. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/859 
24 June 2008 
 (08-2990) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
OPTICAL WATERMARK ON EXPORT CERTIFICATES 
 
Communication by Singapore
 
  
 The following communication, dated 23 June 2008,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Singapore
. 
 
_______________ 
  
1. Singapore is providing the following information for the attention of the Competent 
Authorities for animal health, plant hea lth and food safety of other Members. 
2. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has developed an optical 
watermark system, to be applied to the fo llowing export certificates issued by the AVA: 
(a) export health certificates for ornamental fish and live food fish; 
(b) food export certificates for various food products; 
(c) free sale certificates for various food products and animal feed; 
(d) veterinary certificates for animals and animal products;  and 
(e) certificate of freedom from disease. 
 
3. In principle, the certificates issued with the optical watermark will look essentially similar to 
the certificates which you had been receiving.  Ho wever, there are the following physical security 
features which will distinguish the certificates with  the optical watermark from those without the 
watermark: 
(a) The optical watermark will consist of tw o features, a visible watermark and an 
invisible watermark.  The visible watermark displays the logo of AVA, while the 
invisible watermark has the word "COPY".  Both the visible and invisible watermark 
will be embedded into the document and pr inted together with the document on a 
laser print. 
(b) When photocopied, the visible watermark (i.e. logo of AVA) will deteriorate, while 
the invisible watermark will appear.  To verify that a document is a photocopied 
version of the original document, one only has to check that either the visible 
watermark is not clearly visible or the invisible watermark is clearly seen.  No special decoding equipment is required for this verification process of the watermark as the 
watermark is visible to the naked eye. 
(c) In addition, there is a micro printing, fo und under the words “Agri-Food & Veterinary 
Authority of Singapore”, at the top right ha nd side of the certificate.  The micro 
printing appears to be a very fine line on the certificate and this can only be viewed under magnifying glass. The microprint comprises a repeating string of the certificate G/SPS/GEN/859 
Page 2  
 
  number. It will appear distorted when photocopied to detect any unauthorised 
reproduction of the document. Sample copies of  the certificates with and without the 
watermark may be obtained from the Singapore SPS Enquiry Point
.   
(d) There is also a series of processes to embed the certificate information into a 2D 
Barcode before being transferred into the act ual printout.  This 2D Barcode is printed 
on the bottom right hand corner of the certificate.  It can be easily verified using a 
normal flatbed scanner or a 2D barcode scanne r.  You just have to scan in the 2D 
Barcode and upload the scanne d image for verification via the AVA's website at the 
following URL: https://www.psi.gov.sg/NASApp/tmf/TM FServlet?app=AVAECLIPS&isNew=true&
Reload=true&vs_StateMachine=Login .  Our Online Certificate Verification System 
(OCVS) will perform image processing on the image uploaded and decode the 2D 
Barcode.  The content of the document will be presented for you to verify the 
integrity of the document.   
(e) The authorized signature on certificates bearing the optical watermark will be 
electronically applied, and not signed by hand.  There will be no signature on the 
certificate attachments. 
(f) As an added feature, the AVA will also allow enquiry by the authorities of the 
importing countries, through our OCVS.  A user ID and password will be issued on request by the authority of the importing country.  This will give access to the OCVS that will allow you to view the certificate details and verify that the certificate 
presented matches the certificate issued by the AVA.  This is done by entering the 
certificate number of the certificate that y ou wish to verify through the certificate 
verification website. This provides an authentication service for all certificates issued by the AVA using the optical watermark. Certificate attachments, however, cannot be viewed on the OCVS.  Verification of the certificate attachments may be carried out 
using the certificate number and date of issue printed at the top right hand corner of 
the attachment.  This certificate number and date of issue should match the accompanying certificate. 
4. Certificates with optical watermark will be issued from 14 July 2008  onwards
.  However, we 
wish to advise you that it is likely that from this date onwards, both certificates with optical 
watermark and those without the watermark may be pr esented over a period of time.  This is due to 
the validity period of certificates issued prior to 14 July 2008.  We hope that your authorities are 
familiar with AVA’s certificates cu rrently in use for these commoditi es and that the introduction of 
the optical watermark to these certificates will not cause any disruption to trade. 
5. Should you have any questions or concerns ar ising from the changes described above, or for 
requests for user ID and passwords, as mentioned in  paragraph 3(f), please do not hesitate to contact 
the Singapore SPS Enquiry Point . 
6. We look forward to your continued acceptance of export certificates issued by the AVA. 
__________