential rules of origin, 
including a listing of the preferential arrang ements to which they apply, judicial decisions, and 
administrative rulings of general application relating to their preferential rules of origin. In this 
respect, the Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) further agreed that notifications made to the 
Committe e on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA) or the Committee on Trade and Development 
(CTD) could also suffice to discharge Members' notification obligations under the Agreement on Rules 
of Origin (G/RO/M/59). As a result, the Committee agreed that notifications  which had been initially 
received by the CRTA or the CTD should also be circulated by the Secretariat to the CRO. Information 
regarding such notifications, including related to preferential rules of origin, can also be obtained 
through the WTO database on  regional trade agreements ( http://rtais.wto.org ) or the WTO  database 
on preferential trade agreements ( http://ptadb.wto.org ). 
3. In accordance with these rules, the following notific ation has been received:  
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES  
- Federal Law ON THE RULES AND CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN, Federal Law No. 11, Issued on 
19 December 2019. 
 
A non -official translation of the law is reproduced below.  
 
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  G/RO/N/231  
 
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  Federal Law ON THE RULES AND CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN  
Federal Law No. 11  
Issued on 19/12/2019  
Corresponding to 22 Rabi' Al -Akhar 1441 H.  
 
ON THE RULES AND CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN  
We, Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates State, After perusal of the  
Constitution,  
Federal Law No. (1) of 1972 on the Competencies of Ministries and Powers of Ministers, and its 
amendments;  
Federal Law No. (5) of 1975 on the Commercial Register;  
Federal Law  No. (1) of 1979 on the Regulation of Industrial Affairs;  
Federal Law No. (18) of 1981 on the regulation of commercial agencies, and its amendments; Federal 
Law No. (6) of 1983 on the determination of fees imposed on the certificates of origin of the national 
Products of the United Arab Emirates;  
Federal Law No. (3) of 1987 promulgating the Penal Code, and its amendments;  
Federal Law No. (11) of 1992 promulgating the Civil Procedure Law, and its amendments; Federal 
Law No. (35) of 1992 promulgating the Penal Procedure Law and its amendments; Federal Law 
No. (37) o f 1992 on Trademarks, and its amendments;  
Federal Law No. (18) of 1993 on the promulgation of the Commercial Transactions Law; Federal Law 
No. (18) of 1995 on simple crafts;  
Federal Law  No. (22) of 2000 on the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Ind ustry; Federal 
Law No. (17) of 2002 on the regulation and protection of industrial property rights for patents and 
industrial designs and models, and its amendments;  
Federal Law No. (17) of 2004 on Anti -Commercial Concealment;  
Federal Law No. (1) of 2006 o n electronic transactions and commerce; Federal Law No. (2) of 2015 
on Commercial Companies and its amendments; Federal Law No. (8) of 2015 on the Federal Customs 
Authority;  
Federal Law No. (19) of 2016 on Combating Commercial Fraud;  
Federal Law No. (1) of 2017 on Anti -dumping and Compensatory and Countervailing Measures; And 
according to the suggestion of the Minister of Economy, the approval of the Cabinet and the Federal 
National Council and the ratification of the Federal Supreme C ouncil,  
Issued the following Law:  
CHAPTER 1  
Article 1 - Definitions  
In the implementation of the provisions of this Law, the following words and expressions shall have 
the meanings stated beside them unless the context requires otherwise:  
State: The United Arab Emirates. Ministry: Ministry of Economy. Minister: Minister of Economy.  
Department: Competent Department at the Ministry.  G/RO/N/231  
 
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  Customs Departments: Local customs departments in every Emirate. Chamber: Chambers of 
Commerce and Industry at the State.  
Commodi ties: Materials and Products:  
Materials: Any items, raw materials, components, parts, etc. used in the manufacture of the Product.  
Products: Manufactured Products, even if they are intended for use in other Manufacturing 
processes.  
Manufacturing: All opera ting or preparation processes, including assembly processes or specific 
processes.  
Customs Value: Value of the Commodity determined according to the Customs Law at the State.  
Rules of Origin: Basics that determine the Country of Origin of the Commodity, ac cording to this Law 
or the Conventions.  
Certificate of Origin: Document proving the Country of Origin of the Commodity.  
Preferential Origin: Country of Origin specified based on the Conventions in order to give Preferential 
Treatment to the Commodity upon import or export.  
Non-Preferential Origin: Country of Origin specified based on the general application of the Rules of 
Origin, without giving Preferential Treatment to the Commodity upon import or export.  
Indication of Origin: Any expression indicating or  stating that the goods were manufactured or 
produced in a country, whether stated on the Commodity itself or on its packaging in a non -
removable manner.  
Conventions: International, regional or bilateral Conventions to which the State is a party.  
Country o f Origin: Country where the Commodity is produced, manufactured or extracted according 
to the Rules of Origin.  
Preferential Treatment: Granting the Commodities exemption or reduction of customs duties or 
granting them other advantages upon import or export , as determined by the provisions of the 
Conventions.  
CHAPTER 2  - RULES OF DETERMINATION OF THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN  
Article 2 - Fully Acquired Commodities  
The Commodity shall be considered of the Country of Origin where it is fully acquired in any of the 
following cases:  
1. Mineral Products extracted from its territory or seafloor.  
2. Agricultural Products harvested therein.  
3. Live animals born and raised therein.  
4. Products of live animals raised therein.  
5. Hunting or fishing Products therein.  
6. Fishing Products and other Products obtained outside the country 's territorial waters through 
the vessels of such country, and the Products manufactured on board such vessels, according 
to the rules determined by the Implementing Regulation of this Law.  
7. Used Commodities collec ted therein and only suitable for the recovery of the raw materials 
therefrom.  
8. Waste of Products resulting from the Manufacturing process therein.  
9. Products extracted from the marine soil or soil outside the territorial waters of that country, 
provided that  it alone has the right to exploit such soil.  
10. Commodities produced therein of the Products referred to in paragraphs (1) to (9) hereof.  G/RO/N/231  
 
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  Article 3 - Commodities Fully Prepared, Operated or Manufactured  
The Products shall be considered of the origin of the co untry where they were obtained, containing 
Materials not fully obtained from that country, provided that sufficient preparation, operating or 
Manufacturing processes were conducted inside that country, according to the standards and rules 
determined by the  Implementing Regulation of this Law.  
Article 4 - Insufficient Operating Cases  
The operating processes are considered insufficient or secondary, whether conducted individually or 
jointly, in order to give the Commodity the capacity of the Country of Origin in any of the following 
cases:  
1. Processes carried out to ensure that the Products are kept in good condition during 
transportation and storage, such as ventilation, deployment, drying, cooling, removal of 
damaged parts and other similar secondary processes.  
2. Simple processes carried out on the Products such as the removal of dust, sifting, arranging, 
sorting, washing, painting, cutting, changing the packages, disassembling and assembling 
them, simple packaging in bottles, flasks, bags or boxes, pasting tradem arks on the Products 
and their packages, simple mixing, animal slaughter and other similar simple processes.  
CHAPTER 3  - PROOF OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN  
Article 5 - Cases of Proof of Country of Origin  
1. The Commodities imported to the State are subject to the proof of Country of Origin, by 
submitting a Certificate of Origin or any other documents issued by the competent entity of 
the country of export, or the presence of a non -removable proof of origin on the Product, 
according to the rules agreed upon within t he framework of Conventions and cases determined 
by the Implementing Regulation of this Law.  
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article, the Commodities imported to 
the State may be exempt from the submittal of a Certificate of Origin or documents proving 
the Country of Origin, according to the cases determined by the Implementing Regulation of 
this Law.  
Article 6 - Issuance of Certificates of Origin  
1. The Ministry shall issue preferential certificates of origin to the national Commodities  exported 
abroad, according to the rules and forms determined by the Conventions, and the procedures 
determined by the Implementing Regulation of this Law.  
2. The Ministry shall issue non -preferential certificates of origin to the national Commodities 
exporte d abroad, and the Chamber shall issue them in coordination with the Ministry according 
to the general rules, forms and procedures determined by the Implementing Regulation of 
this Law.  
3. The Chamber shall issue certificates of origin to the re -exported forei gn Commodities 
according to the rules and procedures approved by it.  
Article 7 - Validity Period of the Certificate of Origin  
The validity of the preferential and non -preferential Certificate of Origin shall be according to the 
periods determined by the Imp lementing Regulation of this Law, unless the Conventions stipulate 
otherwise.  
Article 8 - Record of the Certificates of Origin  
1. The Department shall establish a record to register all the preferential and non -preferential 
certificates of origin and shall kee p a copy thereof for a period not less than three years.  
2. The Implementing Regulation of this Law shall determine the rules and controls on how to 
establish and maintain such records.  G/RO/N/231  
 
