EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement: Guidance document on rules of origin. A short check

EU Commission published the “EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement: Guidance document on rules of origin”.

In this document, it is stated that, in line with the European approach to FTA negotiation, the proof of origin can be either:

− a statement on origin completed by the exporter on an invoice, or any other document including a commercial document, or

− knowledge obtained and held by the importer that the goods are originating (importer’s knowledge).

Without proof of origin it is not possible to claim for the preferential origin. Moreover, it is important to add that

the European importer is responsible for the correctness of the claim and for compliance with the respective requirements;
it is possible to claim the preferential origin status either at the time of import or within three years after the import. Indeed “…Claims for preference are made on customs declarations for release for free circulation at the time of importation (Article 3.16(3)). A claim may equally be made after importation within three years of the importation date…”
obligation of records keeping for, al least, three years after the date on which the claim for preferential tariff treatment was made or for a longer period that may be specified in national legislation, an importer should archive: a) the statement on origin made out by the exporter, if the claim was based on a statement on origin; b) all records demonstrating that the product satisfies the requirements to obtain originating status if the claim was based on importer’s knowledge.

The statement of origin must be printed on the prescribed text and blank fields to be completed by the exporter in accordance with the guidelines in the footnotes and may be typed, printed, stamped or hand-written on an invoice or any other document. The statement of origin can be made also for multiple shipments.

The document which contains the statement of origin has to describe the originating product in enough detail to allow it to be identified. Therefore, any non-originating products, which may be on the document, should be clearly distinguished from originating products. The statement on origin does not need to be signed or stamped by the exporter, nor by any authorities.

The document bearing the statement on origin may be provided electronically. The exporter has to reproduce the prescribed text and should not alter it.

From a practical standpoint, in the statement of origin, the exporter from European Union has to mention his Registered Exporters (REX) number, while, the New Zealand exporter heve to put the Customs Client Code (a unique number that identifies commercial importers and exporters).

EU exporters shall indicate the origin of their products with the words “the European Union” or “EU” or equivalent in the official language versions of the EU. EU exporters should not indicate a Member State.

For statements on origin made by New Zealand exporters, those would indicate “New Zealand”, “NZ” or may use “Aotearoa”, the Māori wording of New Zealand.

Importer’s knowledge allows importers to claim preference based on information and documents which they have in their possession and which demonstrate that the product is originating in the exporting Party and satisfies the requirements of Rules of origin and origin procedures of the free trade agreement.

To complete the picture, we have to recall the following points:

accounting segregation of goods;
duty drawback (any duty drawback prohibition provision);
non-alteration rule: an originating product in free circulation in the importing Party shall not have been modified or transformed in any way or undergone any other treatment in a country different from EU or New Zealand.

The FTA between the EU and New Zealand is a very interesting agreement based, among others, on a vision of sustainability, circular economy and protection of sustainable agriculture.

For any detailed study: