Chambers Ireland is the sole organisation authorised to oversee certs of origin on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Galway Chamber is the regional chamber authorised to issue exporters with certificates of origin and to legalise the documents on presentation to the chamber.

What is a Certificate of Origin?
A Certificate of Origin (CO) is a document attesting that goods in a particular export shipment are wholly obtained or produced or manufactured in a particular country (Country of Origin).
Virtually every country in the world considers the origin of imported goods when determining what duty will be assessed on the goods or, in some cases, whether the goods may be legally imported at all.

Why are Certs of Origin needed?
To meet foreign customs requirements in the importing state
Customer (Consignee) requires it
To meet "quota" requirements imposed by the importing country
To comply with banking requirements / letters of credit
For other official and commercial reasons

Overview of Certificates
EUR 1 Form (Customs Division)
EU Certificate of Origin (Chambers)
Arab Certs (Chambers)

Preferential Trade Agreements
The EU has concluded trade agreements with certain non-EU countries that allow exports from the EU to enter the markets of these countries at a reduced or nil rate of duty.  They also allow imports from these countries into the EU at a reduced or nil rate of duty. These arrangements are known as Preferential Trade Agreements and the duties involved are referred to as preferential rates of duty.

The following is a list of countries with which the EU has signed preferential trade agreements;

Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Ceuta & Melilla
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR Macedonia & Slovenia (BCMS)
Faro Islands
Egypt, Lebanon, Syria & Jordan (Mashraq)
Algeria, Morocco & Tunisia (Maghreb)
Turkey
Liechtenstein, Romania, Canary Islands
Chile, Mexico
Territories of the west bank and Gaza Strip

In order to qualify for preferential rates of duty, goods must meet the following conditions:
They must be eligible for preference under the agreements. Imported raw materials or componentss used must be sufficiently worked or processed (see rules of origin).
They must normally be transported directly from the export to the import market.

Documentation
Products originating in a third country with which the EU has a preference agreement can on importation into the EU benefit from a preferential rate of duty upon submission of either a Movement Certificate EUR1 or an ATR certificate (in the case of Turkey) - Available at the Customs Division

Likewise products originating in the EU can on exportation to such a third country benefit from a preferential rate of duty on submission of either of these documents.

Exports are obliged to keep records and produce them if requested to do so by Customs to demonstrate that the goods are of EU origin.

EUR 1 & ATR Certificates may be obtained by sending a faxed application to the following office.
Registry,
Customs & Excise,
Custom House,
Flood Street,
Galway
Tel. 091-536300
Fax. 091-536380

Establishing Origin
Rules of Origin are laws, regulations and administrative practices which are used to identify the country of origin of internationally traded goods. The need to identify origin is due to international commercial policy which determine the treatment of goods based on the country of origin.  "Rules of Origin" are the criteria used to define where are product was made. They are an essential part of trade rules because a number of policies discriminate between exporting countries: quotas, preferential tariffs, anti-dumping actions, countervailing duty (charged to counter export subsidies), and more. These criteria are commonly known as preferential rules of origin. When a product is manufactured in accordance with the relevant rule of origin it becomes an "originating product" and thus becomes eligible for preferential treatment on import and export. Unless products become "originating products" they cannot benefit from preferential treatment.

Criteria for establishing origin
Exporters should be aware of distinction between originating and non-originating materials. Originating materials are those that have been produced in accordance with preferential rules of origin. Non-originating materials have not been produced in accordance with these rules. For a product to be considered to have originated in a particular country they must have undergone their last, substantial processing which was economically justified in a facility equipped for the purpose resulting in the manufacture of a new product or representing an important stage of manufacture.

Goods whose production involved more than one country shall be deemed to originate in the country where they underwent their last, substantial processing. Goods originating in a country, shall be those wholly obtained or produced in that country. (The expression "goods wholly obtained in a country" means mineral products extracted within that country.)

The applicant must supply the chamber with any written evidence necessary to verify the accuracy of the declaration of origin.  The chamber reserves the right to examine the applicants business records in necessary (or even visit premises etc.). If the chamber considers that the supporting documentation or evidence is not sufficient or if access to business records is refused, then the chamber must refuse to issue the certificate of origin.

Arab Certificates of Origin
The majority of Certificates of Origin are for companies exporting to non-Arab destinations, in these cases the EU certificate of origin must be used. When the exporter is sending goods to an Arab State, an Arab Irish Certificate of Origin is required. A total of 19 Arab countries require the Arab Irish Cert. For list of Arab States, click here.

In addition to the Arab Irish cert of origin some of the Arab states have specific requirements unique to their markets. To check any additional documentation requirements for the market which you are exporting to, contact Galway Chamber.

Once the Arab Irish cert of origin has been issued to the exporter, the cert must be sent to the Joint Arab Irish Chamber of Commerce (JAICC) in Dublin for certification and in some cases legalisation. Certification means that documents are checked, stamped and signed by the JAICC.  Legalisation means that the relevant Arab Embassy in London or Dublin on receipt of documents from JAICC will check, stamp and sign the documents. Countries for which legalisation is required include: Kuwait, Qatar, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates.

JAICC Contact Details

Evelyn Harrington
Acting Secretary General
Tel. 01-6624451
Fax. 01-6624729
Email. jaicc@indigo.ie

Applying to Galway Chamber for a Certificate of Origin (EU or Arab)
The applicant must be based in the 26 counties and be registered with the Companies Registration Office.
Before the chamber can provide certification service, an undertaking of indemnification is needed with respect to information provided by the company to the chamber. The company agrees to abide by standard rules and indemnifies chamber against inaccuracy of documents or misleading information.An indemnity form must be completed on company's letterheaded paper and it must be signed by the Managing Director.
Download Indemnity Form

The company should advise the chamber (by letter on letterheaded notepaper) of names of staff members who should be authorised to sign applications for certificates.

Non-members of Galway Chamber must supply the chamber with a bankers reference. This must confirm that the company maintains an account with the bank.
Download Bankers Reference Form

Fees for Certificates of Origin

Accompanying Document(s)                                        

(Export Invoices, Packing Lists etc.) 

Certified copies of above 

 For other documents such as Certificates of Free Sale, Agency Agreements etc these can only be authenticated in manual or postal form.  

Other Document(s)                          

 Effective as of 30th April 2008

For Queries relating to Certificates of Origin, please contact Carol Brady at 091-535022 or carol@galwaychamber.com