G/RO/W/182/Rev.2  
 
3 December  2019 
(19-8340) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Rules of Origin  Original: English  
 
ENHANCING TRANSPAREN CY IN NON -PREFERENTI AL RULES OF ORIGIN  
COMMUNICATION FROM AUSTRALIA; BRAZIL; C ANADA; HONG KONG, CHINA; JAPAN; REPUBLIC 
OF KOREA; NEW ZEALAN D; NORWAY; PHILIPPINES; RUSSIA N FEDERATION ; SINGAPORE; 
SWITZERLAND; THE SEP ARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN,  PENGHU, KINMEN AND 
MATSU ; AND THE UNITED STATES  
Revision  
The following communication, dated 3 December  2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Switzerland.  
_______________  
 
Members of the World Trade Organization,  
Desiring to ensure that rules of origin themselves do not create restrictive, distorting or disruptive 
effects on international trade;  
Desiring  to ensure that rules of origin are prepared and applied in an impartial, transparent, 
predictable, consistent a nd neutral manner;  
Recognizing  that clear and predictable rules of origin and their application facilitate the flow of 
international trade;  
Recognizing  that it is desirable to provide transparency of laws, regulations, and practices regarding 
rules of orig in; 
Recalling the notification obligation contained in  Article 5 of the Agreement on Rules of Origin and 
desiring to complement such notifications obligation ; 
Affirming  that enhancing transparency of laws, regulations, and practices regarding rules of orig in 
contribute to mitigate compliance costs of economic operators wishing to integrate global value 
chains, notably micro, small and medium enterprises;  
Decide , with respect to rules of origin, as follows:  
1. That it is desirable to maintain and promote a high  level of transparency and mutual 
understanding about existing rules of origin and related documentary requirements applied  
by WTO Members.  Rules of origin are understood as those falling under the scope of Article 1 
of the Agreement on Rules of Origin. 
2. In order to enhance transparency and promote a better understanding of rules of origin, 
Members shall notify the WTO Secretariat , pursuant to Annex 1 of this Decision , the rules of 
origin that they use in the application of most -favoured -nation treatment und er Articles I, II, 
III, XI and XIII of GATT 1994.  
  G/RO/W/182/Rev.2  
 
- 2 - 
 
  3. Members are encouraged to complete the notification template in Annex 1 when notifying the 
WTO Secretariat of any other rules of origin that they use in the application of other 
non-preferential commercial policy instruments as provided for in Article 1.2 of the Agreement 
on Rules of Origin.  
4. In addition, Members shall describe , according to Annex 2 , their practices with respect to 
certification of origin and other mandatory documentary proofs of origin for non -preferential 
purposes that have been notified a ccording to Annex 11. Members that report that they do not 
implement rules of origin according to Annex 1 shall , nonetheless , complete Annex 2 . 
5. Notifications pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 4 of this Decision shall be submitted no later than 
one year after th e adoption of this Decision . 
6. The information notified pursuant to this decision shall be made publicly available by the WTO 
Secretariat.  
7. Members shall endeavour to provide legal references, websites, explanatory documents, or 
any other documents, in an off icial WTO language . 
8. Members introducing substantive changes to their rules of origin and related documentary 
requirements that have been notified according to this Decision, shall notify such changes 
promptly to the WTO Secretariat according to this Decision. 
9. The Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) shall examine existing rules of origin and related 
documentary requirements based on the information notified according to this Decision, with 
a view to identifying trade -facilitating practices and to promoting th eir international diffusion . 
10. Technical a ssistance and capacity building by the WTO Secretariat shall be provided upon 
request to help developi ng and least -developed country M embers implement the provisions of 
this Decision.  
11. Nothing in this Decision shall be construed as affecting the rights and obligations of Members 
contained in Article 5 of the Agreement on Rules of Origin or in Article 1 of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement.  
12. This Dec ision, in particular paragraph s 2 and 3 , shall be reviewed three years after its 
adoption, and thereafter when necessary, with a view to further enhancing transparency on 
non-preferential rules of origin as appropriate.  
 
