Rules of origin in the Europe – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)
On June 15, 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular No. 11/2020 / TT-BCT regulating the rules of origin in the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Union (EVFTA) (“Circular 11”). Accordingly, Circular 11, consisting of 05 chapters, 42 articles and 08 attached Appendixes, will officially take effect from August 1, 2020 and has the following remarkable contents:
- Subjects of application
Subjects of application of Circular 11 include:
-Agency/organization issuing the Certificate of Origin (C/O).
-Traders.
-Agencies, organizations and individuals related to the origin of exports and imports.
- Goods are considered to be incidental to an origin
Under Circular 11, goods are considered to be resulting from an origin when:
(i)Goods of pure origin in a Member State.
(i) Goods of non-pure origin in a Member State from non-originating materials provided that such materials have gone through full processing or manufacture. Accordingly, goods are deemed to be of a pure origin in a Member State in the following cases:
-Minerals extracted from the earth or seabed of a Member State.
-Crops and crop products (including crops, flowers, fruits, vegetables, seaweed and mushrooms) are grown and harvested or gathered in any Member State.
-Live animals born and raised in any Member State.
-Products of live animals raised in any Member State.
-Products obtained from slaughter of the animals that are born and raised in any Member State.
-Products obtained from hunting or fishing in any Member State.
– Products obtained from aquaculture where fish, crustaceans and mollusks are produced or raised from eggs, fry, young fish and larvae.
-Other and fished products obtained outside the territorial waters by vessels of any Member State.
-Products manufactured on the vessel of any Member State from catches and other products obtained outside its territorial waters by vessels of such Member State.
-Used products obtained from any Member State are only suitable for recycling into raw materials.
-Waste and scrap derived from production in any Member State.
-Products taken from the seabed or beneath the seabed outside the territorial sea but within the exclusive economic zone of any Member State.
-Goods manufactured entirely in any Member State from all said products. For goods of non-pure origin, it is considered to have gone full processing or manufacture when it meets the product-specific rules specified in Appendix II promulgated together with Circular 11.
- General provisions on the mechanism of certification of goods origin
-Goods of European Union origin imported into Vietnam are eligible for preferential tariff under EVFTA
when submitting one of the following certificates of origin:
-C/O is issued in line with the declaration, issuance, subsequent issuance and re-issuance of C/O Form
EUR.1.
-Self-certification of origin documents following the provisions on self-certification of origin of goods from the European Union issued by a qualified exporter in accordance with European Union regulations for shipments with any value; or issued by any exporter for shipments not exceeding EUR 6,000.
-Self-certification of origin documents issued by exporters registered in an electronic database in
compliance with European Union regulations and notified to Vietnam.
-Goods of Vietnamese origin imported into the European Union are eligible for preferential tariff under
EVFTA when one of the following certificates of origin is obtained:
-C/O is issued according to the regulations on certifying and checking the origin of goods in Vietnam
and the regulations on the declaration, issuance, subsequent issuance and re-issuance of C/O Form
EUR.1.
-Self-certification of origin documents in accordance with the regulations on self-certification of origin of the goods in Vietnam issued by the exporter whose shipment is not more than 6,000 EUR.
-Self-certification of origin documents issued by a qualified exporter or exporter registered in a database in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This self-certification complies with the regulations of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and applies after Vietnam notifies the European Union.
-In case of any goods exempted from the certificate of origin, the goods of origin eligible for EVFTA incentives do not need to submit the certificate of origin.