What is a Certificate of Origin in Freight Transport?

The certificate of origin in transport is an accreditation document in comercio internacional whose function is to determine the country in which the goods being transported have been manufactured. Also, it is important not to confuse the country of origin with the country of provenance or the country where the goods will be sent. In the context of private transport, this document is essential for customs clearance and for the application of tariffs and preferential trade agreements.

The certificate is a very important document in every import and export operation in third countries within the European Union. Therefore, countries belonging to the European Community that engage in intra-community transactions are completely exempt from presenting this type of documentation.

The certificate of origin is used to certify the origin of goods intended to enter a given country. As it is intended to identify the origin of the goods, it must be separated from other documents.

How to obtain a certificate of origin?

The certificate of origin is issued by the Chamber of Commerce and is valid indefinitely, i.e. it does not expire. In certain cases, the customs authorities may require the reprocessing of this document in order to issue the goods certificate.

This document is issued in the country of departure of the goods and at the time of export. The documentation to be provided is as follows:

• Responsible declaration stating knowledge of the applicable regulations
• Have documentation proving the place of manufacture of the goods and, in some cases, the age of the manufacturer.

This documentation must be taken to the Chamber of Commerce so it can issue the certificate.

Details required to issue the certificate

The applicant must provide the Chamber of Commerce with the following documentation:

• Brands
• Numbering
• Packaging number and model
• Nature of the goods
• Quantity based on units

Instrucciones for expedir un certificado de origen

• Shipper: Name, surname, address, country…
• Addressee: First name, last name, address, country…
• Country of origin
• Transport-related information: mode of transport used for the export
• Remarks
• Order number, marks, quantity, nature of packages and designation of the goods.
• Quantity: Kilograms, gross weight and net weight.

Types of certificates based on their use

As we have already mentioned, there are three types of certificates according to their use: First, there are certificates of origin for export; secondly, there are certificates of origin for import; and finally, there are certificates of origin for transit.

Certificate of origin for export

There are three types:

• Community certificate of origin: Countries with which the European Union has no preferential treatment agreements.
• EUR-1
• EUR-MED: For countries with preferential treatment agreements with the European Union.

Import Certificate

We have the following import certificates:

• Certificate of origin showing where the goods originate: Countries with which the European Union has no preferential treatment agreements.
• EUR-1
• REX: Register of Exporters.
• ATR: For countries with preferential treatment agreements with the European Union.

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