February, 2021
Guideline for the statement on origin/importer's knowledge and verification
under the Japan-EU EPA

1. Introduction
In the Agreement between the European Union and Japan for an Economic
Partnership (hereinafter referred to as “the Agreement”), the self-declaration system
is introduced.

A claim for preferential tariff treatment is based either on a statement

on origin or on importer's knowledge.

2. Statement on Origin 1
Where an importer makes a claim for preferential tariff treatment based on astatement on origin in accordance with Article 3.16.2(a) of the Agreement, thatstatement on origin shall be made out by an "exporter" ("exporter" includes "producer"(hereinafter the same shall apply)), using one of the linguistic versions of the text set
out in Annex 3-D of Chapter 3 (Rules of origin and origin procedures) of the Agreement
on an invoice or on any other commercial document (please refer to Annex 1 of thisGuideline). Furthermore, the statement is not necessary to be translated.
The “exporter” can be any person (such as a producer or a trading company) making
out the statement on origin involved in the production and/or exportation of the product,as long as this person fulfils the obligations under the EPA. It is not necessary that the“exporter” lodges the customs export declaration in respect of the products.
The EPA imposes that the statement on origin is made out by the exporter but does
not include any explicit requirement as to the identity of the person issuing thecommercial document used for making out the statement. The obligation to provide a
sufficient description of the products lies on the exporter even if its statement on origin
appears on another person’s document.
Therefore, nothing in the EPA prevents the following scenarios to apply where the1This Guidance incorporates common text, published in Annex 1 to this Guidance agreed

between DG TAXUD and Japan Customs.

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producer and a trading (exporting) company are both located in the exporting Party,
and where:- the producer acting as the “exporter”, although not exporting the products, makesout a statement on origin on its own document;- the trading company acting as the “exporter”, based on information from theproducer, makes out a statement on origin on its own document;- the producer acting as the “exporter”, although not exporting the products,
makes out a statement on origin on a document of the trading company;- the trading company acting as the “exporter”, based on information from theproducer, makes out a statement on origin on a document of the producer.

The two last scenarios nevertheless imply that the exporter making out the statement
on origin, and not being the person having issued the commercial document, is clearly
identified on that document. In the case where an Exporter’s Reference Number has
not been assigned, i.e., the exporter cannot be identified, the exporter may indicate its
full address under the part "Place and date".
Where the “exporter” (producer or trader) is located in the exporting Party but thetrader issuing the invoice is established in a third country, the “exporter” is notsupposed to make out a statement on origin on a document of that trader. In that case,the Statement on Origin should be placed on a commercial document issued by the“exporter” (producer or trader other than the trader established in a third country,
under one of the scenarios provided for the question which document may be used forthe statement on origin) in the exporting Party, such as a delivery note.
It should be reminded that a claim for preferential tariff treatment based on astatement on origin made out on a document issued by the “exporter” (producer ortrader, under one of the scenarios provided for the question which document may be
used for the statement on origin), shall not be rejected for the sole reason that an
invoice was issued in a third country.
There is no legal definition in the EPA of what constitutes a “commercial document”
which nonetheless can be considered as a written record of a commercial transaction.
It therefore covers, apart from the invoice itself, different types of documents such asa pro-forma invoice, a shipping document (packing list, delivery note), etc. The only
legal requirement for the invoice or any commercial document to be considered as thebasis for a statement on origin is that it shall contain a description of the originating2

products in sufficient detail to enable their identification. Other products, which may be
included in the same invoice or other commercial document, shall be clearly
distinguished from the originating products.
A statement on origin can be printed on a separate paper (e.g. a blank paper or apaper with a company letterhead), other than on an invoice or other commercial
document, where:-that invoice or any other commercial document makes a reference to that separate
paper, or-that separate paper makes a reference to the invoice or any other commercial
document.

The separate paper can then be seen as integral part of the invoice or othercommercial document. The treatments above are also applied to the four scenarios
provided for the question which document may be used for the statement on origin.
Furthermore, where identical products are imported more than one time within 12
months, the statement may be used comprehensively for these multiple shipments by
the exporter indicating on the statement the period during which it is used. Pleasecontact Customs if there are any questions.

3. Importer's knowledge
The importer may claim preferential tariff treatment based on its knowledge inaccordance with Article 3.16.2(b) of the Agreement. In such a case, it is assumed thatthe importer has information which demonstrates that the product is originating inaccordance with Article 3.18 of the Agreement and satisfies the requirements provided
for in the Agreement.

4.

