Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION regarding the position to be taken by the Community within the ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors with a view to producing a decision on transitional measures to cover the period between the expiry of the revised fourth ACP-EC Convention and the entry into force of the fifth ACP-EC Convention

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

At the ministerial conference held on 7 and 8 December 1999, the ministers gave their approval to most of the provisions of the new ACP-EU partnership agreement, and reached political compromises on the remaining provisions. The parties still have work to do on finalising the texts for the next ministerial meeting, due on 2 and 3 February 2000.

As a result of this, there is no final wording available except in the case of the trade regime to apply during the preparatory period, and the Convention will not therefore be able to be signed before the present Convention expires. Provision will therefore have to be made to cover the period beginning with the expiry of the revised fourth ACP-EC Convention and ending with the entry into force of the new provisions.

Article 366(3) of the Convention stipulates that the ACP-EC Council of Ministers must adopt any transitional measures that might be required until the new provisions enter into force.

Pursuant to the powers conferred on it, the ACP-EC Council of Ministers gave a mandate to the ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors by decision of 8 December 1999 to adopt transitional measures on the expiry of the revised fourth ACP-EC Convention with the aim of having such a decision produced and adopted in good time.

In accordance with the procedure described in the second subparagraph of Article 300(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, the Council of the European Union is responsible for determining the Community's position on whatever transitional measures need to be adopted to cover the period in question.

The Commission believes that for the period beginning with the expiry of the revised fourth ACP-EC Convention and ending with the signing of the new agreement, the provisions of the existing Convention, with the exception of the trade provisions, should be extended.

With regard to the latter issue, the Commission takes the view that since the ministers have already agreed on the trade regime to apply during the preparatory period (2000-2008), it should be put into early application, from 1 March 2000.

For the period between the signing of the new agreement and its entry into force, the Commission's view is that although amendments directly involving the commitment of appropriations clearly cannot take effect before the financial protocol attached to the new agreement enters into force, most of the other new provisions can be applied early, beginning when the new agreement is signed.

The Commission considers that the necessary decisions of the Council of the European Union and ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors could follow the pattern of the attached drafts.

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

regarding the position to be taken by the Community within the ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors with a view to producing a decision on transitional measures to cover the period between the expiry of the revised fourth ACP-EC Convention and the entry into force of the fifth ACP-EC Convention

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 300(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1) Article 30 of the fourth ACP-EC Convention, as amended by the agreement signed in Mauritius on 4 November 1995, establishes a Council of Ministers with decision-making powers determined by the Convention.

(2) In accordance with Article 366(3) of the fourth ACP-EC Convention, the ACP-EC Council of Ministers must adopt any transitional measures that might be required until a new Convention enters into force.

(3) By decision of 8 December 1999, the ACP-EC Council of Ministers delegated powers to the ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors to adopt transitional measures on the expiry of the revised fourth ACP-EC Convention.

(4) The Community's position within the ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors regarding the latter's adoption of a decision regarding transitional measures on the expiry of the revised fourth ACP-EC Convention should be determined,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The Community's position within the ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors regarding the adoption of transitional measures on the expiry of the revised fourth ACP-EC Convention shall be based on the draft Committee of Ambassadors Decision annexed hereto.

Article 2

Minor alterations to the draft Decision may be agreed upon without a further Council Decision.

The Committee of Ambassadors may adopt the Decision referred to in Article 2 of the draft Decision annexed hereto without referring it to the Council again.

Done at Brussels,

For the Council

The President

ANNEX Trade regime applicable during the preparatory period

Chapter 1 : General trade arrangements

Article 1

1. Products originating in the ACP States shall be imported into the Community free of customs duties and charges having equivalent effect.

2. (a) For products originating in the ACP States:

- listed in Annex I to the Treaty where they come under a common organization of the market within the meaning of Article 34 of the Treaty, or

- subject, on import into the Community, to specific rules introduced as a result of the implementation of the common agricultural policy.

the Community shall take the necessary measures to ensure more favorable treatment than that granted to third countries benefiting from the most-favored-nation clause for the same products.

(b) If, during the application of this Convention, the ACP States request that new lines of agricultural production or agricultural products which are not the subject of specific arrangements when this Convention enters into force should benefit from such arrangements, the Community shall examine these requests in consultation with the ACP States.

(c) Notwithstanding the above, the Community shall, in the context of the special relations and special nature of ACP-EC cooperation, examine on a case-by-case basis the requests from the ACP States for preferential access for their agricultural products to the Community market and shall notify its decision on these reasoned requests if possible within four months, and in any case not more than six months after the date of their submission.

Within the context of subparagraph (a), the Community shall take its decisions in particular with reference to concessions granted to developing third countries. It shall take account of the possibilities offered by the off-season market.

(d) The arrangements referred to in subparagraph (a) shall enter into force at the same time as this Convention and shall remain applicable for the duration of the preparatory period.

However, if during this period, the Community:

- subjects one or more products to common organization of the market or to specific rules introduced as a result of the implementation of the common agricultural policy, it shall reserve the right to adapt the import treatment for those products originating in the ACP States, following consultations within the Council of Ministers. In such cases, the provisions of subparagraph (a) shall be applicable;

- modifies the common organization of the market in a particular product or the specific rules introduced as a result of the implementation of the common agricultural policy, it shall reserve the right to modify the arrangements laid down for products originating in the ACP States, following consultations within the Council of Ministers. In such cases the Community shall undertake to ensure that products originating in the ACP States continue to enjoy an advantage comparable to that previously enjoyed in relation to products originating in third countries benefiting from the most-favored-nation clause.

(e) Where the Community intends to conclude a preferential agreement with third States it shall inform the ACP States thereof. Consultations shall take place where the ACP States so request in order to safeguard their interests.

Article 2

1. The Community shall not apply to imports of products originating in the ACP States any quantitative restrictions or measures having equivalent effect.

2. Paragraph 1 shall not preclude prohibitions or restrictions on imports, exports or goods in transit justified on grounds of public morality, public policy or public security, the protection of health and life of humans, animals and plants, the protection of national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value, conservation of exhaustible natural resources if such measures are made effective in conjunction with restrictions on domestic production or consumption, or the protection of industrial and commercial property.

3. Such prohibitions of restrictions shall in no case constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction of trade generally.

In cases where implementation of the measures referred to in paragraph 2 affects the interests of one or more ACP States, consultations shall be held at the request of the latter, with a view to reaching a satisfactory solution.

Article 3

1. Where new measures or measures stipulated in programs adopted by the Community for the approximation of laws and regulations in order to facilitate the movement of goods are likely to affect the interests of one or more ACP States, the Community shall, prior to adopting such measures, inform the ACP States thereof through the Council of Ministers.

2. In order to enable the Community to take into consideration the interests of the ACP State concerned, consultations shall be held at the request of the latter, with a view to reaching a satisfactory solution.

Article 4

1. Where existing Community rules or regulations adopted in order to facilitate the movement of goods affect the interests of one or more ACP States or where these interests are affected by the interpretation, application or administration of such rules or regulations, consultations shall be held at the request of the ACP States concerned with a view to reaching a satisfactory solution.

2. With a view to finding a satisfactory solution, the ACP States may also bring up within the Council of Ministers any other problems relating to the movement of goods which might result from measures taken or envisaged by the Member States.

3. The relevant institutions of the Community shall, to the greatest possible extent, inform the Council of Ministers of such measures in order to ensure effective consultations.

Article 5

1. The ACP States shall not be required to assume, in respect of imports of products originating in the Community, obligations corresponding to the commitment entered into by the Community under this Annex in respect of imports of the products originating in the ACP States.

2. (a) In their trade with the Community, the ACP States shall not discriminate among the Member States and shall grant to the Community treatment no less favorable than most-favored-nation treatment.

(b) The most-favored-nation treatment referred to in subparagraph (a) shall not apply in respect of trade or economic relations between ACP States or between one or more ACP States and other developing countries.

Article 6

Each Contracting Party shall communicate its customs tariff to the Council of Ministers within three months of the entry into force of this Convention. Each Contracting Party shall also communicate any subsequent amendments to its tariff as and when they come into force.

Article 7

1. The concept of 'originating products' for the purposes of implementing this Annex, and the methods of administrative cooperation relating thereto, are defined in Protocol 1 annexed hereto.

2. The Council of Ministers may adopt any amendment to Protocol 1.

3. Where the concept of 'originating products' has not yet been defined for a given product pursuant to paragraphs 1 or 2, each Contracting Party shall continue to apply its own rules.

Article 8

1. Where any product is being imported into the Community in such increased quantities and under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause serious injury to its domestic producers of like or directly competitive products or serious disturbances in any sector of the economy or difficulties which could bring about serious deterioration in the economic situation of a region, the Community may take appropriate measures under the conditions and in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 9.

2. The Community undertakes not to use other means for protectionism purposes or to hamper structural development. The Community will refrain from using safeguard measures having the same effect.

3. Safeguard measures shall be restricted to those which would least disturb trade between the Contracting Parties in implementing the objectives of this Convention and must not exceed the scope of what is strictly necessary to remedy the difficulties that have arisen.

4. When applied, safeguard measures shall take into account the existing level of the ACP exports concerned to the Community and their potential for development. Particular attention shall be paid to the interests of the least-developed, landlocked and island ACP States.

