G/RO/LDC/N/MNE/1  
 
16 September 2019  
(19-5921) Page: 1/8 
Committee on Rules of Origin  Original: English  
 
  
NOTIFICATION OF PREF ERENTIAL RULES OF OR IGIN FOR  
LEAST DEVELOPED COUN TRIES  
MONTENEGRO  
The following communication, dated 9 September  2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Montenegro.  
_______________  
 
Paragraph 4.3 of the 2015 Ministerial Decision on preferential rules of origin for least developed 
countries (WT/L/917/Add.1) requires preference -granting Members t o notify preferential rules of 
origin as per the established procedures1. In addition, as mandated by the Ministerial Decision, the 
Committee on Rules of Origin agreed, at its meeting of 2 March 2017, to a template for such 
notifications (G/RO/84).  
 
Follow ing such requirements, the following notification has been received from: Montenegro  
 
A. BASIC INFORMATION  
1)  Notifying member  Montenegro  
2)  Date of entering into force of Rules 
of origin and any substantive  
modification thereof  27 March 2003  
3)  Date of expiration of Rules of origin 
if applicable  No expiration date  
4)  Title of the preferential scheme for 
which legislation on Rules of origin 
is applicable  Regulation on Customs Tariff for 2016  
Regulation on Customs Tariff for 2017  
Regulation on Customs Tarif f for 2018  
Regulation on Customs Tariff for 2019  
5)  Authority(ies) granting the 
preferential treatment  Government of Montenegro  
6)  National authorities in charge of 
Rules of origin administration  Customs Administration of Montenegro  
81000 Podgorica, Oktobarske revolucije 128  
http://www.upravacarina.gov.me/uprava  
 
  
                                                
1 The relevant notification requirements are contained in Paragraph 2(d) of Annex 1 of the Transparency 
Mechanism for Preferential Trade Arrangements (WT/L/806) and in Paragraph 4 of Annex II of the Agreement 
on Rules of Origin.  
 
 
 
 G/RO/LDC/N/MNE/1  
 
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  B. INFORMATION ON RULES OF ORIGIN  
I.  BENEFICIARIES  
1)  List of Beneficiaries  Annex 4 of the Regulation on Customs Tariff for 2016  
Uredba o carinskoj tarifi za 2016 (Sl. list CG br. 4-2016)  
 
2)  Eligibility  Section 2. (Articles 36 -68, Annex 7b, Annex 7c, Annex 8 and 
Annex 9) of the Regulation for the implementation of the 
Customs Law  
http://www.upravacarina.gov.me/ResourceManager/FileDow
nload.aspx?rid=1716 97&rType=2&file=DECREE%20ON%20I
MPLEMENTATION%20OF%20THE%20CUSTOMS%20LAW -
%20Off.gaz.No.38 -08.pdf   
 
II.  CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING SUBSTANTIAL TRANSFORMATION  
1)   General  criteria, if applicable for all 
products  Article 36 of the Regulation for the implementation of the 
Customs Law prescribes that:  
(1) For the purposes of implementing the regulations 
governing the measures of customs treatment used by 
Montenegro in favour of certain countries, group of 
countries or territories (hereinafter: beneficia ry countries), 
the following products shall be included in the products with 
origin of the countries - beneficiaries of the preferential 
tariff (hereinafter: beneficiary country):  
 
a)  The products completely produced in such a country, in 
compliance with Article 37 of this Decree;  
b)  The products, produced in such a country with the 
manufacturing in which other material that are not 
included under item a) of this paragraph has been 
used, provided such material have been sufficiently 
treated or processed i n accordance with Article 38 of 
this Decree.  
(2) For the purposes of implementing the provisions of this 
Decree, the products with origin from Montenegro, in 
accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article, that have been 
exported in the beneficiary country an d have been treated 
or processed in it more than provided by Article 39 of this 
Decree, shall be deemed to be products with origin in the 
beneficiary country.  
(3) Provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply 
mutatis mutandis  for the purposes of es tablishing origin of 
goods, produced in Montenegro.  
 (a) Definition  of wholly obtained 
products  (1) The products completely produced in the beneficiary 
country include:  
a)  Mineral products obtained from the ground or seabed;  
b)  Produced plant products;  
c)  Live animals bred and raised there;  
d)  Products obtained from raised live animals;  
e)  Products obtained through hunting and fishing;  
f)  Products from sea fishing and other sea products, 
obtained with their vessels outside the territorial sea of 
the beneficiary country;  
g)  Products, manufactured on their processing ships, 
exclusively from the products mentioned under item f) 
of this paragraph;  
h)  Selected used items, suitable for recycling of raw 
materials;  
i)  Waste and resid ue in production undersea, carried out 
there;  
j)  Products, obtained from the seabed or from undersea 
outside their territorial sea, provided they have 
exclusive right to treat the seabed or undersea;   G/RO/LDC/N/MNE/1  
 
