Origin Waiver Benefit
Australian Trusted Trader importers are no longer required to obtain or present origin certification documents, such as a Certificate of Origin (CoO) or Declaration of Origin (DoO), in order to claim preferential rates of duty under certain free trade agreements (FTAs) or goods manufactured in developing or lesser developed countries and imported under Schedule 1 of the
Customs Tariff Act 1995.
The Origin Waiver benefit applies to:
The following countries can be found in
Schedule 1 of the
Customs Tariff Act 1995:
- Pacific Forum Island Countries as listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1
- Lesser Developed Countries (LDC) as listed in Part 2 of Schedule 1
- Developing Countries subject to the DC rates of duty as listed in Part 3 of Schedule 1
- Developing Countries subject to the DCS rates of duty as listed in Part 4 of Schedule 1
- Developing Countries subject to the DCT rates of duty as listed in Part 5 of Schedule 1
This benefit is not a waiver of the requirements to meet the rules of origin or consignment provisions of the FTA. Trusted Trader importers are still required to keep evidence (generally for a period of at least five years from the day of importation) to prove that imported goods comply with the relevant rules of origin for the FTA claimed. Relevant evidence ensures Trader’s compliance with legislation and regulations.
Examples of evidence include, but are not limited to:
- commercial documentation
- contracts
- bill of Lading
- freight or transactional documentation and statements on the manufacturing process
- materials and compliance with cost requirements from manufacturers
Rules of Origin (RoO)
Wholly obtained
To be wholly obtained, the good, or all the materials that are used to make the good, need to be a naturally occurring product of the country. The good, or materials, need to be raised, grown, mined, or caught in the territory of a country in order to be wholly obtained.
For example: wool shorn from sheep born and raised in Australia would be wholly obtained; or timber from trees gown in Thailand would be wholly obtained.
To prove a good is wholly obtained, the following evidence could be provided:
- Evidence the manufacturer/producer is located in the FTA Party
- A declaration from the manufacturer stating the origin of the goods and details of where the materials came from
- Commercial invoices from the suppliers of the materials to the manufacturer. It is preferable to have the contact details of the suppliers on relative invoices
- Images of where the raw materials have come from
- Flow chart or explanation of the production process
Wholly produced/produced entirely
To classify as wholly produced, the good must be produced entirely in Australia and/or the other FTA Party from originating materials. This means all of the material used to create the final good must be produced in one or both of the FTA Parties.
For example a jacket made from polyester fabric, thread, with a metal zipper, is manufactured in a factory in Thailand. To be able to meet the wholly produced RoO, every item / component of the jacket, that being the thread, zipper and the fabric etc., needs to be manufactured in either or both Thailand or Australia. There is no allowance for an item or component in the jacket to be manufactured elsewhere when using this rule.
Evidence to prove goods are wholly produced includes:
- Bill of materials used in the manufacture of the good
- Evidence the place of manufacturer is located in the FTA Party
- Manufacturer’s declaration listing all the companies that supplied the materials used to manufacture of the good
- Invoices from the suppliers of the materials to the manufacturer
- Complete description of the manufacturing process
- Images of the good and manufacturing process
- Purchase orders
- Bill of lading
Product Specific Rule (PSR)
If the good contains a material that was not wholly obtained or wholly produced in an FTA Party, the good must meet the requirements of a product specific rule (PSR) in order to be considered to be originating. Each FTA has an annex showing the PSR requirements for each tariff classification (or good).
Evidence to prove a good meets the PSR requirement includes:
- A full list of all materials used to produce the good including their tariff classification and country of origin
- Evidence the manufacturer is located in the FTA party
- The value of the final good, and the value of all non-originating materials used to produce the final good
- The weight of the non-originating materials compared to the weight of final good
Consignment provisions
If the good is shipped through a country that is not a part of the FTA, you will need evidence it meets the FTAs consignment provisions. This will include proof the good underwent no further production in the other country. You may also be required to provide evidence the good remained under the control of the Customs authority in the country it was shipped through. The ABF recommends a statement from the Customs authority is the best evidence.
Evidence to prove a good meets the consignment/transhipment provisions include:
- A statement from the manufacturer or the storage company declaring that the good is not subject to any production or operation whilst in a non-Party territory
- A statement from the Customs authority in the non-Party that the good has remained under their control
- Bill of lading
- Explanation of the shipping process, including details of any processing the good underwent
Advance Ruling (Origin)
The objective of an advance ruling is to provide a decision on the origin of the good prior to its importation. The advance ruling will provide the importer with certainty their good meets the FTA origin requirements.
The importer can request the ABF to provide a ruling if their good meets the origin or consignment requirements of an FTA. An ABF advance ruling lasts for five years from the day it is issued, as long as the information the ruling was based on remains the same. The advance ruling can be used as evidence of origin in any audit process.
To apply for an advance ruling, complete the
Application for Advance Ruling (Origin) form.
Follow the instructions on the form to submit an application for an advance ruling. Along with the application form you will need to provide sufficient information to allow us to make the ruling. Include your Trusted Trader status in the comments and then email your account manager with the lodgement details, and they will expedite your request.
The benefits for Trusted Traders are:
- reduced administrative burden associated with obtaining Certificates of Origin and the direct costs that may be incurred to obtain them
- reduced burden of claiming refunds of duty paid as the requirement to present the FTA Certificate or Declaration of Origin to claim the preferential rate of duty is exempt
