Page 38 - ELT_1st July 2020_Vol 373_Part 1

A12 EXCISE LAW TIMES [ Vol. 373

“CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN” UNDER
CUSTOMS LAW
By
Vijay Shekhar Jha, LL.M.
ASSOCIATE AT ASAV ATTORNEYS & ADVISORS LLP

Introduction
As per International Chamber of Commerce -
A Certificate of Origin (hereinafter will be referred as
“CO”) is an important international trade document that
certifies that goods in a particular export shipment are
wholly obtained, produced, manufactured or processed in a particular country.
They declare the ‘nationality’ of the product and also serve as a declaration by
the exporter to satisfy Customs or trade requirements. [Certificate of Origin,
available at - https://iccwbo.org]
Recently, definition of ‘Certificate of Origin’ was added to the Customs
Act, 1962 in the form of Explanation to Section 28DA, as per which CO has been
defined in the following manner :
“certificate of origin means a certificate issued in accordance with a trade
agreement certifying that the goods fulfil the country of origin criteria and
other requirements specified in the said agreement;”
COs are of immense importance as they are sought by Customs, banks,
private stakeholders and importers/exporters for several purposes. Its im-
portance can be easily understood from the fact that for Customs clearance pro-
cedures, all around the world, its requirement is sine qua non. Moreover, it is in-
dispensable while determining the duty that will be imposed on the imported
goods [ibid]. Further, it is also essential to determine whether goods can be legal-
ly imported/exported.
There are two types of COs that are generally issued [ibid] :
 Non-Preferential COs - These COs certify that the goods being im-
ported are subject to non-preferential treatment.
 Preferential COs - These COs certify that goods being imported are
subject to reduced tariffs/duties or are entitled to exemptions when
they are exported by countries with whom importing country has
entered into a Free Trade Agreement (“FTA”)/Regional Trade
Agreement(“RTA”).
If it weren’t for COs, importing country would never know whether to
extend the benefits of FTA/RTA to the goods being imported or not. Therefore,
the certification of the origin of goods plays a critical role in the international
trade between countries.
Here, it will be pertinent to note that in majority of the cases, the import-
er is only required to get this certificate issued from local Chamber of Commerce
of the exporting country. However, in some cases, the Customs authorities may
insist the importer to get GSP (generalized system of preference) issued by ex-
port council agencies of the respective exporting country. While issuing certifi-
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