Union of India - Act
The Customs Tariff (Determination of Origin of Goods under the Preferential Trade Agreement between the Governments of Mercosur Member States and Republic of India) Rules, 2009
UNION OF INDIA
India
India
The Customs Tariff (Determination of Origin of Goods under the Preferential Trade Agreement between the Governments of Mercosur Member States and Republic of India) Rules, 2009
Rule THE-CUSTOMS-TARIFF-DETERMINATION-OF-ORIGIN-OF-GOODS-UNDER-THE-PREFERENTIAL-TRADE-AGREEMENT-BETWEEN-THE-GOVERNMENTS-OF-MERCOSUR-MEMBER-STATES-AND-REPUBLIC-OF-INDIA-RULES-2009 of 2009
- Published on 30 May 2009
- Commenced on 30 May 2009
- [This is the version of this document from 30 May 2009.]
- [Note: The original publication document is not available and this content could not be verified.]
1644.
In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 5 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:-1. Short title and commencement.
2. Definitions.
- For the purpose of these Rules:3. General requirements.
- For the purpose of implementing the Preferential Trade Agreement between the Governments of MERCOSUR Member States comprising the Argentine Republic, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay and the Republica Oriental del Uruguay and the Republic of India (hereinafter referred as the "Agreement") , the following goods shall be considered as originating from a Signatory Party:2. The provisions of paragraph 1 above excludes used or second hand goods.
4. Cumulation of origin.
- Goods originating in any of the Signatory Party when used as an input for a finished product in another Signatory Party, shall be considered originating in the latter.5. Wholly produced or obtained products.
- The following shall be considered as wholly produced or obtained in the territory of any of the Signatory Party:6. Not wholly produced or obtained products.
- For the purpose of 3(1) (b) the products are considered to be originating when the CIF value of all non-originating materials from countries other than the Signatory Parties and/or of undetermined origin used in its manufacture does not exceed 40% of the FOB value of the final product and the final process of manufacture is performed within the territory of the exporting Signatory Party subject to fulfillment of the provisions of 7.2. For the purposes of determining the CIF value of non-originating materials for countries without a coastline, the first seaport or inland waterway port located in any of the other Signatory Parties, through which those non-originating materials have been imported shall be considered as port of destination.
3. The value of the non-originating materials, parts or produce shall be
4. The formula for 60% value added is as follows:
CIF Value of imported Non-originating materials, plant or produce + CIF Value of Undetermined Origin material, parts or produce FOB price X 100% <40%7. Processes or operations considered as insufficient to confer originating status.
- In the case of the products which have non-originating materials, the following operations, inter alia, shall be considered as insufficient working or processing to confer the status of originating products, whether or not the requirements of 6 are satisfied:8. Accessories, spare parts and tools.
- 1. Accessories, spare parts or tools delivered with the good that form part of the good's standard accessories, spare parts, or tools, shall be considered as originating if the good originates and shall be disregarded in determining whether all the nonoriginating materials used in the production of the good undergo the applicable change in tariff classification, provided that:2. Each Signatory Party shall provide that if a good is subject to a value added requirement, the value of accessories, spare parts, or tools shall be taken into account as originating or non-originating materials, as the case may be, in calculating the value added.
9. Fungible Materials.
- 1. For the purpose of establishing if a product is originating when in its manufacture are utilized originating and non-originating fungible materials, mixed or physically combined, the origin of such materials can be determined by any of the inventory management methods applicable in the Signatory Party.2. Where considerable cost or material difficulties arise in keeping separate stocks of originating and non-originating materials which are identical and interchangeable, the customs authorities may, at the written request of those concerned, authorise the "accounting segregation" method to be used for managing such stocks.
3. This method must be able to ensure that the number of products obtained which could be considered as "originating" is the same as that which would have been obtained if there had been physical segregation of the stocks.
4. The customs authorities may grant such authorisation, subject to any conditions deemed appropriate.
5. This method is recorded and applied on the basis of the general accounting principles applicable in the country where the product was manufactured.
6. The beneficiary of this facilitation may issue or apply for proofs of origin, as the case may be, for the quantity of products which may be considered as originating. At the request of the customs authorities, the beneficiary shall provide a statement of how the quantities have been managed.
7. The customs authorities shall monitor the use made of the authorisation and may withdraw it at any time whenever the beneficiary makes improper use of the authorisation in any manner whatsoever or fails to fulfil any of the other conditions laid down in these Rules.
10. Sets.
- Sets, as defined in General 3 of the Harmonised System, shall be regarded as originating when all component products are originating. Nevertheless, when a set is composed of originating and non originating goods, the set as a whole shall be regarded as originating, provided that the CIF value of the non originating goods utilized in the composition of the set does not exceed 15% per cent of the FOB price of the set.11. Packages and packing materials for retail sale.
