Preface
Since the implementation of the Regulations on Issuance of Certificates of Origin for Export Goods of the People's Republic of China (No. 270 of the General Administration of Customs, hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") on September 1, 2024, it has not only standardized the issuance of certificates of origin (CO) for export goods but also put forward new requirements for export enterprises regarding the standardized completion and compliant application procedures of CO.
Due to the diversity of transportation methods, logistics companies, freight forwarders, and other entities issue bills of lading (B/L) or other shipping documents in various forms under different logistics scenarios. This has led some export enterprises to have questions about which shipping documents need to be submitted when applying for a CO and how to fill in the relevant fields of the CO based on the shipping documents. In response, this article continues to address common errors and frequently asked questions encountered by enterprises during the application process for CO for export goods in the year since the implementation of the Regulations. This article primarily covers the filling in of relevant fields of the CO.
1. If the place of departure on the shipping document shows Hong Kong, China, can a CO be applied for? How should the Port of Loading on the CO be filled in?
If, due to logistics needs, goods are transported by land to Hong Kong, China, and then shipped by sea or air from Hong Kong, China, to the final destination country, and the shipping document only indicates Hong Kong, China as the place of departure and does not include information that the Place of Receipt is a port in mainland China, the export enterprise must, when applying for a supplementary CO, submit not only the shipping document for shipment from Hong Kong, China, but also the shipping document for transportation from mainland China to Hong Kong, China. When filling out the CO, the "Port of Loading" field must not be filled solely with Hong Kong, China; it should be filled with a port in mainland China, such as "GUANGZHOU, CHINA." The transshipment port can be noted in parentheses after the Port of Discharge, for example, "ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (Via Hong Kong, China)." When describing transportation details, the mainland China port should be stated as the place of departure and Hong Kong, China as the transshipment point, such as "FROM GUANGZHOU, CHINA TO HONG KONG, CHINA BY LAND, THENCE FROM HONG KONG, CHINA TO ZURICH, SWITZERLAND BY AIR" or "FROM GUANGZHOU, CHINA TO HONG KONG, CHINA BY LAND, THENCE TRANSSHIPPED TO ZURICH, SWITZERLAND BY AIR."
2. When the consignee on the CO and the shipping document is the same, the Port of Discharge on the shipping document is A, and the Place of Delivery/Final Destination is B (with A and B in the same country/region and consistent with the consignee's country/region), how should the Port of Discharge on the CO be filled in?
If the Port of Discharge and Place of Delivery/Final Destination on the shipping document are different but both are within the final destination country/region of the ultimate consignee, the Port of Discharge on the CO should be filled in as the Port of Discharge on the shipping document. If the importing country's customs requires the CO to show the Place of Delivery/Final Destination, it can be entered in the Special Conditions field.
For example, if the Port of Discharge on the B/L is "JAKARTA, INDONESIA" and the Place of Delivery is "CIKARANG DRY PORT, INDONESIA," the Port of Discharge on the CO should be filled in as "JAKARTA, INDONESIA." If the Place of Delivery needs to be displayed, it can be filled in the Special Conditions field as "PLACE OF DELIVERY: CIKARANG DRY PORT, INDONESIA."
3.When the consignee on the CO and the shipping document is the same, the Port of Discharge on the shipping document is A, and the Place of Delivery/Final Destination is B (with A and B not in the same country/region but the consignee's country/region consistent with B), how should the Port of Discharge on the CO be filled in?
When the Port of Discharge and Place of Delivery/Final Destination on the shipping document are different and not in the same country/region, but the consignee's country/region on the shipping document is consistent with that of the Place of Delivery/Final Destination, it indicates that the goods are transported from the Port of Discharge to the Place of Delivery/Final Destination after unloading. In this case, the Port of Discharge on the CO should be filled in as the Place of Delivery/Final Destination on the shipping document. The applicant shall carefully verify the consignee and Place of Delivery/Final Destination information on the shipping document to confirm they are in the final destination country/region, and fill in the relevant CO information accordingly.
For example, if the consignee on the shipping document is an enterprise from Myanmar, the Port of Discharge is "LAEM CHABANG, THAILAND," and the Final Destination is "YANGON, MYANMAR," the Port of Discharge on the CO should be filled in as "YANGON, MYANMAR (Via LAEM CHABANG, THAILAND)."
4.When the consignee on the CO and the shipping document is the same (with country/region A), the country/region of the Port of Discharge on the shipping document is B, and the shipping document contains no information about the destination country/region related to the CO, how should the destination country/region for the CO issuance be determined?