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  CHAPTER 4  - CONTROL OF VALIDITY OF THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN  
Article 9 - Verification of Validity of the Country of Origin  
1. The Customs Departments may, in coordination with the Department and in exceptional cases 
based on the presence of serious doubts about the validity of the Certificate of Origin or origin 
of the concerned Products, in case of duplication of origin between the certificate and the 
indication or in the presence of more than one indication of the origin of goods, refuse to grant 
Preferential Treatment to the Products imported to the State, until the D epartment confirms 
the validity of the Country of Origin or the true origin of the imported Products.  
2. The Department shall, in case of refusal to grant Preferential Treatment to the Products 
imported to the State, return the Certificate of Origin and the d ocuments related thereto to 
the competent entity at the country of export, stating the reasons of request of verification of 
the Certificate of Origin or origin of the imported Products. The Implementing Regulation shall 
determine the reasons and procedure s of verification of the validity of the certificates of origin.  
3. Taking in consideration clause (1) of this Article, the Customs Departments shall offer the 
importer to release such Products according to the customs procedures set forth in the 
Customs Laws  at the State.  
Article 10 - Review of the Documents of Country of Origin  
1. The Department may carry out a subsequent selective review of the proof documents of the 
Country of Origin upon presence of serious doubts in the validity of such documents, the origin  
of the concerned Products or the data and information submitted to prove the Country of 
Origin or other related reasons.  
2. The Customs Departments shall, sua sponte and periodically or upon the request of the 
Department, provide the Ministry with copies of the preferential certificates of origin upon 
import to the State, to carry out a subsequent selective review of the validity of the Certificate 
of Origin or the real Country of Origin of the imported Products.  
3. The Department may, in coordination with the C ustoms Departments, stop granting 
Preferential Treatment to the Products subject of verification, during the period of verification, 
provided that the importer is offered the release of such Products according to the customs 
procedures set forth in the Cus toms Laws at the State.  
4. The Implementing Regulation of this Law shall determine the rules and procedures of 
subsequent review set forth in paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of this Article.  
Article 11 - Minor and Formal Differences  
1. The discovery of minor differen ces between the data stated in the Certificate of Origin and the 
customs clearance documents, shall not lead to the Certificate of Origin being automatically 
considered null, whenever it is proved that such documents are related to the submitted 
Products. The Implementing Regulation of this Law shall state the rules of determination of 
minor differences between the data stated in the Certificate of Origin and the customs 
clearance documents.  
2. The typing or formal errors in the Certificate of Origin or the cu stoms declaration shall not be 
considered a justification to reject the document, if such errors do not lead to serious doubts 
in the validity of the data stated in such documents.  
Article 12 – Obligations of the Ministry towards the Country of Origin  
1. The Ministry shall respond to the subsequent verification requests received by the competent 
entity at the country of import concerning the preferential certificates of origin issued for the 
national Products.  
2. The Ministry shall settle the disputes that ma y arise with the importing or exporting States 
concerning the application of the Rules of Origin or other related cases.  
3. The Ministry shall cooperate and coordinate with the competent entity at the country of import 
to better implement the Rules of Origin and shall provide it with the forms of seals used in the 
preferential certificates of origin.  G/RO/N/231  
 
