RCEP Guide to Export origin Visas

On November 23, 2021, the General Administration of Customs issued Order No. 255, announcing the Measures of the Customs of the People’s Republic of China on the Administration of Origin of Import and Export Goods under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the Measures), which will come into force on January 1, 2022.

The RCEP is about to take effect. In order to facilitate enterprises to apply for the origin visa for RCEP exports, we have sorted out the relevant content and let you know the specific requirements below.

Application conditions for RCEP Certificate of origin

Application subject:Consignors and their agents of export goods and domestic manufacturers and their agents (also called applicants) that have registered with enterprises of origin may apply to Chinese visa authorities for issuing certificates of origin.
If you want to know whether our company is qualified as the subject of the application, you can contact the local customs or 12360 customs hotline. Enterprises that have already handled the certificate of origin business at the Customs can directly apply for the certificate after the agreement comes into force without going through other filing procedures.

Application Time:The applicant shall apply for issuing the certificate of origin before shipment.

Under normal circumstances, the applicant should apply for issuance of the export goods before the date of shipment (i.e. the shipping date of the export bill of lading). If the applicant fails to apply for issuance of the export goods before shipment due to negligence or other reasonable reasons, he can apply to the visa agency for reissuance within 1 year from the date of shipment.

RCEP certificate of origin application materials

(I) The applicant shall submit the materials proving the qualification of origin and the country (region) of origin of the goods, and be responsible for the authenticity, completeness and accuracy of the materials submitted.

Under normal circumstances, the documents that can prove the qualification of origin of goods or the country of origin (region) include: “Product Cost List”, product processing procedures, procurement invoices of raw materials and parts, procurement contracts, labels and outer packaging, etc., which can be provided by the applicant according to the requirements of the visa agency.

(II) Where an applicant applies for the issuance of a back-to-back certificate of origin, the original original certificate of origin shall be submitted.

The RCEP Back-to-back certificate of origin is a flexible certificate of origin issued by an intermediate Contracting Party for goods that have already been issued by the original exporting Contracting Party. The relevant goods can still enjoy preferential tariff treatment when imported by other Contracting Parties. This certification meets the needs of modern international logistics, facilitates the transportation of goods between member countries and logistics separation, and greatly improves the flexibility of enterprises in terms of sales strategy and logistics arrangement. Note that the validity of back-to-back certificates of origin must not exceed the validity of the original certificates of origin.

(III) The applicant shall, within 3 years from the date of issuance or issuance of the certificate of origin, keep documentary records that can fully prove the qualification of origin and the country (region) of origin of the goods, and the records may be kept in electronic or paper form.

Important reminder: documents related to origin visa should be kept for three years! Keep for three years! Keep for three years!

RCEP certificate of origin application process

(I) “Single window” declaration for international trade

Since January 1, 2022 formally implemented RCEP, as of the date of the applicant can login “single window” (https://new.singlewindow.cn/), international trade through the “origin” – > “customs application for certificate of origin” to declare.

(II) Apply for blank CO (CEPA)

Enterprises can apply for RCEP blank CO (CepA) from the visa authorities in advance, make use records of THE CO (CEPA) as required, and keep relevant bookkeeping materials.

Generally speaking, enterprises can register one or more cepA officers and manage the blank CO (CEPA) and related books as required for the verification of the next blank CO (CEPA) application.

(III) Submit information for on-site visa

After the electronic information of the declared certificate of origin is verified by the visa agency, the enterprise shall print out the certificate of origin to be approved by itself, affix the enterprise’s Chinese and English visa seal and the signature of the applicant, and directly submit it to the visa agency for verification and visa.

Up to now, we have not received any notice that RCEP certificates of origin can be self-printed. It is expected that the RCEP certificates of origin will be mainly printed with paper visas at the initial stage, and self-printing may be gradually implemented later.

RCEP原产地规则解析

(I) Cumulative rules

“Accumulation” is an important supplementary rule, which means that when determining the origin qualification of products, the raw materials used in the production of products from other PARTIES of the FTA shall be regarded as the raw materials of the contracting party where the products are produced, and the FREE trade area shall be regarded as a whole to promote the freedom of trade within the region.

The cumulative rule essentially reduces the threshold for products to obtain the qualification of origin and has the effect of “softening agent”, which is conducive to encouraging producers to allocate production resources within the region of contracting Parties, strengthening the coordination between upstream and downstream industries, and thus facilitating the development of industrial economy and intra-industry trade within the region.

(II) Microcontent rule

The minor content rule is also known as the “tolerance rule”. Under Article 7 of the Treaty, if a portion of non-origin material used in production does not meet the criteria for the classification change, the goods may still be of origin as long as the proportion of value or weight of the non-origin material does not exceed 10%.

The micro content under RCEP can be calculated by value for all goods under Chapter 1 to chapter 97, i.e. the value of non-origin materials allowed to be used in the production of the goods and not subject to a change in tariff classification does not exceed 10% of the FOB price of the goods; For chapter 50 to 63 goods (textile raw materials and textile products), the minor content can also be calculated by weight, that is, the weight of non-origin materials not subject to the change in tariff classification is not allowed to exceed 10% of the total weight of the goods.

Reissuance and correction of RCEP certificates of origin

(I) Resend

Where the original issued CO (CEPA) is lost or damaged, the applicant may, within one year from the date of issue of the CO (CEPA), apply to the original licensing authority for the issue of a certified copy of the CO (CEPA).

In order to apply for reissue of a CERTIFICATE of Origin, the following information is generally required: Application for reissue of A CERTIFICATE of Origin, a description of the applicant, a description of the party responsible for loss or damage, and information on the retention of the original certificate (e.g. a copy of the original certificate).

(II) Correct

If there is any error in the information contained in the CO (CEPA) or supplementary information is needed, the applicant may, within one year from the date of issuance of the CO (CEPA), apply to the original issuing authority for correction by presenting the original CO (CEPA). The correction can be made in the following two ways:

Method I: A new co (cepA) shall be issued by the issuing agency and the original CO (CEPA) shall be annulled.

Enterprises need to send the visa agencies change the electronic information, and after receipt of the “to be submitted to the original certificate after you sign the” slow review after receipt, the site to submit the following data: the original of certificates of country of origin (should be consistent with the change application form to fill in the certificate), the other to prove that change the contents of the information or copies (e.g., bill of lading, letter of credit, third party invoice etc.).

Method II: Apply for correction of co (cepA), which shall be signed and sealed by the visa authority.

Generally is the original certificate has been submitted to importer customs, import customs requires manual changes to the original certificate, the scene to submit the following information: the certificate of origin application for change, the original of certificates of country of origin, to prove that change the content of information or other copy (e.g., bill of lading, letter of credit, the third party invoice, case, etc.).

Article source：Xiao er of customs affairs