  
                                                
1 This is without prejudice to other proofs of origin that may be required by the competent authorities 
for control purposes.  G/RO/W/182/Rev.2  
 
- 3 - 
 
  ANNEX 1  
NOTIFICATION TEMPLAT E FOR NON -PREFERENTI AL RULES OF ORIGIN  
Annex 1 may be duplicated as many times as the member deems necessary  
I.  BASIC INFORMATION  
1)  Notifying member   
2)  Contact point  
(If possible, provide the following 
contact details : Name, tel., e -mail, 
website )  
3)  Are Non -Preferential RO in force?   Yes  No* 
* If your answer is "No", the subsequent questions of this 
Annex do not need to be completed  
4)  Please indicate which commercial 
policy instruments use these 
non-preferential RO (refer to 
Article  1.2 of the Agreement on 
Rules of Origin)   
5)  Date of entry into force or any 
substantive modification thereof:   
6)  Date of expiration, if applicable:   
7)  Governmental or non-governmental 
authorities in charge of 
administration:   
8)  Internet link to legislation and any 
other explanatory documents, if 
applicable:   
9)  Comment s, if any   
 
II.  APPLICATION OF NON -PREFERENTIAL R ULES OF ORIGIN  
10)  Do non -preferential RO apply to 
imports   Yes  No 
11)  Do non -preferential RO apply to 
exports   Yes  No 
12)  De minimis  rule for the application 
of non -preferential RO   Yes  No 
 If Yes, please specify the 
de minimis  threshold and p rovide 
the relevant legal references 
applicable to questions 10 to 12.   
 
  G/RO/W/182/Rev.2  
 
- 4 - 
 
  III.  CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING SUBSTANTIAL T RANSFORMATION FOR ASSESSING 
THE ORIGIN  OF THE GOOD  
13)  General criteria, if applicable for all 
products:   
14)  Product specific rules of origin 
where applicable:   
15)  Definition of non -originating 
material and originating material, if 
any:  
16)  List of minimal operations not 
conferring origin, if any:   
17)  Residual rules, if any:   
18)  Any other information the member 
deems necessary (provide an 
Internet link, if appropriate)   
 
IV.   ADVANCE RULINGS
Are advance rulings on the origin of a good 
issued?1  Yes  No 
 
Authority in charge of issuing advance 
rulings (on origin )  
Instructions for the application for an 
advance ruling   
Internet link to legislation and any other 
relevant legal references:   
 
  
                                                
1 As defi ned in Article 2(h) of the Agreement on Rules of Origin and Article 3 of the Trade Facilitation 
Agreement . G/RO/W/182/Rev.2  
 
- 5 - 
 
  ANNEX 2  
NOTIFICATION TEMPLAT E FOR DOCUMENTARY RE QUIREMENTS RELATED T O 
NON-PREFERENTIAL RUL ES OF ORIGIN  
1)  For imports, are there m andatory 
requirements for certificate and/or any 
other documentary proof of origin for non-
preferential purposes ?  
 Yes  No** 
 
2)  For exports, are there m andatory 
requirements for certificate and/or any 
other documentary proof of origin for  non-
preferential purposes ?  Yes 
  No** 
 
3)  Is there a standardized or prescribed 
format and/or content of Certificate 
and/or any other mandatory documentary 
proof of origin?  
If Yes, please attach a copy or provide 
relevant details in the Appendix of this 
Annex   
   Yes 
  No 
** If answers to questions 1 and 2 are "No", the 
subsequent questions of this Annex do not need 
to be completed  
4)  If only requested in specific 
circumstances, please describe the cases 
for which a certificate (or other mandatory 
documentary proofs of origin) is requested 
and the respective format (prescribed 
form or other).   
5)  If mandatory requirements for certificate 
and/or any other documentary proof of 
origin for non-preferential purposes  are 
limited to certain products,  please specify 
for which HS Chapters and the respective 
format (prescribed form or other).   
6)  Exemptions to the mandatory 
requirements for certificate and/or any 
other documentary proof of origin for non-
preferential purposes  (e.g. low value 
consignments, postal consignments,  …)  
7)  Governmental or non -governmental 
authorities designated for issuanc e of 
certificate and/or any other mandatory 
documentary proof of origin, if any   
8)  Please provide the relevant legal 
references applicable to Questions 1 to 7   
 
ANNEX 2 - APPENDIX  
Please attach the prescribed form and/or Internet link to the prescribed form of Certificate of origin 
(or other mandatory documentary proof of origin), if applicable . 
__________