1. What is the Certificate of Origin under the EVFTA?

According to the terms of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), a Certificate of Origin (C/O) is a document that certifies the origin of goods, allowing Vietnamese exports to the EU to benefit from tariff preferences as specified in the EVFTA. This is an essential document in the import-export process, guaranteeing that goods exported fit the origin requirements and come from nations that are parties to the agreement.

Important characteristics of the EVFTA Certificate of Origin include:

- Self-certification mechanism: Under the EVFTA, companies are no longer needed to get a certificate of origin (C/O) from an issuing authority in order to attest to the origin of their goods. This saves time and money, which helps export enterprises.

Types of certification: A certificate of origin may be granted in accordance with the EVFTA by:

• C/O form EUR.1: Provided by the appropriate government agency.
• Self-attestation of provenance: applicable to small and medium-sized businesses or authorized exporters.

Origin rules: Goods that want to be eligible for the preferential of EVFTA tariff treatment have to abide by certain origin regulations, like:

• The goods have to come solely from Vietnam.
• Vietnam is capable of processing or producing the product if it satisfies the required minimum value-added criteria.

The most accurate time for submitting the certificate of origin under the EVFTA in 2024

2. Cases requiring the submission of certificates of origin in accordance with the law in 2024

According to Clause 1, Article 10 of Circular 33/2023/TT-BTC, the cases in which customs declarants are required to submit certificates of origin are as follows:

“a) The customs declarant seeks to enjoy special preferential tariff rates for imported goods originating from a country, group of countries, or territory with a preferential tariff agreement in trade relations with Vietnam, and goods imported from non-tariff zones into the domestic market that meet the origin conditions from a country, group of countries, or territory with a preferential tariff agreement in trade relations with Vietnam;

b) Goods, as notified by a competent Vietnamese authority, must have a certificate of origin to prove that the goods are imported from a country, group of countries, or territory not subject to sanctions under a United Nations Security Council Resolution;

c) Goods listed in the Annex V of this Circular, or as notified by Ministries or relevant authorities, must have a certificate of origin to ensure that the goods do not originate from countries posing risks to public safety, public health, or environmental hygiene, which need to be controlled;

d) Goods listed by a Decision of the Minister of Industry and Trade, for which anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, safeguard measures, tariff quotas, trade defense evasion measures, or quantitative restrictions are being applied.”

In another case, no need to sumit The C/O includes goods from International treaties to which Vietnam is a party.

3. Which time should we apply the C/O according the law of 2024?

At Clause 1, Article 12 of Circular 33/2023/TT-BTC provides regulations on the time for submitting certificates of origin for imported goods as follows: 

3.1 For goods originating from a country, group of countries, or territory with a preferential tariff agreement, or goods imported from non-tariff zones into the domestic market that meet the origin conditions from a country, group of countries, or territory with a preferential tariff agreement in trade relations with Vietnam:

• The customs declarant must submit the certificate of origin at the time of customs clearance.
• In cases where the certificate of origin is not available at the time of customs clearance:
  
  - Imported goods are subject to preferential or standard import tax rates and are cleared according to regulations. If a financial institution guarantees the tax differential, the special preferential tariff rate can be applied, and the goods can be cleared according to regulations;
  
  - The customs declarant must declare and submit the certificate of origin within one (01) year from the date of customs declaration registration. For imported goods with a certificate of origin under the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement, or the Vietnam-United Kingdom and Northern Ireland Free Trade Agreement, the customs declarant must submit the certificate of origin within two (02) years from the date of customs declaration registration
  
  - When the certificate of origin is submitted within the timeframe specified in point b.2, clause 1, Article 12 of Circular 33/2023/TT-BTC, the imported goods are eligible for the special preferential tariff rate, and the customs authority will refund any excess taxes paid if the amount of tax paid exceeds the required amount.

In cases where a financial institution guarantees the tax differential between the special preferential tariff rate and the preferential or standard import tax rate, the customs authority will update the processing result in the system and notify the financial institution accordingly.

The most accurate time for submitting the certificate of origin under the EVFTA in 2024

3.2. For goods specified in points a and b, clause 1, Article 10 of Circular 33/2023/TT-BTC, the customs declarant must submit the certificate of origin at the time of customs clearance; if not, the goods will not be cleared and will be handled according to the provisions of the law.