By Philexport News and Features

05 January 2019

Published also in Business Mirror

EFFECTIVE on January 1, the Philippines began implementing a European Union registration system authorizing exporters to issue self-certification for eligible goods to avail themselves of preferential tariffs under the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+).

Gina German, Customs operations officer at the Bureau of Customs (BOC), said the bureau is now processing applications for the EU’s registered exporter (REX) system number of the registered exporters.

“You make a statement of origin declaration and then send it to your buyer for the availment of preferential rates. So this is also called a self-certification system wherein, as exporter, you have the ability to know the origin of your goods,” she told exporters.

German said exporters have to apply for evaluation for manufactured products.

“Then, we submit the list of materials, production process, cost structure. [These are the] requirements for your product to be evaluated. After that, the BOC conducts the pre-export verification.  Now, after all those application for the evaluation, we release an evaluation report for your product. This is only for the manufactured one,” she explained.

German further said exporters with consignment value amounting to  €6,000 and below can declare a statement of origin.

“And you have to sign it. Just leave the registration exporter number blank,” she said.

For consignment of more than €6,000, German said the BOC can still issue the Certificate of Origin Form A, or the GSP Form A, from January 1, until December 31, as this will be implemented in parallel with the REX registration system.

“Once you are a registered exporter, you cannot use a Certificate of Origin Form A. So no Form As will be processed even though you applied in our ports or the port is able to issue you a Form A. This Form A will not be accepted to the importing country because you are already registered exporter,” she said.

“Now, if the Philippines will be given another six months extension if we can explain to them that we were not able to register all the exporters, although the BOC is working so that all exporters will be registered by December 31, 2019, from this period from January 1, 2019, no more Form A will be issued to exporter,” she added.

The self-certification will gradually phase out the use of old GSP Certificate of Origin Form A.

The Philippines is one of the beneficiary countries of the EU GSP+ that grants zero tariffs to 6,274 product lines.