COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 809/88 of 14 March 1988 on the definition of the concept of ´originating products' and methods of administrative cooperation applicable to imports into the Community of products originating in the Occupied Territories
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3363/86 of 27 October 1986 on the tariff arrangements applicable to imports into the Community of products originating in the Occupied Territories (1), and in particular Article 3 thereof, Whereas, as regards all the products referred to in Regulation (EEC) No 3363/86, the origin rules are contained in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 4129/86 of 23 December 1986 on the definition of the concept of ´originating products' and methods of administrative cooperation applicable to imports into the Community of products originating in the Occupied Territories (2), as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1302/87 (3);
whereas these rules are based on the use of the Customs Cooperation Council Nomenclature;
whereas the Customs Cooperation Council has approved the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (hereinafter referred to as the ´HS') on 14 June 1983;
whereas as from 1 January 1988 the HS replaces the earlier nomenclature for the purposes of international trade;
whereas it is therefore necessary to adapt the rules of origin contained in Regulation (EEC) No 4129/86 so that they be based on the HS;
Whereas in the light of experience, the presentation of the origin rules could be improved by grouping all the exceptions to the basic change of heading rule into one list and by providing detailed guidance on how this should be interpreted;
Whereas it is necessary to provide for transitional measures to allow the Occupied Territories, if they do not apply the HS, to continue to apply the rules of origin contained in Regulation (EEC) No 4129/86 for a period of two years;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Origin, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
TITLE 1 Definition of the concept of ´originating products' Article 1 1. For the purpose of implementing the provisions concerning tariff preferences granted by the Community to certain products originating in the Occupied Territories, the following shall be considered as products originating in these territories, provided that these products have been transported directly, within the meaning of Article 5, to the Community:
(a) products wholly obtained in these territories;
(b)products obtained in these territories in the manufacture of which products other than those referred to in (a) are used, provided that the said products have undergone sufficient working or processing within the meaning of Article 3 (2). 2. The provisions of paragraph 1 and of Articles 2 to 4 shall not apply to the products in Annex II.
Article 2 The following shall be considered as wholly obtained in the Occupied Territories within the meaning of Article 1 (a):
(a) mineral products extracted from its soil or from its sea bed;
(b)vegetable products harvested there;
(c)live animals born and raised there;
(d)products obtained there from live animals;
(e)products obtained by hunting or fishing conducted there;
(f)used articles collected there fit only for the recovery of raw materials;
(g)waste and scrap resulting from manufacturing operations conducted there;
(h)products produced there exclusively from products specified in (a) to (g). Article 3 1. The expressions ´chapters' and ´headings' used in this Regulation shall mean the chapters and the headings (four-digit codes) used in the nomenclature which makes up the ´harmonized commodity description and coding system' (hereinafter referred to as the harmonized system).The expression ´classified' shall refer to the classification of a product or material within a particular heading.
2. For the purposes of Article 1 (1) (b), non-originating materials are considered to be sufficiently worked or processed when the product obtained is classified within a heading which is different from those within which all the non-originating materials used in its manufacture are classified, subject to the provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 below.
3. For a product mentioned in columns 1 and 2 of the list in Annex III, the conditions set out in column 3 for the product concerned must be fulfilled instead of the rule in paragraph 2. 4. For the pupose of implementing Article 1 (1) (b), the following shall in any event be considered as insufficient working or processing to confer the status of originating products, irrespective of whether or not there is a change of heading:
(a) operations to ensure the preservation of products in good condition during transport and storage (ventilation, spreading out, drying, chilling, placing in salt, sulphur dioxide or other aqueous solutions, removal of damaged parts, and like operations);
(b)simple operations consisting of removal of dust, sifting or screening, sorting, classifying, matching (including the making-up of sets of articles), washing, painting, cutting up;
(c) (i) changes of packing and breaking-up and assembly of consignments, (ii)simple placing in bottles, flasks, bags, cases, boxes, fixing on cards or boards, etc.
, and all other simple packing operations;
(d)the affixing of marks, labels or other like distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;
(e)simple mixing of products, whether or not of different kinds, where one or more components of the mixture do not meet the conditions laid down in this Regulation to enable them to be considered as originating products;
(f)simple assembly of parts of products to constitute a complete product;
(g)a combination of two or more operations specified in (a) to (f);
(h)slaughter of animals.
Article 4 1. The term ´value' in the list in Annex III shall mean the customs value at the time of the import of the non-originating materials used or, if this is not known and cannot be ascertained, the first ascertainable price paid for the materials in the territory concerned.
Where the value of the originating materials used needs to be established, the first subparagraph shall be applied mutatis mutandis.
