Supplier’s declarations

Exporters issuing or requesting certificates of origin should be able to prove the origin of their goods. If the exporter purchased originating goods from a supplier in the EU, the company may need information about the origin of the goods from the supplier. If the goods are not sufficiently worked or processed by the company to qualify as originating goods, information from sub-contractors may be used to demonstrate that the aggregate processing in the EU qualifies the goods for originating status.

We use legally binding supplier's declarations in the EU to transfer information about the origin of goods between companies. This means that a person issuing a supplier's declaration is obliged to demonstrate the veracity of the information in the certificate to a customs authority, just like an exporter issuing or requesting certificates of origin. In other words, they need to present documents certifying the origin of any goods included in the supplier's declaration.

As retrospectively issued long-term supplier's declaration cannot be issued for longer back than one year from when the original supplier's declaration was issued, it is important for companies to maintain goods procedures for supplier's declarations. The reason for this is that companies that lack the necessary supporting documents prior to issuing a certificate of origin risk not being able to obtain supplier's declarations retrospectively, for example in the context of post clearance examination going back several years in time. The consequences may be significant, as the customer in the country of destination may become liable for customs duty for the goods

Since A.TR. does not certify the origin of goods, the EU and Turkey have agreed to use supplier's declarations to certify goods that are traded within the scope of the customs union. This may be needed if a consignee in Turkey or the EU intends to re-export the goods to a different PEM country, either unaltered or after processing.

Suppliers in the EU may issue supplier’s declarations for materials that are processed in the EU, without obtaining originating status, and exported to ACP States (African, Caribbean and Pacific States), OCTs (Overseas Countries and Territories), Algeria, Tunisia or Morocco for further processing.

There are designated templates associated with each free-trade agreement for supplier's declarations for export goods intended to be re-imported to the EU after processing. These are two examples of such templates (from the OCT arrangement). The first refers to originating goods and the second to non-originating goods.

Declaration for products having preferential origin status Pdf, 33.1 kB.

Declaration for products not having preferential origin status Pdf, 36 kB.

Suppliers in the EU may issue supplier's declarations for materials that have been processed in the EU without meeting the criteria for beneficial origin status, which are to be shipped to Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein to be part of the production of originating goods.

For goods manufactured in Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein to obtain EEA origin status, the manufacturer may need supporting documents showing any prior processing of the input materials within the EEA, for example in the EU. If the materials already have preferential origin status, the certificates of origin may be used as supporting documents. If the materials need further processing to obtain preferential origin status, the supporting document should be a supplier's declaration.

Please state the origin criteria in the statement on origin when exporting to Japan. If the exporter does not manufacture the goods, but purchases them from a manufacturer in the EU, the supplier's declaration should contain information about origin criteria.

Origin criteria