Article 9

1. Prior consultation shall take place concerning the application of the safeguard clause, both when such measures are first adopted and when they are extended. The Community shall provide the ACP States with all the information required for such consultations and shall provide the data from which to determine to what extent imports from an ACP State of a specific product have caused the effects referred to in Article 8(1).

2. Where consultations have taken place, safeguard measures, or arrangements jointly agreed upon by the ACP States concerned and the Community, shall enter into force thereafter.

3. However, the prior consultations provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not prevent any immediate decisions which the Community, in accordance with Article 8(1), might take where special factors have necessitated such decisions.

4. In order to facilitate the examination of factors that may cause market disturbances, a mechanism shall be instituted for the statistical surveillance of certain ACP exports to the Community.

5. The Contracting Parties undertake to hold regular consultations with a view to finding satisfactory solutions to problems which might result from the application of the safeguard clause.

6. The prior consultations as well as the regular consultations and the surveillance mechanism referred to in paragraphs 1 to 5 shall be implemented in accordance with Protocol 2 annexed hereto.

Article 10

The Council of Ministers shall, at the request of any Contracting Party concerned, consider the economic and social effects of the application of the safeguard clause.

Article 11

When safeguard measures are being taken, modified or removed, particular attention shall be paid to the interests of the least-developed, landlocked and island ACP States.

Article 12

In order to ensure the effective implementation of this Annex, the Contracting Parties agree to inform and consult each other.

In addition to the cases for which consultations are specifically provided for in paragraphs 2 to 9, consultations shall also take place, at the request of the Community of the ACP States, , particularly in the following cases:

(1) where Contracting Parties intend to take any trade measures affecting the interests of one or more Contracting Parties under this Convention, they shall inform the Council of Ministers thereof. Consultations shall take place, where the Contracting Parties concerned so request, in order to take account of their respective interests;

(2) if, during the application of the Annex, the ACP States consider that agricultural products covered by paragraph 1 (2)(a) other than those subject to special treatment should benefit form such treatment, consultations may take place within the Council of Ministers;

(3) where a Contracting Party considers that obstacles to the movement of goods arise as a result of the existing rules of another Contracting Party or the interpretation, application or administration thereof;

(4) where the Community takes safeguard measures in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of this Annex, consultations on these measures may take place within the Council of Ministers, where the Contracting Parties concerned so request, notably with a view to ensuring compliance with paragraph 8(3).

Such consultations must be completed within three months.

Chapter 2 : Special undertaking on sugar and beef and veal

Article 13

1. In accordance with Article 25 of the ACP-EEC Convention of Lomé signed on 28 February 1975 and with Protocol 3 annexed thereto, the Community has undertaken for an indefinite period, notwithstanding the other provisions of this Convention, to purchase and import, at guaranteed prices, specific quantities of cane sugar, raw or white, which originates in the ACP States producing and exporting cane sugar and which those States have undertaken to deliver to it.

2. The conditions for the implementation of the aforementioned Article 25 have been laid down by Protocol 3 referred to in paragraph 1. The text of the Protocol is attached to this Annex as Protocol 3.

3. Article 8 of this Annex shall not apply within the framework of the said Protocol.

4. For the purpose of Article 8 of the said Protocol the institutions established under this Convention may be used during the period of application of this Convention.

5. Article 8(2) of the said Protocol shall apply should this Convention cease to be operative.

6. The declarations contained in Annexes XIII, XXI and XXII of the Final Act to the ACP-EEC Convention of Lomé signed on 28 February 1975 are reaffirmed and their provisions shall continue to apply. These declarations are annexed as such to protocol 3.

7. This Article and Protocol 3 shall not apply to relations between the ACP States and the French overseas departments.

Article 14

The special undertaking on beef and veal, defined in Protocol 4 annexed hereto shall apply.

Chapter 3 : Final provisions

Article 15

The Protocols attached to this Annex shall form an integral part thereof.

PROTOCOL No. 1

CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPT OF

"ORIGINATING PRODUCTS" AND

METHODS OF ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE I GENERAL PROVISIONS 11

Article 1 Definitions 11

TITLE II DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPT OF "ORIGINATING PRODUCTS" 12

Article 2 General requirements 12

Article 3 Wholly obtained products 12

Article 4 Sufficiently worked or processed products 14

Article 5 Insufficient working or processing operations 14

Article 6 Cumulation of origin 15

Article 7 Unit of qualification 17

Article 8 Accessories, spare parts and tools 18

Article 9 Sets 18

Article 10 Neutral elements 18

TITLE III TERRITORIAL REQUIREMENTS 19

Article 11 Principle of territoriality 19

Article 12 Direct transport 19

Article 13 Exhibitions 20

TITLE IV PROOF OF ORIGIN 21

Article 14 General requirements 21

Article 15 Procedure for the issue of a movement certificate EUR.1 21

Article 16 Movement certificates EUR.1 issued retrospectively 22

Article 17 Issue of a duplicate movement certificate EUR.1 23

Article 18 Issue of movement certificates EUR.1 on the basis of aproof of origin issued or made out previously 23

Article 19 Conditions for making out an invoice declaration 23

Article 20 Approved exporter 24

Article 21 Validity of proof of origin 25

Article 22 Transit procedure 25

Article 23 Submission of proof of origin 25

Article 24 Importation by instalments 26

Article 25 Exemptions from proof of origin 26

Article 26 Information procedure for cumulation purposes 26

Article 27 Supporting documents 27

Article 28 Preservation of proof of origin and supporting documents 27

Article 29 Discrepancies and formal errors 28

Article 30 Amounts expressed in EURO 28

TITLE V ARRANGEMENTS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION 29

Article 31 Mutual assistance 29

Article 32 Verification of proofs of origin 29

Article 33 Verification of suppliers' declarations 30

Article 34 Dispute settlement 31

Article 35 Penalties 31

Article 36 Free zones 31

Article 37 Customs Cooperation Committee 32

Article 38 Derogations 32

TITLE VI CEUTA AND MELILLA 35

Article 39 Special conditions 35

TITLE VII FINAL PROVISIONS 36

Article 40 Revision of rules of origin 36

Article 41 Annexes 36

Article 42 Implementation of the Protocol 36

ANNEXES

- Annex I: Introductory notes

- Annex II: List of working or processing required to be carried out on non-originating materials in order that the product manufactured can obtain originating status

- Annex III: List of overseas countries and territories referred to in Article 3

- Annex IV: Form for movement certificate EUR 1

- Annex V: Invoice declaration

- Annex VI A: Supplier declaration for products having preferential origin status

- Annex VI B: Supplier declaration for products not having preferential origin status

- Annex VII: Information certificate

- Annex VIII: Form for application for a derogation

- Annex IX: List of working or processing conferring the character of ACP origin on a product obtained when working or processing is carried out on textile materials originating in developing countries referred to in Article 6(11) of this Protocol

- Annex X: Textile products excluded from the cumulation procedure with certain developing countries referred to in Article 6(11) of this Protocol

- Annex XI: Products for which the cumulation provisions with South Africa referred to in Article 6(3) apply after 3 years from the provisional application of the Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of South Africa

- Annex XII : Products for which the cumulation provisions with South Africa referred to in Article 6(3) apply after 6 years from the provisional application of the Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of South Africa

- Annex XIII : Products to which Article 6(3) shall not be applicable

- Annex XIV: Fishery products to which Article 6(3) shall temporarily not be applicable

- Annex XV: Joint declaration on cumulation

TITLE I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 Definitions

For the purposes of this Protocol:

(a) "manufacture" means any kind of working or processing including assembly or specific operations;

(b) "material" means any ingredient, raw material, component or part, etc., used in the manufacture of the product;

(c) "product" means the product being manufactured, even if it is intended for later use in another manufacturing operation;

(d) "goods" means both materials and products;

(e) "customs value" means the value as determined in accordance with the 1994 Agreement on implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (WTO Agreement on customs valuation);

(f) "ex-works price" means the price paid for the product ex works to the manufacturer in whose undertaking the last working or processing is carried out, provided the price includes the value of all the materials used, minus any internal taxes which are, or may be, repaid when the product obtained is exported;

(g) "value of materials" means the customs value at the time of importation 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

(h) "value of originating materials" means the value of such materials as defined in subparagraph (g) applied mutatis mutandis;

(i) "added value" shall be taken to be the ex-works price minus the customs value of third-country materials imported into the Community, the ACP States or the OCT

(j) "chapters" and "headings" mean the chapters and the headings (four-digit codes) used in the nomenclature which makes up the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, referred to in this Protocol as "the Harmonized System" or "HS";

(k) "classified" refers to the classification of a product or material under a particular heading;

(l) "consignment" means products which are either sent simultaneously from one exporter to one consignee or covered by a single transport document covering their shipment from the exporter to the consignee or, in the absence of such a document, by a single invoice;

(m) "territories" includes territorial waters.

TITLE II DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPT OF "ORIGINATING PRODUCTS"

Article 2 General requirements

1. For the purpose of implementing the trade co-operation provisions of ANNEX V, the following products shall be considered as originating in the ACP States:

(a) products wholly obtained in the ACP States within the meaning of Article 3 of this Protocol;

(b) products obtained in the ACP States incorporating materials which have not been wholly obtained there, provided that such materials have undergone sufficient working or processing in the ACP States within the meaning of Article 4 of this Protocol.