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  k)  The goods, produced there exclusively from the 
products mentioned under items a) through j) of this 
paragraph.  
(2) The terms "their vessels" and "their processing ships" 
referred to in items f) and g) paragraph 1 of this Article 
shall be used only for the vessels and processing ships:  
a)  That are registe red or are recorded in the beneficiary 
country;  
b)  That sail under the flag of the beneficiary country;  
c)  That are at least 50 % owned by the citizens of the 
beneficiary country or a company with head office in 
such country, with the director or directo rs, president 
of the board of directors, and majority of board 
members, being citizens of the beneficiary country, 
and, moreover, if, in case of companies, persons or 
stock companies, at least half of capital belongs to such 
country or public authorities o r citizens of such country;  
d)  Whose master and officers are citizens of the 
beneficiary country; and  
e) Whose at least 75 % crew members are citizens of the 
beneficiary country.  
(3) The term "beneficiary country" refers to the territorial 
sea of such country.  
(4) The vessels, sailing on open sea, including the 
processing ships in which the catch of fish is treated or 
processed, shall be deemed to be a part of the territory of 
the beneficiary country or Montenegro, provided the 
requirements referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article have 
been duly met.  
 (b)  Describe the criteria for not -
wholly produced products  (1) In the sense of Article 36 of this Decree, it shall be 
deemed that the products have not been completely 
obtained in the beneficiary country, or have not been 
sufficiently treated or processed, if the requirements listed 
in Annex 7b to this Decree have not been duly met.  
(2) The requirements listed in Annex 7b shall apply to all 
products to which this section refers, treatme nt or 
processing procedures that must be carried out on the 
material with no origin, used in manufacturing of these 
products and related exclusively to such materials.  
(3) If a product, which has acquired the origin based on 
fulfilment  of the requirements listed in Annex 7b, is used in 
manufacturing  or other product, then the requirements 
applied to the product in which such is included shall not 
apply to such product and the materials with no origin 
which might have been used in its manufacturing shall not  
be taken into account.  
 (c)  Insert  the formula for 
calculating ad valorem  
percentage  (1) Notwithstanding provisions of Article 38 of this Decree, 
the materials without origin may be used when 
manufacturing the said product provided that their joint 
value shall not exceed 10 % of the ex -works product price. 
If the rule in the list enclosed in Annex 7b should state one 
or more percent as the maximum value of material without 
origin to be used, then such percentage may not be 
exceeded based on the application of this paragraph.  
(2) Provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be 
used for the products classified into Chapters 50 through 63 
of the Customs Tariff.  
2) Product specific rules of origin, where applicable  
 (a)  Insert  the link where the 
complete list of product 
specific rules of origin can be 
found.  There is no list of product specific rules of origin.  
 (b)  Insert the formula for 
calculating ad valorem  
percentage, when applied for 
product specific rule  None G/RO/LDC/N/MNE/1  
 