2. The term ´ex-works price' in the list in Annex III shall mean the ex-works price of the product obtained minus any internal taxes which are, or may be, repaid when the product obtained is exported.
Article 5 1. The following shall be considered as transported direct from the Occupied Territories to the Community:
(a) products transported without passing through another territory;
(b)products transported through the territories other than the Occupied Territories, with or without transhipment or temporary warehousing provided that transport through those territories is justified for geographical reasons or exclusively on account of transport requirements and that the products have not been delivered for home use there, and have not undergone operations other than unloading, reloading and any operation intended to keep them in good condition.
2. Evidence that the conditions specified in paragraph 1 (b) have been fulfilled shall be supplied to the customs authorities in the Community by the production of:
(a) a through bill of lading drawn up in the Occupied Territories covering the passage through the country of transit;
or (b)a certification by the customs authorities of the country of transit:
- giving an exact description of the products,-stating the dates of unloading and reloading of the products or of their embarkation or disembarkation, identifying the ships used,-certifying the condition under which the products remained in the transit country;
or (c)failing these, any substantiating documents.
TITLE II Arrangements for administrative cooperation Article 6 1. Originating products within the meaning of this Regulation shall be eligible, on importation into the Community, to benefit from the tariff preferences specified in Article 1 on production of a movement certificate EUR.
1 issued by the Chambers of Commerce of the Occupied Territories provided that they assist the Community by allowing the customs authorities of Member States to verify the authenticity of the document or the accuracy of the information regarding the true origin of the products in question.
2. The Commission shall forward the list of the Chambers of Commerce mentioned in paragraph 1 and the specimens of stamps used by these bodies to the Customs authorities of the Member States.
3. However, originating products within the meaning of this Regulation which are sent by post (including those sent by parcel post) shall, provided that the consignments contain only originating products and that their value does not exceed 2 590 ECU per consignment, qualify on entry into the Community for the tariff preferences specified in Article 1 on production of a Form EUR.
2, on condition that the assistance specified in paragraph 1 is forthcoming in respect of the said form.
4. Without prejudice to Article 3 (4), where, at the request of the person declaring the goods at the customs, a dismantled or non-assembled article falling within Chapter 84 or 85 of the harmonized system is imported by instalments on the conditions laid down by the appropriate authorities, it shall be considered to be a single article and a certificate of origin form A may be submitted for the whole article upon importation of the first instalment.
5. Accessories, spare parts and tools dispatched with a piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle which is part of the normal equipment and included in the price thereof or is not separately invoiced shall be regarded as one with the piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle in question.
6. Sets in the sense of the general rule 3 of the harmonized system shall be regarded as originating when all component articles are originating products.
Nevertheless, when a set is composed of originating and non-originating articles, the set as a whole shall be regarded as originating provided that the value of the non-originating articles does not exceed 15 % of the total value of the set.
Article 7 1. A movement certificate EUR.
1 shall be issued by the Chambers of Commerce of the Occupied Territories when the goods to which it relates are exported.
It shall be made available to the exporter as soon as actual exportation has been effected or ensured.
2. In exceptional circumstances a movement certificate EUR.
1 may also be issued after exportation of the goods to which it relates if it was not issued at the time of exportation because of errors or involuntary omissions or special circumstances.
In this case, the certificate shall bear a special reference to the conditions under which it was issued.
3. A movement certificate EUR.
1 shall be issued only upon a written request by the exporter.
Such application shall be made on a form, a specimen of which is given in Annex IV, which shall be completed in accordance with this Regulation.
4. A movement certificate EUR.
1 may be issued only where it can serve as the documentary evidence required for the purpose of implementing the provisions of the present Regulation.
5. Applications for movement certificates must be kept for at least two years by the Chambers of Commerce of the Occupied Territories.
Article 8 1. The movement certificate EUR.
1 shall be issued by the Chambers of Commerce if the goods can be considered originating products within the meaning of this Regulation.
2. For the purpose of verifying whether the conditions stated in paragraph 1 have been met, the Chambers of Commerce shall have the right to call for any documentary evidence or to carry out any check which they consider appropriate.
3. It shall be the responsibility of the Chambers of Commerce to ensure that the forms referred to in Article 9 are duly completed.
In particular, they shall check whether the space reserved for the description of the goods has been completed in such a manner as to exclude all possibility of fraudulent additions.
To this end, the description of the goods must be indicated without leaving any blank lines.
Where the space is not completely filled a horizontal line must be drawn below the last line of the description, the empty space being crossed through.
4. For the purposes of the present Regulation the box 11 of the movement certificate EUR.
1 is endorsed by the competent Chamber of Commerce.
