"One-Stop Processing for FTA Certificate of Origin Issuance by Authorized Institutions"
by Moon Chaeseok
Published 19 Apr.2020 11:00(KST)
"From Application to Certificate Printing on FTA KOREA"
Products with origin labeling violations revealed at the "Joint Crackdown on Origin Labeling Violations Briefing" held on August 1 last year at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
View original image[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 19th that from the 20th, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Origin Management System (FTA KOREA) will be linked and operated with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's origin certificate issuance system. Companies will be able to apply for institution-issued certificates of origin (C/O) and print certificates at once through FTA KOREA.
To receive tariff benefits under FTA agreements, companies must submit a certificate of origin (C/O) to the customs of the partner country. Institution issuance requires issuance after review by the Korea Customs Service or the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, unlike self-issuance where exporters issue the certificate of origin themselves. There are five FTAs applying the institution issuance method: Korea-China, ASEAN, India, Vietnam, and Singapore.
Until now, companies managing origin determination information through FTA KOREA had to separately access the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's certificate of origin issuance system to submit scanned documents when applying for institution issuance.
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry expects that with this system linkage, companies' origin determination and certificate issuance tasks will be operated more efficiently. Once the system's stability and accuracy are guaranteed, the current processing time for C/O issuance, which usually takes about two days (legal processing period of three days), is expected to be reduced to same-day issuance levels.
Kim Hyeongju, Director of Domestic Trade Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "With this system linkage, export companies dealing with China, Southeast Asia, India, and others will be able to manage and issue certificates of origin more easily and accurately," adding, "Being able to manage origin information through the system will also greatly help in preparing for post-verification of origin by export partner countries."