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  3) Definition of non -originating 
material  and originating material, if 
any For the purposes of implementing the provisions of this 
Decree, the products  with origin from Montenegro, in 
accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article, that have been 
exported in the beneficiary country and have been treated 
or processed in it more than provided by Article 39 of this 
Decree, shall be deemed to be products with origin in the 
beneficiary country.  
4) List of insufficient working process, 
if any  (1) Notwithstanding provision of paragraph 2 of this Article, 
it shall be deemed that the following treatment or 
processing procedures are insufficient for the product to 
acquire the status of the product with origin, regardless 
whether the requirements re ferred to in Article 38 of this 
Decree have been met or not:  
a)  Procedures for preservation of goods in good condition 
during transportation or storing;  
b)  Assembly  and disassembly of consignments;  
c)  Rinsing, cleaning, removal of dust, oxides, oil, pai nt 
and other covering  materials;  
d)  Textile ironing ; 
e)  Simple painting  and polishing procedures;  
f)  Polishing, bleaching , in part or in whole; wheat and rice 
polishing and glazing;  
g)  Sugar bleaching procedures or sugar -cubes shaping 
procedures;  
h)  Removal of skin, stones; and peeling of fruit, nuts and 
vegetables ; 
i)  Grinding, simple  crushing or simple cutting;  
j)  Sieving, selecting , classifying, ensuring compliance 
(including composing sets of products);  
k)  Simple pouring in bottles, tins, flasks, bags, boxes, 
cases, fixing onto the cardboard or plates, etc, and 
other simple packing procedures;  
l)  Attaching marks, labels, logos and other similar signs 
for designation  of the products and their packaging;  
m)  Simple mixing of products, regardless whether they are 
of different kind or not;  
n)  Simple assembly of parts of products into a complete 
product , or disassembly of a product into the parts;  
o)  Combination of two or more than two procedures 
described in items a) through n) of this paragraph;  
p)  Slaughtering of animals.  
(2) When establishing whether treatment or processing 
procedures , carried out on individual products, can be 
considered insufficient in accordance with paragraph 1 of 
this Article, all proc edures carried out on such a product in 
the beneficiary country or Montenegro shall be taken into 
account . 
5) Rules for application of cumulation 
and related procedures if any  (1) When implementing Article 36 paragraphs 2 and 3 of 
this Decree the customs service authority shall check 
whether  the competent authorities in the beneficiary state, 
authorized for such activities, at the time of issuing the 
certificate of the origin of  goods Form A for the products in 
whose manufacturing were used the materials with the 
origin from Montenegro, did take into account the data 
from the certificate of the trade in goods EUR.1 or, as 
applicable, statements on the invoice.  
(2) The customs ser vice authority shall check whether the 
certificate of origin of goods issued in accordance with 
paragraph 1 of this Article contains in column 4 the note 
entered in one of the languages that the certificate was 
written in. The note in Montenegrin reads: "K umulacija 
CG". 
6) Any other information that member 
deems necessary  None 
 G/RO/LDC/N/MNE/1  
 
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  III.   DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS  
1)  Certificate of origin and other proofs of origin  
 (a)  Requirement for certificate of 
origin and/or any other proof 
of origin, if any  The customs concessions referred to in Article 36 of this 
Decree shall hold for the products with origin from the 
beneficiary country at the time of import into Montenegro if 
the following is submitted:  
a)  Certificate of Origin  Form A, the sample of which is in 
Annex 7c enclosed to this Decree ; or 
b)  in the instances specified in Article 53, paragraph 1 of 
this Decree, the statements the texts thereof are 
supplied in the Annex  8 to this Decree, provided by the 
exporter on the invoice, consignment note, shippi ng 
document or other trade document, that with adequate 
accuracy describes such products, so it is possible to 
identify them (hereinafter referred to as: "statement on 
the invoice").  
 (b)  Authority to be designated for 
issuance of certificate of origin  The products with origin in accordance with this section are 
entitled at the time of import into Montenegro to make use 
of preferential tariffs in accordance with Article 36 of this 
Decree under the terms specified in Articles  45 and 46 of 
this Decr ee, provided the certificate of origin of goods Form 
A is submitted, issued by the customs service authority, or 
other organizations or bodies duly authorized by the 
beneficiary country (hereinafter referred to as: authorized 
bodies).  
 (c)  Prescribed for m of Certificate 
of origin and/or any other 
proof of origin  -  Certificate of Origin Form A, the sample of which is in 
Annex 7c enclosed to this Decree ; and 
-  Statement on the invoice, the sample of which is in 
Annex 8 enclosed to this Decree . 
 (d)  Any other procedures applied 
for certificate of origin and/or 
any other proof of origin, if 
any None 
2)  Direct shipment  
 (a)  Rules applicable for direct 
shipment, if any  The products with the origin from the beneficiary country 
shall be transported directly to Montenegro from the 
beneficiary country in accordance with Article 36, 
paragraph 1 of this Decree. The products originating from 
Montenegro are transported  into the beneficiary country 
directly, in accordance with Article 36, paragraphs 2 and 3 
of this Decree. The direct transport in accordance with this 
Article shall be deemed to mean the transport:  
a)  of the products whose transport does not take place in 
the terri tory of any other  country ; 
b)  of the products constituting one indivisible shipment, 
being transported through other territory than the 
territory of the beneficiary country, should it so 
happen, with the reloading or temporary storage in 
such territories,  provided that the goods in the country 
of transit or storage remained under supervision of the 
customs service authorities and that they did not 
undergo any other procedures except for unloading, 
reloading or any other procedures intended for 
preserving t he goods in good condition;  
c)  of the products being transported through the pipeline 
without discontinuation  through the territory that is not 
the territory of the exporting beneficiary country or 
Montenegro.  G/RO/LDC/N/MNE/1  
 