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  CHAPTER 5  - OBJECTION, GRIEVANCE AND APPEAL  
Article 13  
1. Those who were rejected by the Department to be granted preferential Certificate of Origin, 
may object to t he Director of the Department within (7) seven working days from the date of 
notification thereof. Their objection shall be settled within a period not exceeding (10) ten 
working days from the date of submittal of the request. In case of rejection of the r equest, it 
shall be notified to the concerned person in writing and shall be justified.  
2. Those whose objection was rejected or whose request was left unanswered may file a 
grievance to the Minister within (10) ten working days from the date of rejection of the 
request. Their grievance shall be settled within a period not exceeding (20) twenty working 
days from the date of filing thereof. In case of rejection of the request, it shall be notified to 
the concerned person in writing and shall be justified.  
3. Those  whose grievance was rejected by the Minister may appeal before the competent Courts 
at the State according to the said Code of Civil Procedure.  
CHAPTER 6  - PENAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS  
Article 14 - Penal Sanctions  
Without prejudice to any other more severe sanction stipulated in any other Law, whoever forges 
the data of the Commodities imported into the State or exported outside the State or whoever 
provides misleading information with the intention of fraud in the Certificate of Origin or the 
Indicat ion of Origin, shall be punished by temporary imprisonment and/or a fine not less than AED 
(100,000) one hundred thousand and not exceeding AED (500,000) five hundred thousand.  
The sanction shall be doubled in case of recidivism.  
Article 15 - Administrative  Sanctions  
The Minister or his representative may impose on the exporter, whether a physical or moral person, 
upon violating any of the provisions set forth in this Law and its Implementing Regulation and the 
decisions issued in implementation thereof, any  of the following administrative sanctions:  
1. Warning.  
2. Temporary suspension of granting the preferential or non -preferential Certificate of Origin for 
a period not exceeding one year.  
3. Permanent suspension of granting the preferential or non-preferential Certificate of Origin.  
CHAPTER 7 - FINAL PROVISIONS  
Article 16 - Judicial Officers  
The Ministry 's employees specified by a decision from the Minister of Justice, under agreement with 
the Minister, shall have the capacity of judicial officer s in proving what occurs in violation to the 
provisions of this Law and the decisions issued in implementation thereof, within the jurisdiction of 
each.  
Article 17 - Fees 
The Cabinet shall issue, upon the suggestion of the Minister of Finance, a decision sp ecifying the 
fees of the preferential and non -preferential certificates of origin issued by the Ministry.  
Article 18 - Implementing Regulation  
The Cabinet shall, upon the Minister's suggestion, issue the Implementing Regulation of this Law 
within six months  from the date of issuance thereof.  G/RO/N/231  
 
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  Article 19 - Abrogation  
1. The Federal Law no. (6) of 1983 on the determination of fees imposed on the certificates of 
origin of the national Products of the United Arab Emirates and its implementing decisions 
shall be abrog ated, provided that it remains applicable along with its implementing decisions 
until issuance of the Cabinet decision referred to in Article (17) of this Law.  
2. Any provision contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Law shall be abrogated.  
Article 20 - Publication and Entry into Force  
This Law shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall enter into effect one month after the 
date of publication thereof.  
Issued by Us at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi:  On: 22 Rabi' Al -Akhar 1441 HCo rresponding 
to: 19 December 2019  
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan  
President of the United Arab Emirates State  
This Federal Law was published in the Official Gazette no. 669, p. 99.  
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