2. For the purpose of implementing paragraph 1, the territories of the ACP States shall be considered as being one territory.

Originating products made up of materials wholly obtained or sufficiently worked or processed in two or more ACP States shall be considered as products originating in the ACP State where the last working or processing took place, provided the working or processing carried out there goes beyond that referred to in Article 5 of this Protocol.

Article 3 Wholly obtained products

1. The following shall be considered as wholly obtained, in the ACP States or in the Community, or in the countries and territories defined in Annex III, hereafter referred to as the OCT:

(a) mineral products extracted from their soil or from their seabed;

(b) vegetable products harvested there;

(c) live animals born and raised there;

(d) products from live animals raised there;

(e) products obtained by hunting or fishing conducted there;

(f) products of sea fishing and other products taken from the sea outside the territorial waters by their vessels;

(g) products made aboard their factory ships exclusively from products referred to in subparagraph (f);

(h) used articles collected there fit only for the recovery of raw materials, including used tyres fit only for retreading or for use as waste;

(i) waste and scrap resulting from manufacturing operations conducted there;

(j) products extracted from marine soil or subsoil outside their territorial waters provided that they have sole rights to work that soil or subsoil;

(k) goods produced there exclusively from the products specified in subparagraphs (a) to (j).

2. The terms "their vessels" and "their factory ships" in paragraph 1(f) and (g) shall apply only to vessels and factory ships:

(a) which are registered or recorded in an EC Member State, in an ACP State or in an OCT

(b) which sail under the flag of an EC Member State, of an ACP State or of an OCT;

(c) which are owned to an extent of at least 50 per cent by nationals of States party to the Agreement, or of an OCT, or by a company with its head office in one of these States or OCT, of which the Chairman of the Board of Directors or the Supervisory Board, and the majority of the members of such boards are nationals of States party to the Agreement, or of an OCT, and of which, in addition, in the case of partnerships or limited companies, at least half the capital belongs to those States party to the Agreement or to public bodies or nationals of the said States, or of an OCT;

(d) of which at least 50 % of the crew, master and officers included, are nationals of States party to the Agreement, or of an OCT.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, the Community shall recognise, upon request of an ACP State, that vessels chartered or leased by the ACP State be treated as "their vessels" to undertake fisheries activities in its exclusive economic zone under the following conditions:

- that the ACP State offered the Community the opportunity to negotiate a fisheries agreement and the Community did not accept this offer;

- that at least 50% of the crew, master and officers included are nationals of States party to the Agreement, or of an OCT;

- that the charter or lease contract has been accepted by the ACP-EU Customs Cooperation Committee as providing adequate opportunities for developing the capacity of the ACP State to fish on its own account and in particular as conferring on the ACP State the responsibility for the nautical and commercial management of the vessel placed at its disposal for a significant period of time.

Article 4 Sufficiently worked or processed products

1. For the purposes of this Protocol, products which are not wholly obtained are considered to be sufficiently worked or processed in the ACP States, or in the Community or in the OCT, when the conditions set out in the list in Annex II are fulfilled.

The conditions referred to above indicate, for all products covered by this Agreement, the working or processing which must be carried out on non-originating materials used in manufacturing and apply only in relation to such materials. Accordingly, it follows that if a product, which has acquired originating status by fulfilling the conditions set out in the list is used in the manufacture of another product, the conditions applicable to the product in which it is incorporated do not apply to it, and no account shall be taken of the non-originating materials which may have been used in its manufacture.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, non-originating materials which, according to the conditions set out in the list, should not be used in the manufacture of a given product may nevertheless be used, provided that:

(a) their total value does not exceed 15 per cent of the ex-works price of the product;

(b) any of the percentages given in the list for the maximum value of non-originating materials are not exceeded through the application of this paragraph.

3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply except as provided in Article 5.

Article 5 Insufficient working or processing operations

1. Without prejudice to paragraph 2, the following operations shall be considered as insufficient working or processing to confer the status of originating products, whether or not the requirements of Article 4 are satisfied:

(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 packaging and breaking up and assembly of packages;

(ii) simple placing in bottles, flasks, bags, cases, boxes, fixing on cards or boards, etc., and all other simple packaging operations;

(d) affixing marks, labels and 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 mixtures do not meet the conditions laid down in this Protocol to enable them to be considered as originating in an ACP State, in the Community or in the OCT;

(f) simple assembly of parts to constitute a complete product;

(g) a combination of two or more operations specified in subparagraphs (a) to (f);

(h) slaughter of animals.

2. All the operations carried out in either the ACP States, the Community or the OCT on a given product shall be considered together when determining whether the working or processing undergone by that product is to be regarded as insufficient within the meaning of paragraph 1.

Article 6 Cumulation of origin

Cumulation with the OCT and the Community

1. Materials originating in the Community or in the OCT shall be considered as materials originating in the ACP States when incorporated into a product obtained there. It shall not be necessary that such materials have undergone sufficient working or processing, provided they have undergone working or processing going beyond that referred to in Article 5.

2. Working and processing carried out in the Community or in the OCT shall be considered as having been carried out in the ACP States, when the materials undergo subsequent working or processing in the ACP States.

Cumulation with South Africa

3. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, materials originating in South Africa shall be considered as originating in the ACP States when incorporated into a product obtained there. It shall not be necessary that such materials have undergone sufficient working or processing.

4. Products which have acquired originating status by virtue of paragraph 3 shall only continue to be considered as products originating in the ACP States when the value added there exceeds the value of the materials used originating in South Africa. If this is not so, the products concerned shall be considered as originating in South Africa. In the allocation of origin, no account shall be taken of materials originating in South-Africa which have undergone sufficient working or processing in the ACP States.

5. The cumulation provided for in paragraph 3 may only be applied after 3 years for the products listed in Annex XI and 6 years for the products listed in Annex XII respectively, as from the provisional application of the Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of South Africa. The cumulation provided for in paragraph 3 shall not be applicable to the products listed in Annex XIII.

6. Notwithstanding paragraph 5, the cumulation provided for in paragraph 3 may be applied at the request of the ACP States for the products listed in Annexes XI and XII. The ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors shall decide on the ACP requests, product per product, on the basis of a report drawn up by the ACP-EC Customs Co-operation Committee in accordance with Article 37. In the examination of requests, account shall be taken of the risk of the circumvention of the trade provisions of the agreement on trade, development and co-operation between the European Community and the Republic of South Africa.

7. The cumulation provided for in paragraph 3 shall only be applicable to the products listed in annex XIV when the tariffs on these products in the framework of the agreement on trade, development and co-operation between the European Community and the Republic of South Africa have been eliminated. The European Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Communities (C series) the date on which the conditions of this paragraph have been fulfilled.

8. The cumulation provided for in paragraph 3 may only be applied where the South African materials used have acquired the status of originating products by an application of the rules of origin identical to those set out in this Protocol. The ACP States shall provide the Community with details of agreements and their corresponding rules of origin which have been concluded with South Africa. The European Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Communities (C series) the date on which the ACP States have met the obligations laid down in this paragraph .

9. Without prejudice to paragraphs 5 and 7, working and processing carried out in South Africa shall be considered as having been carried out in an other Member State of SACU when the materials undergo subsequent working or processing in that other Member State of SACU.

10. Without prejudice to paragraphs 5 and 7 and at the request of the ACP States, working and processing carried out in South Africa, shall be considered as having been carried out in the ACP States, when the materials undergo subsequent working or processing in an ACP State within the context of a regional economic integration agreement.

Unless there is a specific request by either party for a referral of the decision to the ACP-EC Council of Ministers, the ACP-EC Customs Cooperation Committee shall decide on the ACP requests in accordance with Article 37.

Cumulation with neighbouring developing countries

11. At the request of the ACP States, materials originating in a neighbouring developing country, other than an ACP State, belonging to a coherent geographical entity, shall be considered as materials originating in the ACP States when incorporated into a product obtained there. It shall not be necessary that such materials have undergone sufficient working or processing, provided that :

- the working or processing carried out in the ACP State exceeds the operations listed in Article 5. However, products of Chapter 50 to 63 of the Harmonised System shall in addition undergo in the ACP State at least working or processing as a result of which the product obtained is classified in a heading which is different from those in which the materials originating in the non-ACP developing country used in its manufacture, are classified. For products listed in Annex IX to this Protocol, only the specific processing referred to in column 3 shall apply, whether or not it involves a change of heading,

- the ACP States, the Community and the other countries concerned have concluded an agreement on adequate administrative procedures which will ensure correct implementation of this paragraph.

This paragraph shall not apply to tuna products classified under Harmonised System Chapters 3 or 16, rice products of HS Code 1006 or the textile products listed in Annex X to this Protocol.

For the purpose of determining whether the products originate in the non-ACP developing country, the provisions of this Protocol shall apply.

Unless there is a specific request by either party for a referral of the decision to the ACP-EC Council of Ministers, the ACP-EC Customs Cooperation Committee shall decide on the ACP requests in accordance with Article 37.

