Trade Documents

Certificates of Origin are a documentary system used in modern international trade for millions of transactions around the globe every year. The system utilises a trust-based mechanism between trading nations to prove the status of goods traded across borders, under the provisions of the Convention Relating to the Simplification of Customs Formalities (1923), which was reinforced with the Revised Kyoto Convention adopted in 2006. The global process involves an exporter making a claim about an exported good to the approved authority of their own government, which can then be used and trusted by the authorities of both the foreign government (importing Customs) and the importer themselves, when the goods cross the border at their destination.

In the modern trading era the Certificate of Origin system is now largely electronic, and enables importing Customs to appropriately determine an exporter’s claims about the origin of inputs into products for a range of trust-based purposes, including tariff reductions, anti-dumping procedures, MFN application, safeguarding, and other treatment choices. It also enables importers to use trade finance documents such as Letters of Credit, and allows exporters to receive the support of their own exporting government in the event of a dispute. 

Chambers of commerce have a long history developing the Certificate of Origin system, with first Certificate being issued by the Marseille Province Chamber of Commerce in 1898. The codification of the system arrived with the 1923 Convention, and the International Chamber of Commerce maintains and updates the international guidelines on Certificates of Origin, ensuring consistency in the global documentary standard into the electronic era. Today, over 400 trade agreements contain preferential rules of origin, further expanding the purpose of issuance of Certificates of Origin for preferential use, so that treatment for goods under preferential (or "free") trade agreements can be obtained at the border crossing.

To obtain a Certificate of Origin from the TCCI, first you must be registered as an exporter. Certificates can then be issued in hard copy or electronically (if the exporter registers with essCert). 

Register