G/RO/N/141  
 
2 May 2016  
(16-2444)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Rules of Origin    
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 5 AND PARAGRAPH 4 OF 
ANNEX II TO THE AGREEMENT ON RULES OF ORIGIN 
NON-PREFERENTIAL AND PREFER ENTIAL RULES OF ORIGIN 
1. According to Article 5.1 of the Agreement on Ru les 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 of 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 provides, 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 the 
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 arrangements  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 further agreed that notifications made to the Committee 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. With reference to these rules, the following notification has been received: 
SEYCHELLES (Notification in English) Rules of origin are applied in Seychelles for both preferential and non-preferential trade. 
A. NON-PREFERENTIAL RULES OF ORIGIN 
The non-preferential origin of goods is established for the purposes of: (a) applying the Customs Tariff of Seychelles with the exception of: 
i. the preferential tariff measures contained in agreements which Seychelles has 
concluded with certain countries or groups of countries and which provide for the granting of preferential tariff treatment; and 
ii. preferential tariff measures adopted unilaterally or bilaterally by the Seychelles in 
respect of certain countries or territories. G/RO/N/141 
 
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  (b) application of measures other than tariff measures established by provisions governing 
specific fields relating to trade in goods; and 
(c) the preparation and issuance of certificates of origin. 
These rules are contained in S.I 8 of 2014, referred to as "Customs Management (Origin of Goods) 
Regulations of 2014.  
B. PREFERENTIAL RULES OF ORIGIN In line with its preferential trade, Rules of Or igin are being applied under Free Trade Agreements 
(FTAs) and other Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs).  For example, following the rules agreed for 
the iEPA, COMESA, and SADC. 
Certificates of Origin for the purposes of preferen tial rules of origin are provided for export, upon 
request, free of charge, but require an endors ement fee of SCR100 per certificate.  The fee 
charged by customs is catered for under S.I. 26 of 2011 (Revenue Administration Regulations), 
relating to Fees and Charges. 
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