Article 7 Unit of qualification

1. The unit of qualification for the application of the provisions of this Protocol shall be the particular product which is considered as the basic unit when determining classification using the nomenclature of the Harmonized System.

Accordingly, it follows that:

(a) when a product composed of a group or assembly of articles is classified under the terms of the Harmonized System in a single heading, the whole constitutes the unit of qualification;

(b) when a consignment consists of a number of identical products classified under the same heading of the Harmonized System, each product must be taken individually when applying the provisions of this Protocol.

2. Where, under General Rule 5 of the Harmonized System, packaging is included with the product for classification purposes, it shall be included for the purposes of determining origin.

Article 8 Accessories, spare parts and tools

Accessories, spare parts and tools dispatched with a piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle, which are part of the normal equipment and included in the price thereof or which are not separately invoiced, shall be regarded as one with the piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle in question.

Article 9 Sets

Sets, as defined in General Rule 3 of the Harmonized System, shall be regarded as originating when all component products are originating. Nevertheless, when a set is composed of originating and non-originating products, the set as a whole shall be regarded as originating, provided that the value of the non-originating products does not exceed 15 per cent of the ex-works price of the set.

Article 10 Neutral elements

In order to determine whether a product originates, it shall not be necessary to determine the origin of the following which might be used in its manufacture:

(a) energy and fuel;

(b) plant and equipment;

(c) machines and tools;

(d) goods which do not enter and which are not intended to enter into the final composition of the product.

TITLE III TERRITORIAL REQUIREMENTS

Article 11 Principle of territoriality

1. The conditions set out in Title II relative to the acquisition of originating status must be fulfilled without interruption in the ACP States , except as provided for in Article 6

2. If originating goods exported from the ACP States, the Community or the OCT to another country are returned, except insofar as provided for in Article 6, they must be considered as non-originating, unless it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that:

(a) the goods returned are the same goods as those exported; and

(b) they have not undergone any operation beyond that necessary to preserve them in good condition while in that country or while being exported.

Article 12 Direct transport

1. The preferential treatment provided for under the trade co-operation provisions of ANNEX V applies only to products, satisfying the requirements of this Protocol, which are transported directly between the territory of the ACP States, of the Community of the OCT or of South Africa for the purposes of Article 6 without entering any other territory. However, products constituting one single consignment may be transported through other territories with, should the occasion arise, transshipment or temporary warehousing in such territories, provided that they remain under the surveillance of the customs authorities in the country of transit or warehousing and do not undergo operations other than unloading, reloading or any operation designed to preserve them in good condition.

Originating products may be transported by pipeline across territory other than that of an ACP State, of the Community or of an OCT.

2. Evidence that the conditions set out in paragraph 1 have been fulfilled shall be supplied to the customs authorities of the importing country by the production of:

(a) a single transport document covering the passage from the exporting country through the country of transit; or

(b) a certificate issued by the customs authorities of the country of transit:

(i) giving an exact description of the products;

(ii) stating the dates of unloading and reloading of the products and, where applicable, the names of the ships, or the other means of transport used; and

(ii) certifying the conditions under which the products remained in the transit country; or

(c) failing these, any substantiating documents.

Article 13 Exhibitions

1. Originating products, sent from an ACP State for exhibition in a country other than those referred to in Article 6 and sold after the exhibition for importation into the Community shall benefit on importation from the provisions of ANNEX V provided it is shown to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that:

(a) an exporter has consigned these products from an ACP State to the country in which the exhibition is held and has exhibited them there;

(b) the products have been sold or otherwise disposed of by that exporter to a person in the Community;

(c) the products have been consigned during the exhibition or immediately thereafter in the state in which they were sent for exhibition; and

(d) the products have not, since they were consigned for exhibition, been used for any purpose other than demonstration at the exhibition.

2. A proof of origin must be issued or made out in accordance with the provisions of Title IV and submitted to the customs authorities of the importing country in the normal manner. The name and address of the exhibition must be indicated thereon. Where necessary, additional documentary evidence of 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 products, and during which the products remain under customs control.

TITLE IV PROOF OF ORIGIN

Article 14 General requirements

1. Products originating in the ACP States shall, on importation into the Community benefit from ANNEX V upon submission of either:

(a) a movement certificate EUR.1, a specimen of which appears in Annex III; or

(b) in the cases specified in Article 19(1), a declaration, the text of which appears in Annex V to this Protocol, given by the exporter on an invoice, a delivery note or any other commercial document which describes the products concerned in sufficient detail to enable them to be identified (hereinafter referred to as the "invoice declaration").

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, originating products within the meaning of this Protocol shall, in the cases specified in Article 25, benefit from ANNEX V without it being necessary to submit any of the documents referred to above.

Article 15 Procedure for the issue of a movement certificate EUR.1

1. A movement certificate EUR.1 shall be issued by the customs authorities of the exporting country on application having been made in writing by the exporter or, under the exporter's responsibility, by his authorized representative.

2. For this purpose, the exporter or his authorized representative shall fill out both the movement certificate EUR.1 and the application form, specimens of which appear in Annex IV. These forms shall be completed in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol. If they are handwritten, they shall be completed in ink in printed characters. The description of the products must be given in the box reserved for this purpose without leaving any blank lines. Where the box is not completely filled, a horizontal line must be drawn below the last line of the description, the empty space being crossed through.

3. The exporter applying for the issue of a movement certificate EUR.1 shall be prepared to submit at any time, at the request of the customs authorities of the exporting ACP State where the movement certificate EUR.1 is issued, all appropriate documents proving the originating status of the products concerned as well as the fulfillment of the other requirements of this Protocol.

4. A movement certificate EUR.1 shall be issued by the customs authorities of the exporting ACP State if the products concerned can be considered as products originating in the ACP States or in one of the other countries referred to in Article 6 and fulfil the other requirements of this Protocol.

5. The issuing customs authorities shall take any steps necessary to verify the originating status of the products and the fulfillment of the other requirements of this Protocol. For this purpose, they shall have the right to call for any evidence and to carry out any inspection of the exporter's accounts or any other check considered appropriate. The issuing customs authorities shall also ensure that the forms referred to in paragraph 2 are duly completed. In particular, they shall check whether the space reserved for the description of the products has been completed in such a manner as to exclude all possibility of fraudulent additions.

6. The date of issue of the movement certificate EUR.1 shall be indicated in Box 11 of the certificate.

7. A movement certificate EUR.1 shall be issued by the customs authorities and made available to the exporter as soon as actual exportation has been effected or ensured.

Article 16 Movement certificates EUR.1 issued retrospectively

1. Notwithstanding Article 15(7), a movement certificate EUR.1 may exceptionally be issued after exportation of the products to which it relates if:

(a) it was not issued at the time of exportation because of errors or involuntary omissions or special circumstances; or

(b) it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that a movement certificate EUR.1 was issued but was not accepted at importation for technical reasons.

2. For the implementation of paragraph 1, the exporter must indicate in his application the place and date of exportation of the products to which the movement certificate EUR.1 relates, and state the reasons for his request.

3. The customs authorities 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.

4. Movement certificates EUR.1 issued retrospectively must be endorsed with one of the following phrases:

"NACHTRÄGLICH AUSGESTELLT", "DELIVRE A POSTERIORI",

"RILASCIATO A POSTERIORI", "AFGEGEVEN A POSTERIORI",

"ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY", "UDSTEDT EFTERFØLGENDE",

"ÅÊÄÏÈÅÍ ÅÊ ÔÙÍ ÕÓÔÅÑÙÍ", "EXPEDIDO A POSTERIORI",

"EMITIDO A POSTERIORI", "ANNETTU JÄLKIKÄTEEN",

"UTFÄRDAT I EFTERHAND".

5. The endorsement referred to in paragraph 4 shall be inserted in the "Remarks" box of the movement certificate EUR.1.

Article 17 Issue of a duplicate movement certificate EUR.1

1. In the event of theft, loss or destruction of a movement certificate EUR.1, the exporter may apply to the customs authorities which issued it for a duplicate made out on the basis of the export documents in their possession.

2. The duplicate issued in this way must be endorsed with one of the following words:

"DUPLIKAT", "DUPLICATA", "DUPLICATO", "DUPLICAAT", "DUPLICATE", "ÁÍÔÉÃÑÁÖÏ", "DUPLICADO", "SEGUNDA VIA", "KAKSOISKAPPALE".

3. The endorsement referred to in paragraph 2 shall be inserted in the "Remarks" box of the duplicate movement certificate EUR.1.

4. The duplicate, which must bear the date of issue of the original movement certificate EUR.1, shall take effect as from that date.

Article 18 Issue of movement certificates EUR.1 on the basis of aproof of origin issued or made out previously

When originating products are placed under the control of a customs office in an ACP State or in the Community , it shall be possible to replace the original proof of origin by one or more movement certificates EUR.1 for the purpose of sending all or some of these products elsewhere within the ACP States or within the Community. The replacement movement certificate(s) EUR.1 shall be issued by the customs office under whose control the products are placed.

Article 19 Conditions for making out an invoice declaration

1. An invoice declaration as referred to in Article 14(1)(b) may be made out:

(a) by an approved exporter within the meaning of Article 20, or

(b) by any exporter for any consignment consisting of one or more packages containing originating products whose total value does not exceed 6 000 EURO.