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   (b)  Documentary requirement for 
proof of direct shipment 
including when the transport 
of consignment involves 
transit through one or more 
intermediate countries, if any  The following evidence of meeting the requirements 
specified in item b), paragraph 1 of this Article should be 
submitted to the customs  service authority:  
a)  a shipping document, issued in the exporting country of 
use, covering the transport from exportin g country 
through the country of transit; or  
b)  a certificate issued by the customs service authority 
and the countries of transit that:  
 -  contains the exact  description of the products ; 
 -  states the dates  of unloading and reloading of the 
products, a nd if applicable, the names of ships or 
other means of transport used ; and 
 -  establishes the conditions leading to the products 
being detained in the country of transit ; or 
c)  if there are no such documents, then other documents 
reliably proving the circumstances of transport.  
 
IV.  VERIFICATION AND PENALTIES  
1)  Procedure for verification of proofs 
of origin  (1) The certificates of origin of goods Form A and the 
statements on the invoice shall be verified retrospectively  by 
way of a random sample, or when the customs service 
authority justifiably questions the authenticity of the 
documents, the status of origi n of relevant products or 
meeting other requirements referred to in this chapter.  
(2) In the instances referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article 
the customs service authority shall return the certificate of 
origin of goods Form A and the invoice, if it wa s submitted, 
to the competent and duly authorized bodies of the exporting 
beneficiary country, and, if applicable, state the grounds for 
examination.  As the addition to the request for control, each 
received document or information indicating the data on the 
evidence of origin to be erroneous must be submitted.  If 
these authorities reach a decision to temporarily cease 
granting preferential customs treatment in accordance with 
Article 36 of this Decree while waiting for the results of the 
control, they sh all offer to the importer the conditional 
release of goods regarding safety measures that they deem 
to be necessary.  
(3) If the request for retrospective control has been drafted 
in accordance  with paragraph 1 of this Article, such a control 
should be carr ied out and the findings communicated to the 
customs service authorities of Montenegro within the time 
period of six months at the latest. The result must be such 
that it is possible to establish whether the said certificate of 
origin relates to the produc ts actually exported, or whether 
these products may be considered to be products with origin 
from the beneficiary country or from Montenegro.  
(4) When the certificates of origin of goods Form A are 
issued based on Article 60 of this Decree, the reply must 
contain copies of the certificate of trade in goods EUR.1, or 
when applicable, the statement on the invoice.  
(5) If, as referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, no reply is 
received within the time period of 6 months, or if the reply 
fails to contain en ough information for establishing the 
accuracy of the necessary documents or the true origin of 
the product, the authority having demanded the control will 
submit the second notification to the competent and duly 
authorized bodies. If following this second  notification the 
authorities demanding the control should not receive the 
results of the control within four months, or if these results 
fail to provide the credibility of the relevant documents  or 
the true origin of the product, the competent authority may 
refuse to grant the right to preferential treatment.  
(6) If the procedure  of retrospective control or any other 
available data should indicate that the provisions of this G/RO/LDC/N/MNE/1  
 
