I am trying to export goods overseas. Is a certificate of origin absolutely necessary?

Certification of origin is a system that officially proves in which country an exported good was grown, raised, manufactured, or processed, and it is key material for determining whether customs duties will be imposed in the overseas importing country and whether FTA preferential tariff rates apply.

In particular, in order to receive the application of a free trade agreement (FTA), you must meet the origin determination criteria for each agreement, and obtain the certification of origin prescribed by the relevant agreement.

Certification of origin is broadly divided into preferential certification of origin and non-preferential certification of origin.

In cases where the purpose is to obtain tariff benefits such as FTA, APTA, or GSP, preferential certification of origin is required, and it can be issued through the Korea Customs Service or the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

On the other hand, where the reason is unrelated to tariff benefits, such as a request from an overseas buyer, a dumping investigation, or a country-of-origin marking issue, non-preferential certification of origin is used.

The issuance procedure is divided into self-issuance and institutional issuance.

In the case of self-issuance, the exporter designates a signatory in advance and personally prepares and signs the certificate of origin, and thereafter must manage the certificate register.

Institutional issuance is a method in which, after registering with the Korea Customs Service customs clearance system or the Chamber of Commerce and Industry trade certification system, one applies electronically and receives issuance.

Because certification of origin is highly likely to lead to post-verification or disputes, it is important to comprehensively review the export structure, whether an agreement applies, and the appropriateness of the issuance method.

We recommend that you systematically manage the risks related to certification of origin through prior advice from an attorney specializing in customs law.