2. An invoice declaration may be made out if the products concerned can be considered as products originating in the ACP States or in one of the other countries referred to in Article 6 and fulfil the other requirements of this Protocol.

3. The exporter making out an invoice declaration shall be prepared to submit at any time, at the request of the customs authorities of the exporting country, all appropriate documents proving the originating status of the products concerned as well as the fulfillment of the other requirements of this Protocol.

4. An invoice declaration shall be made out by the exporter by typing, stamping or printing on the invoice, the delivery note or another commercial document, the declaration, the text of which appears in Annex V to this Protocol, using one of the linguistic versions set out in that Annex and in accordance with the provisions of the domestic law of the exporting country. If the declaration is handwritten, it shall be written in ink in printed characters.

5. Invoice declarations shall bear the original signature of the exporter in manuscript. However, an approved exporter within the meaning of Article 20 shall not be required to sign such declarations provided that he gives the customs authorities of the exporting country a written undertaking that he accepts full responsibility for any invoice declaration which identifies him as if it had been signed in manuscript by him.

6. An invoice declaration may be made out by the exporter when the products to which it relates are exported, or after exportation on condition that it is presented in the importing country no longer than two years after the importation of the products to which it relates.

Article 20 Approved exporter

1. The customs authorities of the exporting country may authorize any exporter who makes frequent shipments of products under the trade co-operation provisions of ANNEX V to make out invoice declarations irrespective of the value of the products concerned. An exporter seeking such authorization must offer to the satisfaction of the customs authorities all guarantees necessary to verify the originating status of the products as well as the fulfillment of the other requirements of this Protocol.

2. The customs authorities may grant the status of approved exporter subject to any conditions which they consider appropriate.

3. The customs authorities shall grant to the approved exporter a customs authorization number which shall appear on the invoice declaration.

4. The customs authorities shall monitor the use of the authorization by the approved exporter.

5. The customs authorities may withdraw the authorization at any time. They shall do so where the approved exporter no longer offers the guarantees referred to in paragraph 1, does not fulfil the conditions referred to in paragraph 2 or otherwise makes an incorrect use of the authorization.

Article 21 Validity of proof of origin

1. A proof of origin shall be valid for ten months from the date of issue in the exporting country, and must be submitted within the said period to the customs authorities of the importing country.

2. Proofs of origin which are submitted to the customs authorities of the importing country after the final date for presentation specified in paragraph 1 may be accepted for the purpose of applying preferential treatment, where the failure to submit these documents by the final date set is due to exceptional circumstances.

3. In other cases of belated presentation, the customs authorities of the importing country may accept the proofs of origin where the products have been submitted before the said final date.

Article 22 Transit procedure

When the products enter an ACP State or OCT other than the country of origin, a further period of validity of 4 months shall commence on the date on which the customs authorities in the country of transit enter the following in box 7 of the certificate EUR.1:

- the word "transit",

- the name of the country of transit,

- the official stamp, a specimen of which had been made available to the Commission, in conformity with Article 31,

- date of the endorsements.

Article 23 Submission of proof of origin

Proofs of origin shall be submitted to the customs authorities of the importing country in accordance with the procedures applicable in that country. The said authorities may require a translation of a proof of origin and may also require the import declaration to be accompanied by a statement from the importer to the effect that the products meet the conditions required for the implementation of ANNEX V.

Article 24 Importation by instalments

Where, at the request of the importer and on the conditions laid down by the customs authorities of the importing country, dismantled or non-assembled products within the meaning of General Rule 2(a) of the Harmonized System falling within Sections XVI and XVII or heading Nos 7308 and 9406 of the Harmonized System are imported by instalments, a single proof of origin for such products shall be submitted to the customs authorities upon importation of the first installment.

Article 25 Exemptions from proof of origin

1. Products 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 submission of a proof of origin, provided that such products are not imported by way of trade and have been declared as meeting the requirements of this Protocol and where there is no doubt as to the veracity of such a declaration. In the case of products sent by post, this declaration can be made on the customs declaration CN22/CN23 or on a sheet of paper annexed to that document.

2. Imports which are occasional and consist solely of products for the personal use of the recipients or travellers or their families shall not be considered as imports by way of trade if it is evident from the nature and quantity of the products that no commercial purpose is in view.

3. Furthermore, the total value of these products shall not exceed 500 EURO in the case of small packages or 1 200 EURO in the case of products forming part of travellers' personal luggage.

Article 26 Information procedure for cumulation purposes

1. When Articles 2(2) and 6(1) are applied, the evidence of originating status within the meaning of this protocol of the materials coming from the other ACP States, the Community or the OCT shall be given by a movement certificate EUR 1 or by the supplier's declaration, a specimen of which appears in Annex VI A to this Protocol, given by the exporter in the State or OCT from which it came.

2. When Articles 2(2), 6(2) and 6(9) are applied, the evidence of the working or processing carried out in the other ACP States, the Community, the OCT or South Africa shall be given by the supplier's declaration a specimen of which appears in Annex VI B to this Protocol, given by the exporter in the State or OCT from which it came.

3. A separate supplier's declaration shall be given by the supplier for each consignment of material on the commercial invoice related to that shipment or in an annex to that invoice, or on a delivery note or other commercial document related to that shipment which describes the materials concerned in sufficient detail to enable them to be identified.

4. The supplier's declaration may be made out on a pre-printed form.

5. The suppliers' declarations shall be signed in manuscript. However, where the invoice and the supplier's declaration are established using electronic data-processing methods, the supplier's declaration need not be signed in manuscript provided the responsible official in the supplying company is identified to the satisfaction of the customs authorities in the State where the suppliers' declarations are established. The said customs authorities may lay down conditions for the implementation of this paragraph.

6. The supplier's declarations are submitted to the competent customs office in the exporting ACP State requested to issue the movement certificate EUR 1.

7. Suppliers' declarations made and information certificates issued before the date of entry into force of this Protocol in accordance with Article 23 of Protocol 1 to the fourth ACP-EEC Convention shall remain valid.

Article 27 Supporting documents

The documents referred to in Articles 15(3) and 19(3) used for the purpose of proving that products covered by a movement certificate EUR.1 or an invoice declaration can be considered as products originating in an ACP State or in one of the other countries referred to in Article 6 and fulfil the other requirements of this Protocol may consist inter alia of the following:

(a) direct evidence of the processes carried out by the exporter or supplier to obtain the goods concerned, contained for example in his accounts or internal bookkeeping;

(b) documents proving the originating status of materials used, issued or made out in an ACP State or in one of the other countries referred to in Article 6 where these documents are used in accordance with domestic law;

(c) documents proving the working or processing of materials in the ACP States, in the Community or in the OCT, issued or made out in an ACP State, in the Community or in an OCT, where these documents are used in accordance with domestic law;

(d) movement certificates EUR.1 or invoice declarations proving the originating status of materials used, issued or made out in the ACP States or in one of the other countries referred to in Article 6 and in accordance with this Protocol.

Article 28 Preservation of proof of origin and supporting documents

1. The exporter applying for the issue of a movement certificate EUR.1 shall keep for at least three years the documents referred to in Article 15(3).

2. The exporter making out an invoice declaration shall keep for at least three years a copy of this invoice declaration as well as the documents referred to in Article 19(3).

3. The customs authorities of the exporting country issuing a movement certificate EUR.1 shall keep for at least three years the application form referred to in Article 15(2).

4. The customs authorities of the importing country shall keep for at least three years the movement certificates EUR.1 and the invoice declarations submitted to them.

Article 29 Discrepancies and formal errors

1. The discovery of slight discrepancies between the statements made in the proof of origin and those made in the documents submitted to the customs office for the purpose of carrying out the formalities for importing the products shall not ipso facto render the proof of origin null and void if it is duly established that this document does correspond to the products submitted.

2. Obvious formal errors such as typing errors on a proof of origin should not cause this document to be rejected if these errors are not such as to create doubts concerning the correctness of the statements made in this document.

Article 30 Amounts expressed in EURO

1. The amounts to be used in any given national currency of a Member State shall be the equivalent in that national currency of the amounts expressed in EURO as at the first working day in October 1999.

2. The amounts expressed in EURO and their equivalents in the national currencies of some EC Member States may be reviewed by the Community if necessary and shall be notified by the Community to the Customs Cooperation Committee not later than one month before they shall come into force When carrying out this review, the Community shall ensure that there will be no decrease in the amounts to be used in any national currency and shall furthermore consider the desirability of preserving the effects of the limits concerned in real terms. For this purpose, it may decide to modify the amounts expressed in EURO.

3. When the products are invoiced in the currency of another EC Member State, the importing country shall recognize the amount notified by the Member State concerned.

TITLE V ARRANGEMENTS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION

Article 31 Mutual assistance

1. The ACP States shall send to the Commission specimens of the stamps used together with the addresses of the customs authorities competent to issue movement certificates EUR.1 and carry out the subsequent verification of movement certificates EUR.1 and invoice declarations.

Movement certificates EUR.1 and invoice declarations shall be accepted for the purpose of applying preferential treatment from the date the information is received by the Commission.

The Commission shall send this information to the customs authorities of the Member States.