The date of issue of the certificate must be indicated in this box.
Article 9 Movement certificates EUR.
1 shall be made out on the form of which a specimen is given in Annex IV.
This form shall be printed in one or more of the official languages of the Community.
Certificates shall be made out in one of these languages.
If they are handwritten they shall be completed in ink and in capital letters.
Each certificate shall measure 210 × 297 mm.
A tolerance of up to plus 8 or minus 5 mm in the length may be allowed.
The paper used must be white writing paper, sized, not containing mechanical pulp and weighing not less than 25 g/m3. It shall have a printed green guilloche pattern background making any falsification by mechanical or chemical means apparent to the eye.
The certificate shall also bear a serial number, either printed or not, by which it can be identified.
Article 10 1. Under the responsibility of the exporter, he or his authorized representative shall request the issue of a movement certificate EUR.
1. 2. The exporter or his representative shall submit with his request any appropriate supporting document proving that the goods to be exported are such as to qualify for the issue of a movement certificate EUR.
1.Article 11 A movement certificate EUR.
1 must be submitted, within five months of the date of issue by the Chambers of Commerce, to the customs authorities of the importing State where the goods are entered.
Article 12 Movement certificates EUR.
1 shall be submitted to customs authorities in the importing State, in accordance with the procedures laid down in Commission Directive 82/57/EEC (4) laying down certain provisions for implementing Council Directive 79/695/EEC (5) on the harmonization of procedures for the release of goods for free circulation.
The said authorities may require a translation of a certificate.
They may also require the entry form for release for free circulation to be accompanied by a statement from the importer to the effect that the products meet the conditions required for the tariff preferences specified in Article 1. Article 13 1. A movement certificate EUR.
1 which is submitted to the customs authorities of the importing Member State after the final date for presentation specified in Article 11 may be accepted for the purpose of applying preferential treatment, where the failure to submit the certificate by the final date set is due to reasons of force majeure or exceptional circumstances.
2. In other cases of belated presentation, the customs authorities of the Community may accept the certificates where the goods have been submitted to them before the said final date.
Article 14 The discovery of slight discrepancies between the statements made in the movement certificate EUR.
1 and those made in the documents submitted to the customs office for the purpose of carrying out the formalities for importing the goods shall not ipso facto render the certificate null and void if it is duly established that the certificate does correspond to the goods submitted.
Article 15 It shall always be possible to replace one or more movement certificates by one or more certificates provided that this is done at the customs office of the Community where the goods are located.
Article 16 Form EUR.
2, a specimen of which is given in Annex V, shall be completed by the exporter or, under his responsibility, by his authorized representative.
It shall be made out in one of the official languages of the Community.
If it is handwritten it must be completed in ink and in capital letters.
Form EUR.
2 shall measure 210 × 148 mm.
A tolerance of up to plus 8 or minus 5 mm in the length may be allowed.
The paper used must be white writing paper, sized, not containing mechanical pulp and weighing not less than 64 g/m2. A form EUR.
2 shall be completed for each postal consignment.
These provisions do not exempt exporters from complying with any other formalities required by customs or postal regulations.
Article 17 1. Goods sent as small packages from private persons to private persons or forming part of travellers' personal luggage shall be admitted as originating products without requiring the production of a movement certificate EUR.
1 or the completion of a form EUR.
2, provided that such goods are not imported by way of trade and have been declared as meeting the conditions required for the application of these provisions, and where there is no doubt as to the veracity of such declaration.
2. Importations which are occasional and consist solely of goods for the personal use of the recipients or travellers or their families shall not be considered as importations by way of trade if it is evident from the nature and quantity of the goods that no commercial purpose is in view.
Furthermore, the total value of these goods must not exceed 180 ECU in the case of small packages or 515 ECU in the case of the contents of travellers' personal luggage.
Article 18 1. Goods sent from the Occupied Territories for exhibition in another country and sold after the exhibition for importation into the Community shall benefit on importation from the tariff preferences specified in Article 1 on condition that the goods meet the requirements of this Regulation entitling them to be recognized as originating and provided that it is shown to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that:
(a) an exporter has consigned these goods from the Occupied Territories to the country in which the exhibition is held and has exhibited them there;
(b)the goods have been sold or otherwise disposed of by that exporter to a consignee in the Community;
(c)the goods have been consigned during the exhibition or immediately thereafter to the Community in the state in which they were sent for exhibition;
(d)the goods have not, since they were consigned for exhibition, been used for any purpose other than demonstration at the exhibition.
2. A movement certificate EUR.
1 must be submitted to the customs authorities in the normal manner.