Explanation of the originating status of a product, which Japan Customs requests atthe time of import declaration
At the time of import declaration, in accordance with the second sentence of Article
3.16(3) of the Agreement, Japan Customs requests from an importer, who claims
preferential tariff treatment for a product under the Agreement, to provide an3explanation, as part of the import declaration, that the product satisfies therequirements of the Agreement. The “explanation” refers to an additional explanationon the originating status of the product, which is provided in addition to a statement
on origin or the importer's knowledge.
However, where an importer makes a claim for preferential tariff treatment based on
the statement on origin in accordance with Article 3.16.2(a) of the Agreement, theimporter is not obliged to provide any additional explanation on the originating statusof the product besides the statement, if such information is not available to him/her. In
this regard, the exporter is responsible for the correctness of the statement on origin
and of the information provided in accordance with Article 3.17(1) of the Agreement.
To reply to a request for an explanation at the time of import declaration, an importer
is not asked to obtain additional information from the exporter who has made out thestatement on origin, and the exporter is not obliged to provide such information at thetime of import declaration. Furthermore, an importer, who states that he/she cannot
provide an additional explanation besides the statement on origin issued by the exporter,
does not need to specify a reason why he/she cannot provide any such explanation.
In the above case, the absence of such explanation besides the statement on origin
will not lead to a rejection of the claim or a denial of preferential tariff treatment underthe Agreement.
Where the importer cannot provide an additional explanation on the originating
status of the product, please refer to point (1) below. On the other hand, where theimporter provides an additional explanation, particulars to be noted as part of the
explanation will be simplified as per point (2).
(1) The importer cannot provide an additional explanation:
Where the importer who makes a claim based on a statement on origin and who,
when requested, cannot provide an additional explanation on the originating status,
he/she can use the NACCS platform to describe that he/she cannot provide an
explanation.

In this case, the importer does not need to submit any additional

explanation which is done by means of a simplified procedure which is applicablefrom 17th November 2019- by inserting "Q" or "F" according to the following category in the third digit of
the four-digit code for the Origin certification into the electronic importdeclaration on NACCS.

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Code

Category
Statement on origin made by the producer

Q(When the importer cannot provide an additional explanation on theoriginating status.)
Statement on origin made by the exporter

F(When the importer cannot provide an additional explanation on theoriginating status.)* Codes Q and F correspond to Codes P (Statement on origin made by the producer) and E(Statement on origin made by the exporter), respectively.

(2) The importer provides an additional explanation:
Where the importer decides to provide an additional explanation to a customs
office, it may be done as follows:① When a claim for preferential tariff treatment by the importer is based on astatement on origin:
To explain that the product is originating, please provide the particulars
below. In this case, the importer may use the attached form entitled:“Explanation that the product satisfies the origin criteria (Japan-EU EPA)”.
a) Invoice number and date of issue;b) Explanation that the product satisfies the origin criteria; andc) Name of the person who produced the explanation.
Please note that the exporter is responsible for the correctness of thestatement on origin made out and of the information provided, in accordancewith Article 3.17(1) of the Agreement.
② When a claim for preferential tariff treatment by the importer is based on theimporter’s knowledge:
To explain that the product is originating, please provide the particulars
below. In this case, the importer may use the attached form entitled:“Explanation that the product satisfies the origin criteria (Japan-EU EPA)”.
a) Invoice number and date of issue;b) Explanation that the product satisfies the origin criteria; andc) Name of the person who produced the explanation.
Please note that, in order for the importer to claim for preferential tariff
treatment on the basis of the importer’s knowledge, it is assumed that theimporter has information which demonstrates that the product is originating
5and satisfies the requirements provided for in the Agreement, in accordancewith Article 3.18 thereof.

5. Waivers(1) In accordance with Article 3.20 of the EPA, the basis for a claim for preferential
tariff treatment, where it is a statement on origin or the importer’s knowledge, is not
required where the total amount of the customs value is less than 200,000yen.
(2) Further, an additional explanation is not requested where:an advance ruling in writing has been obtained and the registered number ofsuch advance ruling is noted on the import declaration/tax return form.



the products are wholly obtained or produced in the EU under Article 3.3 of the
EPA and that can be confirmed from clearance documents such as an invoice.

6. Record keeping(1) Documents to be kept by an importer
An importer in Japan is required to keep the documents related to the originatingproduct for five years from the date following the date of import permission asprovided for in the relevant Japanese law. The document subject to keeping in thecase of a claim for preferential tariff treatment based on a statement on origin isthat statement on origin concerned. In the case of a claim for preferential tariff
treatment based on the importer’s knowledge, the importer must keep all therecords demonstrating the product satisfies the requirements to obtain originating
status (i.e. the declaration of the importer’s knowledge and the documents
containing information demonstrating that the product is originating). However, thedocuments that have already been submitted to Japan Customs at the time ofimport declaration are not subject to keeping.
(2) Documents to be kept by an exporter
An exporter or a producer in Japan who made out a statement on origin isrequired to keep the documents related to the originating product for four years
from the date of making out the statement. The documents subject to keeping are6

a copy of the statement on origin and all the other records demonstrating that the
product satisfies the requirements to obtain originating status.

7. Handling of a verification on the originating status by Japan Customs (In case of import
into Japan)
At the time of import declaration or after release of the products based either on thestatement on origin or on the importer's knowledge, the customs authority may
conduct a verification based on risk assessment methods in accordance with Articles
3.21 and 3.22 of the Agreement, where necessary.

If the verification shows that theimported goods do not satisfy the requirements, preferential tariff treatment may bedenied in accordance with Article 3.24 of the Agreement.
(The following is the common texts with the EU.)a)

In case the claim is based on a statement on origin made out by the exporterin the exporting Party, verification potentially covers the following two steps:
Step 1:

The importing customs authority requests from the importer no more
information than provided in the list of data elements of Article 3.21(2).
Except the statement on origin, which the importing customs authority would
need to possibly move to Step 2a, the importer is not obliged to provide that
information and can leave it to the exporter to do it directly (Article 3.21(4))
or through administrative cooperation (Article 3.22).
The importer who is requested to submit information may provide thisinformation to the importing customs authority. However, apart fromcontractual obligations between the importer (buyer) and the exporter(seller), Chapter 3 does not contain any obligation for the exporter to provide
information to the importer, even where the importer is requested by theimporting customs authority to provide that information (but is not obliged
to do it) under verification Step 1.
Nonetheless, if the exporter, confronted with a request from the importer
prefers to provide information at this stage of the verification process, he/she
can choose to do so, either by providing the requested information (in full orin relation to one or more data elements) to the importer or to the importing
customs authority directly. Providing information following the request during
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Step 1 of the verification process avoids that the information will be requested
by his/her own (exporting) customs authority following a request foradministrative cooperation by the importing customs authority as part of Step
2a.
At least, the importer should provide the importing customs authority withthe statement on origin on which the claim for preferential tariff treatment
is based, unless this statement is already provided by the importer as partof the claim process (Article 3.16(4)).
Step 2a:

In case the importing customs authority needs, in addition to thestatement on origin, the information requested under Step 1 to verify theoriginating status of the product, but the information provided by theimporter or the exporter is not sufficient, the importing customs authority
may request administrative cooperation from the exporting customs
authority (Article 3.22(2)).
A request for administrative cooperation by the importing customs
authority to the exporting customs authority is only possible following arequest for information to the importer (Step 1) and if it considers that
additional information is necessary to verify the originating status of the
product.
b)

In case the claim is based on importer’s knowledge, verification potentiallycovers the following two steps:
Step 1:

The importing customs authority requests from the importer no more
information than provided in the list of data elements of Article 3.21(2).

Step 2b:

In case the importing customs authority needs more information todetermine the originating status of the product and following step 1, theimporting Party may request the importer to provide additional details(Article 3.21(5)). The importing customs authority cannot request
administrative cooperation from the exporting customs authority (Article
3.22(2)) as no exporter in the exporting Party is identified.
In case of ‘importer’s knowledge’, the importer shall be able todemonstrate that the product is originating and satisfies the requirementsof Chapter 3. This does not necessarily mean that all information at the time
the claim is made shall be readily available in the records of the importer.
Based on the request for information pursuant to Article 3.21(1), the8

importer should be

able to compile the necessary information within thetime limit of three months for the denial (see Article 3.24(1)(a)).
As all information demonstrating that the product is originating andsatisfies the requirements provided for in Chapter 3 should be available, theimporter is under the obligation to provide the requested information to theimporting customs authority. Non-compliance will result in a denial ofpreferential tariff treatment and as appropriate administrative measures orsanctions.
The importing customs authority shall not employ any verification activity in theexporting Party other than through a request to the exporting customs authority andonly if the claim is based on a statement on origin. Direct requests for information fromthe importing customs authority to the exporter or participation in visits to the premisesof the exporter are not possible as part of the verification process.

9(Annex 1)“(3) Actions by the EU and Japan” of the Conclusions of the Committee on Rules ofOrigin and Customs-Related Matters of the EU-Japan EPA on the Actions to be
Implemented by the Customs Authorities of Both Parties Relating to Certain Origin
Procedures of 26 June 2019 at Brussels states that:・ Based on the ongoing joint work between the EU and Japan to support theimplementation of the Agreement, both Japan Customs and DG TAXUD will
respectively
issue
guidance/
guidelines,orrevisetheexisting
guidance/guidelines, concerning the issues identified in point 3 of Appendix I andpoint 3 of Appendix II.
To implement this commitment, both Japan Customs and DG TAXUD agree on thefollowing text, and will publish it as part of their respective relevant Guidance/
Guidelines:

Legal context
1.

A statement on origin:a) is a text by which the exporter states the originating status of a product. This
text is in Annex 3-D of the EPA;b) is made out by an exporter of an originating product;c) shall be made out on an invoice or on any other commercial document that
describes the originating product in sufficient detail to enable its identification.

2.

The exporter:a) is a person located either in the EU or in Japan, and fulfils the legal obligations
established in that Party;b) exports or produces the originating product and makes out a statement on
origin;c) is responsible for the correct identification of the originating products on theinvoice or any other commercial document;d) shall keep a copy of the statement on origin (and all other records pertaining
to the origin of the originating product) for a minimum of four years.

Questions and Answers
Question:

Who can act as an exporter?

Answer:

The exporter can be any person (such as a producer or a trading company)
making out the statement on origin involved in the exportation of the
product, as long as this person fulfils the obligations under the EPA. It is
not necessary that the exporter lodges the customs export declaration in10

respect of the products.
Question:

Which document may be used for the statement on origin?

Sub-Question 1: May the exporter use the document of another person to makeout the Statement on Origin?
Answer: The EPA imposes that the statement on origin is made out by theexporter but does not include any explicit requirement as to theidentity of the person issuing the commercial document used formaking out the statement.
The obligation to provide a sufficient description of the products
lies on the exporter even if its statement on origin appears on
another person’s document.
Therefore, nothing in the EPA prevents the following scenarios toapply where the producer and a trading (exporting) company areboth located in the exporting Party, and where:-

the producer acting as the “exporter”, although not exporting
the products, makes out a statement on origin on its own
document;-

the trading company acting as the “exporter”, based on
information from the producer, makes out a statement on origin
on its own document;-

the producer acting as the “exporter”, although not exporting
the products, makes out a statement on origin on a documentof the trading company;-

the trading company acting as the “exporter”, based on
information from the producer, makes out a statement on origin
on a document of the producer.

The two last scenarios nevertheless imply that the exporter
making out the statement on origin, and not being the person
having issued the commercial document, is clearly identified onthat document. In the case where an Exporter’s Reference Number
has not been assigned, i.e., the exporter cannot be identified, theexporter may indicate its full address under the part "Place anddate".
Sub-Question 2: Can the statement on origin be placed on a document made out
in a third country?
Answer: Where the “exporter” (producer or trader) is located in theexporting Party but the trader issuing the invoice is established ina third country, the “exporter” is not supposed to make out astatement on origin on a document of that trader. In that case,11the Statement on Origin should be placed on a commercial
document issued by the “exporter” (producer or trader other than
the trader established in a third country, under one of the
scenarios of Sub-Question 1) in the exporting Party, such as adelivery note.
It should be reminded that a claim for preferential tariff treatment
based on a statement on origin made out on a document issued
by the “exporter” (producer or trader, under one of the scenariosof Sub-Question 1), shall not be rejected for the sole reason thatan invoice was issued in a third country.
Sub-Question 3: What is the “any other commercial document” on which the textof the Statement on Origin is made out?
Answer: There is no legal definition of what constitutes a “commercial
document” which nonetheless can be considered as a written
record of a commercial transaction.
It therefore covers, apart from the invoice itself, different typesof documents such as a pro-forma invoice, a shipping document(packing list, delivery note), etc.
The only legal requirement for the invoice or any commercial
document to be considered as the basis for a statement on origin
is that it shall contain a description of the originating products insufficient detail to enable their identification. Other products,
which may be included in the same invoice or other commercial
document, shall be clearly distinguished from the originatingproducts.
A statement on origin can be printed on a separate paper (e.g. ablank paper or a paper with a company letterhead), other thanon an invoice or other commercial document, where:-that invoice or any other commercial document makes areference to that separate paper, orthat separate paper makes a reference to the invoice or any
other commercial document.

The separate paper can then be seen as integral part of the invoiceor other commercial document. The treatments above are also
applied to the four scenarios under the Answer to Sub-Question 1.

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(Annex 2)

Explanation that the product satisfies the origin criteria(Japan-EU EPA)
Date：
1．Invoice number and date of issue (please refer to the invoice which contains theoriginating products if multiple invoices are submitted)

2．Explanation that the product satisfies the origin criteria

3．Name of the person who produced the explanation
Name：
Address：

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