2. In order to ensure the proper application of this Protocol, the Community, the OCT , the ACP States shall assist each other, through the competent customs administrations, in checking the authenticity of the movement certificates EUR.1, the invoice declarations or supplier's declarations and the correctness of the information given in these documents.

The authorities consulted shall furnish the relevant information concerning the conditions under which the product has been made, indicating especially the conditions in which the rules of origin have been respected in the various ACP States, Member States, OCT concerned.

Article 32 Verification of proofs of origin

1. Subsequent verifications of proofs of origin shall be carried out at random or whenever the customs authorities of the importing country have reasonable doubts as to the authenticity of such documents, the originating status of the products concerned or the fulfillment of the other requirements of this Protocol.

2. For the purposes of implementing the provisions of paragraph 1, the customs authorities of the importing country shall return the movement certificate EUR.1 and the invoice, if it has been submitted, the invoice declaration, or a copy of these documents, to the customs authorities of the exporting country giving, where appropriate, the reasons for the enquiry. Any documents and information obtained suggesting that the information given on the proof or origin is incorrect shall be forwarded in support of the request for verification.

3. The verification shall be carried out by the customs authorities of the exporting country. For this purpose, they shall have the right to call for any evidence and to carry out any inspection of the exporter's accounts or any other check considered appropriate.

4. If the customs authorities of the importing country decide to suspend the granting of preferential treatment to the products concerned while awaiting the results of the verification, release of the products shall be offered to the importer subject to any precautionary measures judged necessary.

5. The customs authorities requesting the verification shall be informed of the results of this verification as soon as possible. These results must indicate clearly whether the documents are authentic and whether the products concerned can be considered as products originating in the ACP States or in one of the countries referred to in Article 6 and fulfil the other requirements of this Protocol.

6. If in cases of reasonable doubt there is no reply within ten months of the date of the verification request 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, the requesting customs authorities shall, except in exceptional circumstances, refuse entitlement to the preferences.

7. Where the verification procedure or any other available information appears to indicate that the provisions of this Protocol are being contravened, the ACP State on its own initiative or at the request of the Community shall carry out appropriate enquires or arrange for such enquiries to be carried out with due urgency to identify and prevent such contraventions and for this purpose the ACP State concerned may invite the participation of the Community in these enquiries.

Article 33 Verification of suppliers' declarations

1. Verification of suppliers' declaration may be carried out at random or whenever the customs authorities of the importing State have reasonable doubts as to the authenticity of the document or the accuracy or completeness of the information concerning the true origin of the materials in question.

2. The customs authorities to which a supplier's declaration is submitted may request the customs authorities of the State where the declaration was made to issue an information certificate, a specimen of which appears in Annex VII to this Protocol. Alternatively, the customs authorities to which a supplier's declaration is submitted may request the exporter to produce an information certificate issued by the customs authorities of the State where the declaration was made.

A copy of the information certificate shall be preserved by the office which has issued it for at least three years.

3. The requesting customs authorities shall be informed of the results of the verification as soon as possible. The results must be such as to indicate positively whether the declaration concerning the status of the materials is correct.

4. For the purpose of verification, suppliers shall keep for not less than three years a copy of the document containing the declaration together with all necessary evidence showing the true status of the materials.

5. The customs authorities in the State where the supplier's declaration is established shall have the right to call for any evidence or to carry out any check which they consider appropriate in order to verify the correctness of any supplier's declaration.

6. Any movement certificate EUR.1 or invoice declaration issued or made out on the basis of an incorrect supplier's declaration shall be considered null and void.

Article 34 Dispute settlement

Where disputes arise in relation to the verification procedures of Articles 32 and 33 which cannot be settled between the customs authorities requesting a verification and the customs authorities responsible for carrying out this verification or where they raise a question as to the interpretation of this Protocol, they shall be submitted to the Customs Cooperation Committee provided for in Article 37.

In all cases the settlement of disputes between the importer and the customs authorities of the importing country shall be under the legislation of the said country.

Article 35 Penalties

Penalties shall be imposed on any person who draws up, or causes to be drawn up, a document which contains incorrect information for the purpose of obtaining a preferential treatment for products.

Article 36 Free zones

1. The ACP States shall take all necessary steps to ensure that products traded under cover of a proof of origin or a supplier's declaration and which in the course of transport use a free zone situated in their territory, are not substituted by other goods and do not undergo handling other than normal operations designed to prevent their deterioration.

2. By means of an exemption to the provisions contained in paragraph 1, when originating products are imported into a free zone under cover of a proof of origin and undergo treatment or processing, the authorities concerned shall issue a new EUR.1 certificate at the exporter's request, if the treatment or processing undergone is in conformity with the provisions of this Protocol.

Article 37 Customs Cooperation Committee

1. A Customs Cooperation Committee, hereinafter referred to as "the Committee", shall be set up and charged with carrying out administrative cooperation with a view to the correct and uniform application of this Protocol and with carrying out any other task in the customs field which may be entrusted to it.

2. The Committee shall examine regularly the effect on the ACP States and in particular on the least developed ACP States of application of the rules of origin and shall recommend to the Council of Ministers appropriate measures.

3. The Committee shall take decisions on cumulation under the conditions laid down in Article 6.

4. The Committee shall take decisions on derogations from this Protocol, under the conditions laid down in Article 38.

5. The Committee shall meet regularly, in particular to prepare the decisions of the Council of Ministers pursuant to Article 40.

6. The Committee shall be composed on the one hand of experts from the Member States and of Commission officials responsible for customs questions, and on the other hand of experts representing the ACP States and of officials of regional groupings of the ACP States who are responsible for customs questions. The Committee may call upon appropriate expertise where necessary.

Article 38 Derogations

1. Derogations from this Protocol may be adopted by the Committee where the development of existing industries or the creation of new industries justifies them.

The ACP State or States concerned shall, either before or when the ACP States submit the matter to the Committee, notify the Community of its request for a derogation together with the reasons for the request in accordance with paragraph 2.

The Community shall respond positively to all the ACP requests which are duly justified in conformity with this Article and which cannot cause serious injury to an established Community industry.

2. In order to facilitate the examination by the Committee of requests for derogation, the ACP State making the request shall, by means of the form given in Annex VIII to this Protocol, furnish in support of its request the fullest possible information covering in particular the points listed below:

- description of the finished product,

- nature and quantity of materials originating in a third country,

- nature and quantity of materials originating in ACP States, the Community or the OCT, or which have been processed there,

- manufacturing processes,

- value added,

- number of employees in the enterprise concerned,

- anticipated volume of exports to the Community,

- other possible sources of supply for raw materials

- reasons for the duration requested in the light of efforts made to find new sources of supply,

- other observations.

The same rules shall apply to any requests for extension.

The Committee may modify the form.

3. The examination of requests shall in particular take into account:

(a) the level of development or the geographical situation of the ACP State or States concerned;

(b) cases where the application of the existing rules of origin would significantly affect the ability of an existing industry in an ACP State to continue its exports to the Community, with particular reference to cases where this could lead to cessation of its activities;

(c) specific cases where it can be clearly demonstrated that significant investment in an industry could be deterred by the rules of origin and where a derogation favouring the realisation of the investment programme would enable these rules to be satisfied by stages.

4. In every case an examination shall be made to ascertain whether the rules relating to cumulation of origin do not provide a solution to the problem.

5. In addition when a request for derogation concerns a least-developed or an island ACP State, its examination shall be carried out with a favourable bias having particular regard to:

(a) the economic and social impact of the decision to be taken especially in respect of employment;

(b) the need to apply the derogation for a period taking into account the particular situation of the ACP State concerned and its difficulties.

6. In the examination of requests, special account shall be taken, case by case, of the possibility of conferring originating status on products which include in their composition materials originating in neighbouring developing countries, least-developed countries or developing countries with which one or more ACP States have special relations, provided that satisfactory administrative co-operation can be established.

7. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 to 6, the derogation shall be granted where the value added to the non-originating products used in the ACP State or States concerned is at least 45% of the value of the finished product, provided that the derogation is not such as to cause serious injury to an economic sector of the Community or of one or more Member States.

8. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 to 7, derogations concerning canned tuna and tuna loins shall only be granted within an annual quota of 8,000 tonnes, for canned tuna and within an annual quota of 2,000 tonnes for tuna loins.

Applications for such derogations shall be submitted by the ACP States in accordance with the abovementioned quota to the Committee, which shall grant them automatically and put them into force by means of a decision.

9. The Committee shall take steps necessary to ensure that a decision is reached as quickly as possible and in any case not later than seventy-five working days after the request is received by the EC Co-chairman of the Committee. If the Community does not inform the ACP States of its position on the request within this period, the request shall be deemed to have been accepted. In the event of a decision not being taken by the Committee, the Committee of Ambassadors shall be called upon to decide within one month of the date on which the matter is referred to it.

10. (a) The derogation shall be valid for a period, generally of five years, to be determined by the Committee.

(b) The derogation decision may provide for renewals without a new decision of the Committee being necessary, provided that the ACP State or States concerned submit, three months before the end of each period, proof that they are still unable to meet the conditions of this Protocol which have been derogated from.

If any objection is made to the extension, the Committee shall examine it as soon as possible and decide whether to prolong the derogation. The Committee shall proceed as provided for in paragraph 9. All necessary measures shall be taken to avoid interruptions in the application of the derogation.

(c) In the periods referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b), the Committee may review the terms for implementing the derogation should a significant change be found to have taken place in the substantive factors governing the decision to grant the derogation. On conclusion of its review the Committee may decide to amend the terms of its decision as regards the scope of derogation or any other condition previously laid down.

TITLE VI CEUTA AND MELILLA

Article 39 Special conditions

1. The term "Community" used in this Protocol shall not cover Ceuta and Melilla. The term "products originating in the Community" shall not cover products originating in Ceuta and Melilla.

2. The provisions of this Protocol shall apply mutatis mutandis in determining whether products may be deemed as originating in the ACP States when imported into Ceuta and Melilla.

3. Where products wholly obtained in Ceuta, Melilla, the OCT or the Community undergo working and processing in the ACP States, they shall be considered as having been wholly obtained in the ACP States.

4. Working or processing carried out in Ceuta Melilla, the OCT or the Community shall be considered as having been carried out in the ACP States, when materials undergo further working or processing in the ACP States.

5. For the purpose of implementing paragraphs 3 and 4, the insufficient operations listed in Article 5 shall not be considered as working or processing.

6. Ceuta and Melilla shall be considered as a single territory.

TITLE VII FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 40 Revision of rules of origin

In accordance with Article 7 of ANNEX V, the Council of Ministers shall examine annually, or whenever the ACP States or the Community so request, the application of the provisions of this Protocol and their economic effects with a view to making any necessary amendments or adaptations.

The Council of Ministers shall take into account among other elements the effects on the rules of origin of technological developments.

The decisions taken shall be implemented as soon as possible.

Article 41 Annexes

The Annexes to this Protocol shall form an integral part thereof.

Article 42 Implementation of the Protocol

The Community and the ACP States shall each take the steps necessary to implement this Protocol.

ANNEX I Introductory notes to the list in Annex II

Note 1:

The list sets out the conditions required for all products to be considered as sufficiently worked or processed within the meaning of Article 4 of the Protocol.

Note 2:

1. first two columns in the list describe the product obtained. The first column gives the heading number or chapter number used in the Harmonized System and the second column gives the description of goods used in that system for that heading or chapter. For each entry in the first two columns a rule is specified in columns 3 or 4. Where, in some cases, the entry in the first column is preceded by an "ex", this signifies that the rules in columns 3 or 4 apply only to the part of that heading as described in column 2.

2. Where several heading numbers are grouped together in column 1 or a chapter number is given and the description of products in column 2 is therefore given in general terms, the adjacent rules in columns 3 or 4 apply to all products which, under the Harmonized System, are classified in headings of the chapter or in any of the headings grouped together in column 1.

3. Where there are different rules in the list applying to different products within a heading, each indent contains the description of that part of the heading covered by the adjacent rules in columns 3 or 4.

4. Where, for an entry in the first two columns, a rule is specified in both columns 3 and 4, the exporter may opt, as an alternative, to apply either the rule set out in column 3 or that set out in column 4. If no origin rule is given in column 4, the rule set out in column 3 has to be applied.

Note 3:

1. The provisions of Article 4 of the Protocol concerning products having acquired originating status which are used in the manufacture of other products apply regardless of whether this status has been acquired inside the factory where these products are used or in another factory in the Community or in the ACP States.

Example:

An engine of heading No 8407, for which the rule states that the value of the non-originating materials which may be incorporated may not exceed 40 per cent of the ex-works price, is made from "other alloy steel roughly shaped by forging" of heading No ex 7224.

If this forging has been forged in the Community from a non-originating ingot, it has already acquired originating status by virtue of the rule for heading No ex 7224 in the list. The forging can then count as originating in the value calculation for the engine regardless of whether it was produced in the same factory or in another factory in the Community. The value of the non-originating ingot is thus not taken into account when adding up the value of the non-originating materials used.

2. The rule in the list represents the minimum amount of working or processing required and the carrying out of more working or processing also confers originating status; conversely, the carrying out of less working or processing cannot confer originating status. Thus if a rule provides that non-originating material at a certain level of manufacture may be used, the use of such material at an earlier stage of manufacture is allowed and the use of such material at a later stage is not.

3. Without prejudice to Note 3.2 where a rule states that "materials of any heading" may be used, materials of the same heading as the product may also be used, subject, however, to any specific limitations which may also be contained in the rule. However, the expression "manufacture from materials of any heading, including other materials of heading No ..." means that only materials classified in the same heading as the product of a different description than that of the product as given in column 2 of the list may be used.

4. When a rule in the list specifies that a product may be manufactured from more than one material, this means that any one or more materials may be used. It does not require that all be used.

Example:

The rule for fabrics of heading Nos 5208 to 5212 provides that natural fibres may be used and that chemical materials, among other materials, may also be used. This does not mean that both have to be used; it is possible to use one or the other or both.

5. Where a rule in the list specifies that a product must be manufactured from a particular material, the condition obviously does not prevent the use of other materials which, because of their inherent nature, cannot satisfy the rule. (See also Note 6.3 below in relation to textiles).

Example:

The rule for prepared foods of heading No 1904 which specifically excludes the use of cereals and their derivatives does not prevent the use of mineral salts, chemicals and other additives which are not products from cereals.

However, this does not apply to products which, although they cannot be manufactured from the particular materials specified in the list, can be produced from a material of the same nature at an earlier stage of manufacture.

Example:

In the case of an article of apparel of ex Chapter 62 made from non-woven materials, if the use of only non-originating yarn is allowed for this class of article, it is not possible to start from non-woven cloth - even if non-woven cloths cannot normally be made from yarn. In such cases, the starting material would normally be at the stage before yarn - that is the fibre stage.

6. Where, in a rule in the list, two percentages are given for the maximum value of non-originating materials that can be used, then these percentages may not be added together. In other words, the maximum value of all the non-originating materials used may never exceed the highest of the percentages given. Furthermore, the individual percentages must not be exceeded in relation to the particular materials they apply to.

Note 4:

1. The term "natural fibres" is used in the list to refer to fibres other than artificial or synthetic fibres. It is restricted to the stages before spinning takes place, including waste, and, unless otherwise specified, includes fibres that have been carded, combed or otherwise processed but not spun.

2. The term "natural fibres" includes horsehair of heading No 0503, silk of heading Nos 5002 and 5003 as well as the wool fibres, fine or coarse animal hair of heading Nos 5101 to 5105, the cotton fibres of heading Nos 5201 to 5203 and the other vegetable fibres of heading Nos 5301 to 5305.

3. The terms "textile pulp", "chemical materials" and "paper-making materials" are used in the list to describe the materials not classified in Chapters 50 to 63, which can be used to manufacture artificial, synthetic or paper fibres or yarns.

4. The term "man-made staple fibres" is used in the list to refer to synthetic or artificial filament tow, staple fibres or waste, of heading Nos 5501 to 5507.

Note 5:

1. Where for a given product in the list a reference is made to this note, the conditions set out in column 3 shall not be applied to any basic textile materials, used in the manufacture of this product, which, taken together, represent 10 per cent or less of the total weight of all the basic textile materials used. (See also Notes 5.3 and 5.4 below).

2. However, the tolerance mentioned in Note 5.1 may only be applied to mixed products which have been made from two or more basic textile materials.

The following are the basic textile materials:

- silk,

- wool,

- coarse animal hair,

- fine animal hair,

- horsehair,

- cotton,

- paper-making materials and paper,

- flax,

- true hemp,

- jute and other textile bast fibres,

- sisal and other textile fibres of the genus Agave,

- coconut, abaca, ramie and other vegetable textile fibres,

- synthetic man-made filaments,

- artificial man-made filaments,

- current conducting filaments

- synthetic man-made staple fibres of polypropylene,

- synthetic man-made staple fibres of polyester,

- synthetic man-made staple fibres of polyamide,

- synthetic man-made staple fibres of polyacrylonitrile,

- synthetic man-made staple fibres of polyimide,

- synthetic man-made staple fibres of polytetrafluoroethylene,

- synthetic man-made staple fibres of polyphenylene sulphide,

- synthetic man-made staple fibres of polyvinyl chloride,

- other synthetic man-made staple fibres,

- artificial man-made staple fibres of viscose,

- other artificial man-made staple fibres,

- yarn made of polyurethane segmented with flexible segments of polyether whether or not gimped,

- yarn made of polyurethane segmented with flexible segments of polyester whether or not gimped,

- products of heading No 5605 (metallized yarn) incorporating strip consisting of a core of aluminium foil or of a core of plastic film whether or not coated with aluminium powder, of a width not exceeding 5 mm, sandwiched by means of a transparent or coloured adhesive between two layers of plastic film,

- other products of heading No 5605.

Example:

A yarn of heading No 5205 made from cotton fibres of heading No 5203 and synthetic staple fibres of heading No 5506 is a mixed yarn. Therefore, non-originating synthetic staple fibres that do not satisfy the origin rules (which require manufacture from chemical materials or textile pulp) may be used up to a weight of 10 per cent of the yarn.