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  chapter have been br eached, the beneficiary country shall, at 
the personal initiative or at the request by the customs 
service authorities of Montenegro, carry out the necessary 
examinations, or ensure that examinations are carried out in 
order to establish and prevent such o ffenses. The 
representatives of Montenegro may for such purposes 
cooperate in the examination procedure.  
(7) The customs service authority in cooperation with the 
competent  and duly authorized bodies of the beneficiary 
exporting country shall check whether  these authorities for 
the purpose of carrying out retrospective controls of 
certificates of origin Form A keep the copies of evidence as 
well as all the exporting documents related to them for at 
least 3 years.  
2)  Penalties for fraud and false 
declarati ons Article 241 paragraph 1 (11) of the Customs Law prescribes 
that financial penalty ranging from 3,000 Euro to 40,000 
Euro shall be forced upon legal person or entrepreneur if it 
lodge to the competent customs house customs declaration 
with incorrect data or  in any other way mislead the customs 
authority to the wrong conclusion, accomplish or attempts to 
accomplish payment of duties in lowered amount, 
preferential customs treatment, exemption form payment of 
customs duties, facility in reference to payment of  import 
and other duties, payment of lowered amount, repayment or 
remission of customs debt or any other facility.  
3)  Authorities and procedures for 
appeal in the case of dispute on 
verification  Administrative and judicial protection of the participants in 
the customs procedure is enabled by the Law on 
Administrative Procedure and the Law on Administrative 
Dispute . On the basis of these regulations, an unsatisfied 
party may file a complaint with the Ministry of Finance to the 
first instance decisions of t he Customs Administration. 
Against the second instance decisions of the Ministry of 
Finance, the party may initiate an administrative dispute 
before the Administrative Court of Montenegro.  
4) Requirement for preserving the 
documents related to issuance of 
certificate of origin  (1) The exporter applying for the certificate of origin of 
goods shall keep the documents referred to in Article 49 
paragraph 4 for at least 3 years.  
(2) The exporter providing the statement on the invoice shall 
keep the copy of this statement for at least three years, as 
well as documents referred to in Article 53 paragraph 3 of 
this Decree.  
(3) The customs service authority or the authorities of the 
importing country authorized to issue evidence of origin shall 
keep the applications referred to in Article 48 paragraph 4 of 
this Decree for the period of at least 3 years.  
(4) The customs service authority of the importing country 
shall for a period of at least 3 years keep the certificates of 
origin and the statements on th e invoices submitted to them.  
5) Any other relevant information  None 
 
V.  REFERENCE TEXTS  
(a) The legislative texts in one of the 
official WTO languages containing 
the preferential rules of origin 
applicable under a PTA granted 
under the Decision on Measures in 
Favour of Least -Developed 
Countries (Annex F of the Hong 
Kong Ministerial Declaration)  http://www.upravacarina.gov.me/ResourceManager/FileDow
nload.aspx?rid=1716 97&rType=2&file=DECREE%20ON%20I
MPLEMENTATION%20OF%20THE%20CUSTOMS%20LAW -
%20Off.gaz.No.38 -08.pdf   
 
 G/RO/LDC/N/MNE/1  
 
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  (b) The full text of the administrative 
regulations concerning modalities 
for issuance, acceptance, 
retrospective issuance and 
replacement of certificates o f 
origin or any equivalent 
declarations to be made, including 
any requirements related to 
stamps to be used along with 
notification of stamps  http://www.upravacarina.gov.me/ResourceManager/FileDow
nload.aspx?rid=171697&rType=2&file=DECREE%20ON%20I
MPLEMENTATION%20OF%20THE%20CUSTOMS%20LAW -
%20Off.gaz.No.38 -08.pdf   
 
 
(c) The full text and related 
administrative regulations of the 
modalities for the proof of 
movement of the consignment of 
the goods from the beneficiary 
countries to preference -giving 
countries including transit 
through third countries  http://www.upravacarina.gov.me/ResourceManager/FileDow
nload.aspx?rid=171697&rType=2&file=DECREE%20 ON%20I
MPLEMENTATION%20OF%20THE%20CUSTOMS%20LAW -
%20Off.gaz.No.38 -08.pdf   
 
 
(d) The full texts of the modalities of 
the verification procedures and 
related penalties  http://www.upravacarina.gov.me/ResourceManager/FileDow
nload.aspx?rid=1716 97&rType=2&file=DECREE%20ON%20I
MPLEMENTATION%20OF%20THE%20CUSTOMS%20LAW -
%20Off.gaz.No.38 -08.pdf   
 
 
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