Handbook on rules of origin and preferential treatment of imported goods
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Free trade agreements often require that a product be wholly obtained in the contracting states or undergo sufficient processing there in order to qualify for preferential treatment under the agreement. Rules of origin set out the conditions under which a product covered by a free trade agreement is considered an originating product. These rules are therefore necessary to distinguish products covered by free trade agreements and eligible for preferential treatment from products that are not eligible for such treatment, the so-called third-country goods.
An importer of goods that meet the rules of origin requirements under the relevant free trade agreement must submit proof of origin in the importing country in support of a claim for preferential treatment of the goods.
Chapter 5
Preferential treatment under the EEA Agreement applies only to goods transported between the EFTA States, the Member States of the European Union and other countries that are parties to the system of diagonal accumulation of origin, without passing through the territory of a third country (the territoriality principle), cf. Article 12(1) of Protocol 4 to the EEA Agreement.
However, products forming a single consignment may be transported through the territory of a third country for trans-shipment or temporary storage where necessary, provided that the goods remain under the supervision of the customs authorities in the country of transit or storage and do not undergo any operation other than unloading, reloading or any operation designed to preserve them in good condition, cf. Article 12(1) of Protocol 4.
The following evidence demonstrating that the above conditions have been fulfilled must be submitted to the customs authorities of the importing country:
Transport documents and evidence required
A certificate issued by the customs authorities of the country of transit containing:
an accurate description of the products;
the dates of unloading and reloading and, where applicable, the names of the vessels concerned; and
certification of the conditions under which the products remained in the country of transit; or
A through bill of lading issued in the exporting country covering the transit through the country of transit; or
Failing these, any other documentary evidence proving compliance with the above conditions.
Article 13 of Protocol 4 provides an exception to the territoriality principle for originating products sent to exhibitions in a third country.Under this provision, originating products sent from a contracting state to an exhibition in a third country retain their originating status when sold and imported into another contracting state, provided that it can be demonstrated that:
the exporter dispatched the products from a contracting state to the country where the exhibition was held and exhibited them there;
the exporter sold or otherwise transferred the products to a consignee in another contracting state;
the products were consigned to that contracting state during or immediately after the exhibition in the condition in which they had been sent to the exhibition; and
the products were not used for any purpose other than exhibition from the time they were sent to the exhibition.
Proof of origin must be issued or made out in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 5 of Protocol 4 and submitted to the customs authorities of the importing country in the normal manner.The proof of origin must state the name and location of the exhibition. Where necessary, additional documentary evidence concerning the nature of the products and the conditions under which they were exhibited may be required.
Article 13 applies to all trade, industrial, agricultural and handicraft exhibitions, trade fairs and similar public events that are not organised for private commercial purposes in shops or business premises for the sale of foreign goods, provided that the products remain under customs supervision throughout the exhibition.
Other free trade agreements
The EFTA free trade agreements contain corresponding rules concerning the transport of goods through third countries, with the exception of the agreements with Morocco and Israel. For the purposes of applying the territoriality principle, third countries are defined in the same manner as under the EEA Agreement.
The same rule applies under the EFTA Agreement with Morocco, except that third countries for the purposes of that agreement are all countries other than the EFTA States, Morocco and, where applicable, Tunisia, cf. Article 4 of Annex B to the Agreement.
Under the EFTA Agreement with Israel, products forming a single consignment may be transported through the territory of a third country for trans-shipment or temporary storage where geographical considerations justify such transport, provided that the goods remain under the supervision of the customs authorities in the country where the transit or storage takes place and do not undergo any operation other than unloading, reloading or operations intended to preserve them in good condition.
For the purposes of the agreement with Israel, third countries are all countries other than the EFTA States and Israel. The agreement does not specify the form in which evidence demonstrating compliance with the conditions for transport through third countries must be provided.
For the purposes of applying the territoriality principle under the Agreement between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, third countries are all countries other than Iceland and the Faroe Islands. In all other respects, the rule is identical to that contained in Protocol 4 to the EEA Agreement.
[1] The countries concerned are:
Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Türkiye.