- 1. The packages and packing materials for retail sale, when classified together with the packaged product, according to General 5 (b) of the Harmonised System, shall not be taken into account for considering whether all non-originating materials used in the manufacture of a product fulfil the criterion corresponding to a change of tariff classification of the said product.2. If the product is subject to value added criterion, the value of the packages and packing materials for retail sale shall be taken into
account in its origin assessment, in case they are treated as being one for customs purposes with the goods in question.12. Containers and packing materials for transport.
- The containers and packing materials exclusively used for the transport of a product shall not be taken into account for determining the origin of any good, in accordance with General 5 (b) of the Harmonized System.13. Neutral elements or indirect materials.
- 1. "Neutral elements" or "Indirect materials" means goods used in the production, testing or inspection of goods but not physically incorporated into the goods, or goods used in the maintenance of buildings or the operation of equipment associated with the production of goods, including:2. Each Signatory Party shall provide that an indirect material shall be considered to be an originating material without regard to where it is produced. Its value shall be the cost registered in the accounting records of the producer of the export product.
14. Direct transport, Transit and Trans-shipment.
- In order for the originating goods or products to benefit from the preferential treatment provided for under the Agreement, they shall be transported directly between the exporting Signatory Party and the importing Signatory Party. The goods or products are transported directly provided:1. They are transported through the territory of one or more Signatory Parties;
2. They are in transit through one or more territories of third countries, with or without trans-shipment or temporary warehousing in such territories, under the surveillance of the customs authorities therein, provided that:
15. Origin Certification.
- 1. The Origin Certificate is the document that certifies that goods fulfil the origin requirements as set out in these Rules so that they can benefit from the preferential tariff treatment as foreseen in the Agreement. The said Certificate is valid for only one importing operation concerning one or more goods and its original copy shall be included in the documentation to be presented at the customs authorities of the importing Signatory Party.2. The issue and control of Origin Certificates shall be under the responsibility of a Government office in each Signatory Party. The Origin Certificates shall be directly issued by those authorities or through delegation as referred to in 17(5)
3. The Origin Certificate shall be issued in accordance with the sample certificate of origin and notes for completion thereof, attached as Appendix-I to these Rules and upon a sworn declaration by the final producer of the goods and the respective commercial invoice.
4. In all cases, the number of the commercial invoice shall be indicated in the box reserved for this purpose in the Origin Certificate.
16. Operations carried out by third operators.
- 1. If the traded good is invoiced by an operator from a third country, be it a Signatory Party or not, for the issue of the Origin Certificate, the final producer or exporter of the good shall present the first commercial invoice and a corresponding sworn declaration by the final producer certifying that the goods fulfil the origin criteria of these Rules. Value addition carried out only in the Signatory Party shall be taken into account for calculation of local value addition.2. The producer or the exporter from the country of origin shall inform in the respective Origin Certificate, in the box reserved for "observations", that the good corresponding to the said Certificate shall be invoiced by a third operator, reproducing the following data from the commercial invoice issued by this operator: name, address, country, number and date.
3. If it is not possible to comply with the requirements mentioned in 16(2), the Commercial Invoice attached to the Importation Request shall contain a Sworn Declaration attesting that the Commercial Invoice corresponds to the Origin Certificate. The Sworn Declaration shall convey the corresponding number and the date of issue of the origin certificate and shall be signed by the operator. In the event of non-compliance of this requirement, the customs authorities shall not accept the Certificate of Origin and shall not grant the tariff preferences established in this Agreement.
17. Issue of Origin Certificates.
- 1. For the issue of an Origin Certificate, the final producer or exporter of the good shall present the corresponding commercial invoice and a request containing a sworn declaration by the final producer certifying that the goods fulfil the origin criteria of these Rules, as well as the necessary documents supporting such a declaration. The said sworn declaration shall contain at least the following data:(a)Individual's name or company name;(b)Legal domicile;(c)Description of the good to be exported and its tariff classification;(d)FOB value of the goods to be exported;(e)Information relating to the good to be exported, which must indicate:(i)materials, components and/or parts originating from the exporting Signatory Party;(ii)materials, components and/or parts originating from other Signatory Parties, indicating:2. The description of the good in the sworn origin declaration, which certifies the fulfilment of the origin requirements set out in these Rules, shall correspond to the respective tariff classification, as well as with the description of the good in the commercial invoice and in the Origin Certificate.
3. If the goods are regularly exported and their manufacturing process, as well as their materials are not modified, the Sworn Declaration of the Producer may be valid for a period of up to one hundred eighty (180) days counted from the date of the issue of the certificate.
