Een certificaat van oorsprong (CvO) is a document that states in which country a product or good is manufactured. Het certificaat van oorsprong contains information about the product, destination, and country of export. For example, an item can be marked as “Made in the USA” or “Made in China”
Een certificaat van oorsprong (CvO) registers the country of origin where the imported goods come from. A certificaat van oorsprong aanvragen is often imposed by importing countries and included in trade agreements, as it is used to levy the appropriate import tax, if applicable. A CvO can exist in both paper and digital format and must be approved by the required Chamber of Commerce or Customs.
Two types of CvO
There is no standardized certificaat van oorsprong (CO) World trade form, but a CvO, normally drawn up by the exporter of goods, contains at least basic information about the product being shipped, a tariff code, the exporter and importer, and the country of origin. The exporter, knowing the specific requirements of border control in the importing country, will document these details, have the CO notarized by a Chamber of Commerce, and submit the form with the shipment.
Detailed requirements depend on the type of goods being exported and where they are going.
The two types of certificaten van oorsprong are non-preferential and preferential. Non-preferential CvO’s”, also referred to as “regular CvO’s”, indicates that the goods do not qualify for reduced or tariff-free treatment under trade agreements between countries, while preferential COs indicate that they do. In the US, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), introduced by Congress in 1974 to promote the economic development of poor countries, removes tariffs on thousands of products imported from more than 100 countries to which preferential status has been granted. Countries such as Bolivia, Cambodia, Haiti, Namibia, and Pakistan are currently on the list, as are many other third worlds or developing countries. The European Union and countries around the world have their own versions of an SAP, mainly aimed at promoting economic growth through trade with friendly nations.