Example:

A woollen fabric of heading No 5112 made from woollen yarn of heading No 5107 and synthetic yarn of staple fibres of heading No 5509 is a mixed fabric. Therefore synthetic yarn which does not satisfy the origin rules (which require manufacture from chemical materials or textile pulp) or woollen yarn that does not satisfy the origin rules (which require manufacture from natural fibres, not carded or combed or otherwise prepared for spinning) or a combination of the two may be used provided their total weight does not exceed 10 per cent of the weight of the fabric.

Example:

Tufted textile fabric of heading No 5802 made from cotton yarn of heading No 5205 and cotton fabric of heading No 5210 is only a mixed product if the cotton fabric is itself a mixed fabric being made from yarns classified in two separate headings or if the cotton yarns used are themselves mixtures.

Example:

If the tufted textile fabric concerned had been made from cotton yarn of heading No 5205 and synthetic fabric of heading No 5407, then, obviously, the yarns used are two separate basic textile materials and the tufted textile fabric is accordingly a mixed product.

3. In the case of products incorporating "yarn made of polyurethane segmented with flexible segments of polyether whether or not gimped" this tolerance is 20 per cent in respect of this yarn.

4. In the case of products incorporating "strip consisting of a core of aluminium foil or of a core of plastic film whether or not coated with aluminium powder, of a width not exceeding 5 mm, sandwiched by means of an adhesive between two layers of plastic film", this tolerance is 30 per cent in respect of this strip.

Note 6:

1. In the case of those textile products, which are marked in the list by a footnote referring to this Introductory Note, textile trimmings and accessories which do not satisfy the rule set out in the list in column 3 for the made up products concerned may be used provided that their weight does not exceed 10% of the total weight of all the textile materials incorporated.

Textile trimmings and accessories are those classified in Chapters 50 to 63. Linings and interlinings are not be regarded as trimmings or accessories.

2. Any non-textile trimmings and accessories or other materials used which contain textiles do not have to satisfy the conditions set out in column 3 even though they fall outside the scope of Note 3.5.

3. In accordance with Note 3.5, any non-originating non-textile trimmings and accessories or other product, which do not contain any textiles, may, anyway, be used freely where they cannot be made from the materials listed in column 3.

- For example [1], if a rule in the list says that for a particular textile item, such as a blouse, yarn must be used, this does not prevent the use of metal items, such as buttons, because they cannot be made from textile materials.

[1] This example is given for the purpose of explanation only. It is not legally binding

4. Where a percentage rule applies, the value of trimmings and accessories must be taken into account when calculating the value of the non-originating materials incorporated.

Note 7:

1. For the purposes of heading Nos ex 2707, 2713 to 2715, ex 2901, ex 2902 and ex 3403, the "specific processes" are the following:

(a) vacuum distillation;

(b) redistillation by a very thorough fractionation process [2];

[2] See additional Explanatory Note 4(b) to Chapter 27 of the Combined Nomenclature

(c) cracking;

(d) reforming;

(e) extraction by means of selective solvents;

(f) the process comprising all the following operations: processing with concentrated sulphuric acid, oleum or sulphuric anhydride; neutralization with alkaline agents; decolorization and purification with naturally active earth, activated earth, activated charcoal or bauxite;

(g) polymerization;

(h) alkylation;

(i) isomerization.

2. For the purposes of heading Nos 2710, 2711 and 2712, the "specific processes" are the following:

(a) vacuum distillation;

(b) redistillation by a very thorough fractionation process (1)

(c) cracking;

(d) reforming;

(e) extraction by means of selective solvents;

(f) the process comprising all the following operations: processing with concentrated sulphuric acid, oleum or sulphuric anhydride; neutralization with alkaline agents; decolorization and purification with naturally active earth, activated earth, activated charcoal or bauxite;

(g) polymerization;

(h) alkylation;

(i) isomerization;

(j) in respect of heavy oils falling within heading No ex 2710 only, desulphurization with hydrogen resulting in a reduction of at least 85 per cent of the sulphur content of the products processed (ASTM D 1266-59 T method);

(k) in respect of products falling within heading No 2710 only, deparaffining by a process other than filtering;

(l) in respect of heavy oils falling within heading No ex 2710 only, treatment with hydrogen at a pressure of more than 20 bar and a temperature of more than 25O°C with the use of a catalyst, other than to effect desulphurization, when the hydrogen constitutes an active element in a chemical reaction. The further treatment with hydrogen of lubricating oils of heading No ex 2710 (e.g. hydrofinishing or decolorization) in order, more especially, to improve colour or stability shall not, however, be deemed to be a specific process;

(m) in respect of fuel oils falling within heading No ex 2710 only, atmospheric distillation, on condition that less than 30 per cent of these products distils, by volume, including losses, at 300°C by the ASTM D 86 method;

(n) in respect of heavy oils other than gas oils and fuel oils falling within heading No ex 2710 only, treatment by means of a high-frequency electrical brush-discharge.

3. For the purposes of heading Nos ex 2707, 2713 to 2715, ex 2901, ex 2902 and ex 3403, simple operations such as cleaning, decanting, desalting, water separation, filtering, colouring, marking, obtaining a sulphur content as a result of mixing products with different sulphur contents, any combination of these operations or like operations do not confer origin.

ANNEX II

LIST OF WORKING OR PROCESSING REQUIRED TO BE CARRIED OUT ON NON-ORIGINATING MATERIALS IN ORDER THAT THE PRODUCT MANUFACTURED CAN OBTAIN ORIGINATING STATUS

The products mentioned in the list may not all be covered by the agreement. It is therefore necessary to consult the other parts of the agreement

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ANNEX III

Within the meaning of this Protocol 'countries and territories' shall mean the countries and territories referred to in Part Four of the Treaty establishing the European community listed below:

(This list does not prejudge the status of these countries and territories, or future changes in their status.)

1. Country having special relations with the Kingdom of Denmark:

- Greenland.

2. Overseas territories of the French Republic:

- New Caledonia,

- French Polynesia,

- French Southern and Antarctic Territories,

- Wallis and Futuna Islands.

3. Territorial collectivities of the French Republic:

- Mayotte,

- Saint Pierre and Miquelon.

4. Overseas countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands:

- Aruba,

- Netherlands Antilles:

- Bonaire,

- Curaçao,

- Saba,

- Sint Eustatius,

- Sint Maarten.

5. British overseas countries and territories :

- Anguilla,

- Cayman Islands,

- Falkland Islands,

- South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands,

- Montserrat,

- Pitcairn,

- Saint Helena, Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha

- British Antarctic Territory,

- British Indian Ocean Territory,

- Turks and Caicos Islands,

- British Virgin Islands.

ANNEX IV

Form for movement certificate

1. Movement certificates EUR.1 shall be made out on the form of which a specimen appears in this Annex. This form shall be printed in one or more of the languages in which the Agreement is drawn up. Certificates shall be made out in one of these languages and in accordance with the provisions of the domestic law of the exporting State if they are handwritten, they shall be completed in ink and in capital letters.

2. Each certificate shall measure 210 x 297mm, a tolerance of up to plus 8mm or minus 5mm in the length may be allowed. The paper used must be white, sized for writing, not containing mechanical pulp and weighing not less than 60g/m2. It shall have a printed green guilloche pattern background making any falsification by mechanical or chemical means apparent to the eye.

3. The exporting States may reserve the right to print the certificates themselves or may have them printed by approved printers. In the latter case each certificate must include a reference to such approval. Each certificate must bear the name and address of the printer or a mark by which the printer can be identified. It shall also bear a serial number, either printed or not, by which it can be identified.

4. Forms of the kind given in Annex 4 to Decision No 1/89 of the ACP-EEC Council of Ministers may continue to be used until stocks are exhausted or until 31 December 1992 at the latest.

MOVEMENT CERTIFICATE

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(1) If goods are not packed, indicate number of articles or state "In bulk" as appropriate

(2) Complete only where the regulations of the exporting country or territory require

13. Request for verification, to: // 14. Result of verification

// Verification carried out shows that this certificate (*)

was issued by the customs office indicated and that the information contained therein is accurate.

does not meet the requirements as to authenticity and accuracy (see remarks appended).

Verification of the authenticity and accurancy of this certificate is requested

(Place and date)

Stamp

(Signature)

//

(Place and date)

Stamp

(Signature)

________________________

(*) Insert X in the appropriate box.

NOTES

1. Certificates must not contain erasures or words written over one another. Any alterations must be made by deleting the incorrect particulars and adding any necessary corrections. Any such alteration must be initialled by the person who completed the certificate and endorsed by the customs authorities of the issuing country or territory.

2. No spaces must be left between the items entered on the certificate and each item must be preceded by an item number. A horizontal line must be drawn immediately below the last item. Any unused space must be struck through in such a manner as to make any later additions impossible.

3. Goods must be described in accordance with commercial practice and with sufficient detail to enable them to be identified.

APPLICATION FOR A MOVEMENT CERTIFICATE

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DECLARATION BY THE EXPORTER

I, the undersigned, exporter of the goods described overleaf,

DECLARE that the goods meet the conditions required for the issue of the attached certificate;

SPECIFY as follows the circumstances which have enabled these goods to meet the above conditions:

SUBMIT the following supporting documents (1):

UNDERTAKE to submit, at the request of the appropriate authorities, any supporting evidence which these authorities may require for the purpose of issuing the attached certificate, and