4. The Origin Certificate shall be issued not later than five (5) working days after the request presentation and it shall be valid for a period of one hundred and eighty (180) days from the date of its issue, which shall be extended, for the necessary period, if the goods are under a suspensive import regime which implies the deposit of the good and does not allow any alteration of the good.
5. The Origin Certificate shall be signed and issued by Government offices to be indicated by the Signatory Parties who may delegate the signing and issuing of origin certificates to other Government offices or to highly representative corporate bodies.
6. The origin certificates shall not be issued before the date of the issue of the commercial invoice relating to the consignment, but in the same date or within the following sixty (60) days.
7. The requesting party and the certifying offices or institutions shall keep the documents supporting the origin certificates for a period no less than five (5) years, from the date of its issue. The certifying offices or institutions shall enumerate the certificates issued by them in sequential order.
8. The certifying offices or institutions shall keep a permanent record of all issued origin certificates, which shall contain at least the certificate number, the requesting party's name and the date of its issue.
SECTION IVControl And Verification Of Origin Certificates18.
1. Regardless of the presentation of an origin certificate in accordance with the Rules, the competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party may, in the cases of reasonable doubt, request to the competent authorities of the exporting Signatory Party any additional information necessary for the verification of the authenticity of a certificate, as well as the veracity of the information contained therein. This shall not preclude the application of the respective national legislation relating to breach of customs law.
2. The compliance with the request for additional information according to this shall only be made with reference to the registers and documents available in Government offices or in the institutions entitled to issue origin certificates. Copies of the documentation necessary for the issuing of origin certificates can be made available. This Rule, however, does not restrain the interchange of information as foreseen in the Customs Cooperation Agreements.
3. The reasons for the doubts concerning the authenticity of the certificate or the veracity of its data shall be put forward in a clear and concrete way. For this purpose, the consultations thereon shall be carried out by a specific office of the competent authorities designated by each Signatory Party.
4. The competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party shall not suspend the importation operations of the goods. However, they may request a guarantee in any of its modalities, in order to preserve fiscal interests, as a pre-condition for the completion of the importation operations.
5. If a guarantee is required, its amount shall not be higher than the value of the applicable custom duties concerning the importation of the product from third countries, according to the legislation of the importing country.
19.
The competent authorities from the exporting Signatory Party shall provide the requested information according to 18 within thirty (30) days, from the date of the receipt of the request.20.
The information obtained under the provisions of 19 shall be confidential in character and shall be utilised with a view to clarifying the matter under investigation by the competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party as well as during the investigation and legal proceedings.21.
In the cases in which the information requested under 18 is not provided within the deadline established in 19 or is insufficient to clarify any doubt concerning the origin of the good, the competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party may initiate an investigation on the matter within sixty (60) days, from the date of the request for the information. If this information is satisfactory, the said authorities shall release the importer from the guarantee referred to in 18 within thirty (30) days.22.
1. During the period of investigation, the competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party shall not suspend new importing operations relating to identical goods from the same exporter or producer. However, they may request a guarantee, in any of its modalities, in order to preserve fiscal interests, as a pre-condition for the completion of the importation operations.
2. The guarantee amount, whenever it is requested, shall be according to 18.
23.
The competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party shall immediately notify the importer and the competent authorities of the exporting Signatory Party of the initiation of the origin investigation, in accordance with the 24.24.
During the investigation proceedings, the competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party may:25.
The competent authorities of the exporting Signatory Party shall provide the information and documentation requested according to 24 (a) and (b), within thirty (30) days from the date of the receipt of the request.26.
In relation to the proceedings as foreseen in 24, the competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party may request the competent authority of the exporting Signatory Party the participation or advice of specialists concerning the matter under investigation.27.
In the cases in which the information or documentation requested to the competent authorities of the exporting Signatory Party is not produced within the stipulated deadline, or if the answer does not contain enough information or documentation for determining the authenticity or veracity of the origin certificate under investigation, or still, if the producers do not agree to the visit, the competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party may consider that the products under investigation do not fulfil the origin requirements, and may, as a result, deny preferential tariff treatment to the products mentioned in the origin certificate under investigation according to 21, and thus conclude such investigation.28.
1. The competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party shall engage to conclude the investigation in a period not more than ninety (90) days, from the date of the receipt of the information requested in accordance with 24.
2. If it is considered that new investigative actions or the presentation of more information are necessary, the competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party shall communicate the fact to the competent authorities of the exporting Signatory Party. The term for the execution of such new actions or for the presentation of additional information shall be not more than ninety (90) days, from the date of the receipt of the information, according to 24.
