Glossary · Documents
Certificates of origin and duty preference
Also known as EUR.1 and GSP Form A.
Proof of where goods were produced, and the document that decides whether you pay a preferential duty rate or the full one. It does not stop your container — it costs you money.
Published
A certificate of origin states where goods were produced. Its practical job is tariff preference: under a trade agreement between the origin and your market, qualifying goods pay a reduced or zero duty rate, and this is the document that proves they qualify.
It sits in a different category from the rest of the import file. A missing bill of lading or a defective phytosanitary certificate stops the container. A missing origin proof does not — the goods clear, and you simply pay the full rate. On some produce lines that difference is small. On others it is the margin.
The form depends on the agreement
Which document you need follows from which arrangement the goods move under, and the landscape has changed more than most importers have had reason to notice.
EUR.1 movement certificates are issued by the customs authority at origin under many of the EU’s bilateral agreements, and are still current where those agreements apply.
GSP Form A, the old generalised-preference certificate, has largely been superseded in the EU by the registered exporter system, under which a registered exporter makes a statement on origin on the invoice itself rather than obtaining a stamped certificate. The transition was phased in over several years from 2017.
The practical consequence is worth knowing before you chase a document that no longer exists: on many origins the proof you need is a statement your exporter puts on the invoice, and the question to ask them is whether they are registered, not whether they have the certificate.
Why it is worth getting right in advance
Preference can often be claimed retrospectively, within a period the agreement sets, so a missing proof at entry is usually recoverable. But recovering it means a repayment claim, which is work, and it depends on the exporter still being able to produce a valid document months later. It is cheaper to establish once per supplier what they can issue than to discover it consignment by consignment.
FAQ
Do I need a certificate of origin?
Only to claim a preferential duty rate. Without one the goods still clear customs — you pay the full rate, which on some produce lines is significant enough to matter and on others is negligible. Check the duty on your commodity before deciding how hard to chase it.
Who issues it?
Traditionally a chamber of commerce or the customs authority at origin. Under the registered exporter system it is not issued by anyone: a registered exporter declares origin themselves on the commercial document, and the registration is what makes the declaration valid.
Is a certificate of origin the same as a phytosanitary certificate?
No, and they are not interchangeable. Origin is a customs and tariff question; the phyto is a plant health question. One decides what you pay, the other decides whether the consignment is allowed in at all.