In general, the country/region of the ultimate consignee, the Port of Discharge (if applicable), and the destination country/region stated on the CO are consistent. When the country/region of the consignee on the CO and shipping document is inconsistent with that of the Port of Discharge on the shipping document, and no destination information is available, the destination country/region for the CO issuance shall be determined based on the country/region of the ultimate consignee and whether the goods are transshipped, among other factors.
For example, if the B/L shows the consignee as an enterprise from Ukraine but the Port of Discharge is a Polish port, and it is confirmed that the goods are transshipped to Ukraine after arriving in Poland, a CO with Ukraine as the destination country can be applied for. Meanwhile, relevant documents proving the transshipment of goods from Poland to Ukraine should be provided if possible.
5. When applying for a non-preferential CO, if the consignee on the CO and shipping document is an enterprise from EU Member State A and the destination on the shipping document is EU Member State B, how should the destination country for the CO issuance be determined?
When both the consignee's country and the destination country on the shipping document are EU countries, as the EU is a unified customs union, the consignee's country is allowed to be inconsistent with the final destination country. The final destination country may be declared as the destination country for the CO issuance. However, when filling out a non-preferential CO, care must be taken to fully complete the transportation route details in the "Means of Transport and Route" field, including the Port of Loading, transshipment port (if any), and destination. The destination in the transportation route must match the country/region in the "Country/Region of Destination" field on the CO.
For example, if the consignee on the B/L is a German enterprise, the Port of Loading is "SHENZHEN, CHINA," the transshipment point is "ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS," and the destination is "ANTWERP, BELGIUM," the transportation details on the CO should be filled in as "FROM SHENZHEN, CHINA TO ANTWERP, BELGIUM VIA ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS BY SEA," and the Importing Country/Region should be filled in as Belgium.
When the consignee's country and the destination country on the shipping document are not EU countries, the consignee's country should be consistent with the destination country, which will be the destination country/region for the CO issuance. If the final consignee in the destination country/region is undetermined, the consignee on the CO can be filled in as "TO ORDER."
6. When multiple means of transport are shown on the shipping document, how should the "Means of Transport" field on the CO be filled in?
The "Means of Transport" field on the CO should be filled in truthfully based on the shipping document. If there are numerous means of transport shown (e.g., multiple license plate numbers for land transportation) that cannot be fully entered in the "Means of Transport" field, they can be supplemented in the Special Conditions field.
In the case of multimodal transport, if the shipping document contains information on both the Pre-Carriage by and Ocean Vessel Voy. No., it is recommended to fill in the complete through transport voyage details.
It should be noted that when applying for a supplementary CO, specific means of transport information must be entered in the "Means of Transport" field. It is not sufficient to only enter general terms such as "BY SEA," "BY TRUCK," or "BY AIR".
7. If the consignee on the shipping document is an enterprise from El Salvador (a non-preferential trade agreement member country), the destination is also El Salvador, the goods arrive by sea at a bonded warehouse in El Salvador, are stored under customs supervision for a period of time, and then transported by land to Costa Rica (a preferential trade agreement member country), can the Chinese exporter apply for a preferential CO with Costa Rica as the destination country after the goods have been shipped?
If Chinese-produced goods are exported to El Salvador and then transported to Costa Rica, and the Chinese exporter needs to apply for a CO under the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica (hereinafter referred to as the "China-Costa Rica FTA") after the goods have been shipped, they must first ensure that the export goods meet the rules of origin eligibility under the China-Costa Rica FTA. Secondly, according to the provisions of the China-Costa Rica FTA, the CO should be issued before or at the time of export; applications made after export are considered supplementary issuances. According to the Regulations, when applying for a supplementary CO under the China-Costa Rica FTA, it is necessary to submit shipping documents from China to El Salvador and from El Salvador to Costa Rica, as well as relevant documents such as commercial invoices between the Chinese exporter and the El Salvadoran enterprise, and between the El Salvadoran enterprise and the Costa Rican enterprise.
It should be noted that, according to the direct transport rule of the China-Costa Rica FTA, if the goods are temporarily stored in a non-member country (El Salvador), the storage period in El Salvador must not exceed three months from the date of entry. When the goods are declared for import in Costa Rica, the importer must submit to the Costa Rican customs a CO issued by the Salvadoran customs proving that the goods did not stay in El Salvador for more than three months, did not enter into trade or consumption, and underwent no processing other than loading, unloading, repackaging, or processing necessary to keep the goods in good condition.
Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of Fuzhou Customs 12360 Hotline . The Fuzhou Customs 12360 Hotline version shall prevail.