3. If the investigation is not concluded within ninety (90) days from its initiation, the importer shall be released from the payment of the guarantee, regardless of the continuation of the investigation.
29.
1. The competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party shall inform the importers and the competent authorities of the exporting Signatory Party of the conclusion of the investigation process, as well as the reasons that led to its decision.
2. The competent authority of the importing Signatory Party shall grant the competent authority of the exporting Signatory Party the access to the investigation files, in accordance with its legislation
30.
During the investigation process, occasional modifications in the manufacturing conditions made by the companies under investigation shall be taken into account.31.
Once the investigation concludes in favour of the qualification of the origin of the goods and the validity of the origin criterion contained in the origin certificate, the importer shall be released from the guarantees requested in 18 and 22, within no more than thirty (30) days.32.
1. Once the investigation establishes the non-qualification of the origin criterion of the goods contained in the origin certificate, the duties shall be levied as if the goods were imported from third countries and the sanctions foreseen in this Agreement and/or the ones foreseen in the legislation in force in each Signatory Party shall be applied.
2. In such a case, the competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party may deny preferential tariff treatment to new imports relating to identical good from the same producer, until it is clearly demonstrated that the manufacturing conditions were modified so as to fulfil the origin requirements of the Rules of Origin of these Rules.
3. Once the competent authorities of the exporting Signatory Party has sent the information demonstrating that the manufacturing conditions were modified, the competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party shall have forty five (45) days, from the date of the receipt of the said information, to communicate its decision thereupon, or a maximum of ninety (90) days if a new verification visit to the producer's premises, according to 24 (e), is deemed necessary.
4. If the competent authorities of the importing and the exporting Signatory Parties fail to agree on the demonstration of the modification of the manufacturing conditions, they may make use of the Dispute Settlement Procedure established as per Article 29 of this Agreement.
33.
1. A Signatory Party may request another Signatory Party to investigate the origin of a good imported by the latter from other Signatory Party, whenever there are well-founded reasons for suspecting that its products undergo competition from imported products with preferential tariff treatment which do not fulfill the conditions laid down under these Rules.
2. For such purposes, the competent authorities of the Signatory Party requesting the investigation shall bring to the notice of the authorities of the importing Signatory Party the relevant information within forty five (45) days, from the date of the request. Once this information is received, the importing Signatory Party may initiate the proceedings established in these Rules, giving notice of this to the Signatory Party that requested the initiation of the investigation.
34.
The proceedings of verification and control of origin as foreseen in these Rules may also apply to the goods already cleared for home consumption.35.
Within sixty (60) days, from the receipt of the communication as provided in 29 or sub-(3) of 32, in case the measure is inconsistent, the exporting Signatory Party may request for consultation to the Joint Administration Committee of this Agreement, stating the technical and legal reasons that would indicate that the measure adopted by the competent authorities of the importing Signatory Party are not consistent with these Rules; and/or request a technical advice with the aim of establishing whether the goods under investigation fulfil the origin rules of this Agreement.36.
The time periods set in these Rules shall be calculated on a consecutive day basis as from the day following the fact or event which they refer to.Special Economic Zones37.
1. The provisions set out in these Rules shall also apply to Special Economic Zone and the competent authorities in each Signatory Party will be responsible for the control of origin with respect to activities covered under this Rule.
2. The MERCOSUR States and India shall take all necessary steps to ensure that products, traded under cover of a certificate of origin which in the course of transport use a Special Economic Zone situated in their territory, are not substituted by other goods and do not undergo handling other than normal operations designed to prevent their deterioration.
3. When goods originating in the Signatory Parties are imported into a Special Economic Zone under cover of the origin certificate mentioned in 17 and are fractioned, the certifying offices or institutions mentioned in 17(5) may issue a new origin certificate, based on the original one, for the quantity that is required, until the total quantity of goods is covered.
Appendix-IForm Agreed upon by India and Mercosur for the origin Certificate| 1. Producer or exporter (name, address, country) | Reference No. of Certificate India-Mercosur PTA |
| 2. Importer(name, address, country) | Stamp, address and name of the Certifying Authority |
| 3. Port of shipment | 4. Country of destination |
| 5. Commercial invoice | 6. No. Order |
| 7. tariff item number | 8. Description of goods |
| 9. Gross weight or other quantity | No. Order |
| 10. Origin criterion | 11. Observations |
| 12. Declaration by the Producer or Exporter: The undersigned hereby declares that the mentioned goods were produced in (country) and they comply with the origin requirements specified in (Agreement). | 13. Certification by Certifying Authority: It is hereby certified the authenticity of the previous declaration in accordance with the applicable legislation. |