The name and address of the exhibition must be indicated thereon.
Where necessary, additional documentary evidence of the nature of the goods and the conditions under which they have been exhibited may be required.
3. Paragraph 1 shall apply to any trade, industrial, agricultural or crafts exhibition, fair or similar public show or display which is not organized for private purposes in shops or business premises with a view to the sale of foreign goods, and during which the goods remain under customs control.
Article 19 1. When a certificate is issued in accordance with Article 7 (2), after the goods to which it relates have actually been exported, the exporter must in the application referred to in Article 7 (3):
- indicate the place and date of consignment of the goods to which the certificate relates,-certify that no movement certificate EUR.
1 was issued at the time of exportation of the goods in question, and state the reasons.
2. The Chambers of Commerce of the Occupied Territories may issue a movement certificate EUR.
1 retrospectively only after verifying that the information supplied in the exporter's application agrees with that in the corresponding file.
Certificates issued retrospectively must be endorsed with one of the following phrases:
- EXPEDIDO A POSTERIORI- UDSTEDT EFTERFOELGENDE- NACHTRAEGLICH AUSGESTELLT- EKDOTHEN EK TON YSTERON- ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY- DÉLIVRÉ À POSTERIORI - RILASCIATO A POSTERIORI- AFGEGEVEN A POSTERIORI- EMITIDO A POSTERIORI Article 20 In the event of the theft, loss or destruction of a movement certificate EUR.
1, the exporter may apply to the Chambers of Commerce which issued it for a duplicate made out on the basis of the export documents in their possession.
The duplicate issued in this way must be endorsed with one of the following words:
- DUPLICADO- DUPLIKAT- DUPLIKAT- ANTIGRAFO- DUPLICATE- DUPLICATA- DUPLICATO- DUPLICAAT- SEGUNDA VIA Article 21 1. Subsequent verification of movement certificates EUR.
1 and of forms EUR.
2 shall be carried out at random or whenever the customs authorities of the importing Member State have reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of the document or the accuracy of the information regarding the true origin of the goods in question.
2. For the purpose of implementing paragraph 1, the customs authorities of the importing Member State shall return the movement certificate EUR.
1 or the form EUR.
2, or a photocopy thereof, to the Chambers of Commerce giving, where appropriate, the reasons of form or substance for an inquiry.
The invoice, if it has been submitted, or a copy thereof shall be attached to the form EUR.
2 and the customs authorities shall forward any information that has been obtained suggesting that the particulars given on the said certificate or the said form are inaccurate.
If the customs authorities of the importing Member State decide to suspend execution of the preferential treatment, pending the results of the verification, they shall offer to release the goods to the importer subject to any precautionary measures judged necessary.
Article 22 1. When an application for subsequent verification has been made in accordance with the provisions of Article 21, such verification shall be carried out, and its results communicated to the customs authorities in the Community within a maximum of six months.
The results must be such as to establish whether the movement certificate EUR.
1 or the form EUR.
2 in question applies to the products actually exported and whether these products were in fact eligible to benefit from the tariff preferences specified in Article 1. 2. If in cases of reasonable doubt there is no reply in the six months set out in the paragraph above or if the reply does not contain sufficient information to determine the authenticity of the document in question or the real origin of the products, a second communication shall be sent to the Chambers of Commerce concerned.
If after the second communication, the results of the verification are not communicated as soon as possible or at the latest within four months to the requesting authorities, or if these results do not permit the determination of the authenticity of the document in question or the real origin of the products, the requesting authorities shall refuse, except in the case of force majeure or in exceptional circumstances, any benefit from the preferential treatment.
3. For the purpose of subsequent verification of certificates of origin EUR.
1, copies of the certificates as well as any export documents referring to them shall be kept for at least two years by the appropriate Chamber of Commerce.
Article 23 The endorsements referred to in Articles 19 and 20 shall be inserted in the ´Remarks' box of the certificate.
Article 24 1. Movement certificates EUR.
1 or forms EUR.
2 issued or made out before 1 January 1988 under the rules in force before that date shall be accepted up to and including 31 May 1988 according to the rules in force when they were issued.
2. The provisions of Articles 7 (2) and 20 shall apply in the cases of goods exported before 1 January 1988 and retrospective or duplicate movement certificates may be issued under the rules in force before that date.
Article 25 1. Regulation (EEC) No 4129/86 is hereby repealed.
2. If the Occupied Territories do not apply the nomenclature based on the harmonized system, they may continue to apply the rules of origin contained in Regulation (EEC) No 4129/86 up to and including 31 December 1989. Article 26 This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply with effect from 1 January 1988. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 14 March 1988.