Important notice for exporters; Change to Certificate of Origin

The Certificate of Origin (CoO) is an important international trade document which certifies that goods are wholly obtained, produced, manufactured or processed in a particular country. The current UK Certificates of Origin will be changing from 1st April.

The CoO declare the ‘nationality’ of the cargo and also serves as a declaration by the exporter to satisfy customs or trade requirements.

The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), as the authorising body in the UK for Certificates of Origin, has decided that plain paper United Kingdom Certificates of Origin will be issued from the 1st April 2023 in the UK.  

Over 40% of Certificates of Origin issued worldwide are already printed on plain paper and the BCC wants the Chambers to be working in step with the Government, who have committed to achieve its digital ambition for a paperless border by 2025.

Step 1 – ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) Logo

The ICC logo has been redesigned and will replace any existing pre-printed COO’s.

From 1st April 2023, any pre-printed COO’s which have the old ICC logo on will be obsolete and if used could be refused at any customs point as an invalid document.   

The ICC will be providing a directive confirming both the deadline and the instructions regarding refusal of old COO’s as of the cut-off date 1st April, which we will publish once we have confirmation of the process.

Step 2 – Plain Paper COO’s 

As part of the transitional move towards the single trade window proposed implementation deadline of 2025, the BCC and ICC have set a deadline of 1st October 2023 for the switch from pre-printed COO’s for any electronically certified COO to plain paper.  

This will mean that although the current process for COO’s completion and submission will remain the same, the development will be on the actual final printing of the certified COO.  

Currently once a COO is approved by the Chamber and the status of the order shows “certified ready to print” you then input the PA number of the supplied COO copy into the system and print your downloaded pdf file onto the supplied COO sheets (top copy and yellow carbon copy).  

The new process will mean that once the COO is showing as certified, you will print the top copy and carbon copy out as a complete file onto plain paper. The ICC directive will require that you print out the top copy in full 4 colour and then carbon copy in one colour black. Any COO’s printed entirely in one colour black (i.e. both top copy and carbon copy in black) will be refused at customs entry point as an invalid document. 

The ICC will be providing a directive confirming this refusal of incorrectly printed COO’s which we will communicate once received.

Important note – Arab Chamber will NOT move to plain paper COO and shall remain as per current process. However, the likelihood is that it will have to adopt the plain paper process in the future.

The Certificate of Origin is one of a variety of documents and certificates that may be needed for import and export shipments, depending on the region, regulatory body and legislative requirements. 

Our Customs Brokerage team ensure that you always have the correct customs documentation in place for your goods, dealing with the application, form-filling and certifications, because mistakes may cost you penalties and delays.

EMAIL Akella Nasir, Head of Automotive Documentation or EMAIL Andy Fitchett, Brokerage Manager, to learn more.