Certificates of Origin can be broadly classified into types, namely Ordinary Certificates of Origin and a Preferential Certificates of Origin.
An Ordinary Certificate of Origin is a document that can be used to satisfy your buyers that the products exported are wholly obtained, produced or manufactured in Singapore, depending on the Rules of Origin.
A Preferential Certificate of Origin is a document that can help improve the competitive edge of your exports by enabling your buyers to claim preferential tariff treatment when importing your products under one of the Schemes of Preferences or Free Trade Agreements.
Singapore Customs has authorised 6 Organisations to issue Ordinary COs. The Authorised Organisations (AOs) are as follows:
These organisations issue the Certificates not only for locally manufactured or processed products, but also for products from other countries which are re-exported from Singapore. However, they do not issue the Ordinary CO for the export of Singapore-origin textiles and textile products to EU and the USA.
Singapore Customs issues Ordinary COs and is the authorised agency to issue Preferential COs under Schemes of Preferences and Free Trade Agreements. To apply for a CO with Customs, the procedure is as such:
The application can be made through the Manufacturer's Application Form ( DOC 604kb ) or through the e-file application.
A Customs officer will arrange to inspect the factory to see that it has the machinery and manpower to manufacture the product and that it keeps proper books and records of its operations.
Upon successful application, the manufacturer will receive a letter of approval from Singapore Customs together with a registration number.
Companies granted pioneer status by the Economic Development Board may be exempted from having their factory inspected if their applications are supported by documentary evidence of their pioneer status.
Upon successful factory registration, the manufacturer can proceed to submit the manufacturing cost statement of their product to Customs for verification that the goods in question meet the necessary rule of origin. The submission should be made in the respective formats for the application of a CO under the various Schemes of Preference and Free Trade Agreements.
- Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme for AFTA ( DOC 81kb )
- Commonwealth Preference (CPC) Scheme of Mauritius ( DOC 72kb )
- Commonwealth Preference Scheme (Other than Mauritius) ( DOC 74kb )
- Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Australia (SAFTA) ( DOC 54kb )
- FTA with ASEAN-China (ACFTA) ( DOC 80kb )
- FTA with ASEAN-Korea (AKFTA) ( DOC 76kb )
- FTA with India (CECA) ( DOC 79kb )
- FTA with Japan (JSEPA) - Change in Tariff Classification Rule ( DOC 66kb )
- FTA with Japan - Value-Added Rule ( DOC 94kb )
- FTA with Jordan ( DOC 96kb )
- FTA with South Korea ( DOC 96kb )
- FTA with US - Garment Exports under TPL ( DOC 59kb )
- FTA with US - Garment Exports for Originating Goods ( DOC 61kb )
- Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Scheme of Canada ( DOC 78kb )
- GSP Scheme of EU ( DOC 83kb )
- GSP Scheme of EU (Substantial Transformation Statement) ( DOC 59kb )
- GSP Scheme of Russia ( DOC 77kb )
- Global Systems of Trade Preferences (GSTP) ( DOC 78kb )
- Ordinary (Non-preferential) Certificate of Origin Scheme ( DOC 77kb )
Upon successful verification of the Manufacturing Cost Statement by Customs, the statement is valid for one year. The manufacturer is authorised to apply for a CO for his export under the respective Schemes of Preference or Free Trade Agreement his product qualified for through the TradeNet® System.
The approved CO can be collected from the CrimsonLogic Service Bureau, 230 Victoria Street, #07-02 Bugis Junction Office Tower (Tel: 6339 0798). For applications approved by our Airport Outpost, please collect the CO from SAAA, Room 107, Ground Floor, SATS Airfreight Terminal 3, Core H, Changi Airfreight Centre. The declarant or his representative must present a copy of the Letter of Authorisation and the exporter's invoice for each CO. Upon receipt of the CO, the accuracy of the CO should be checked and the authorised signatory of the exporter must duly sign the appropriate box of the CO. Unsigned COs will not be accepted by the overseas Customs authority.
A specimen of the Letter of Authorisation is found here ( DOC 35kb )and the specimen letter for applications approved by our Airport Outpost can be found here ( DOC 35kb ).
Note: A more detailed procedure guide is available for download here ( DOC 55kb ).
All Certificate applications should be made through TradeNet®. However, in exceptional cases where the Certificates cannot be applied through TradeNet®, the exporter must complete the required documents as indicated in List of Required Documents ( DOC 26kb ) for every consignment of products when making a manual application.
Details on how to complete the Certificates can be found in the "Guide to Completing the COs" ( DOC 103kb ).
If the goods being exported by a trader is purchased from a manufacturer, the trader may apply for an ordinary or preferential CO subject to the condition that he obtains documentary evidence from the manufacturer to show that his products satisfy the rules of origin for the CO you wish to apply for. The trader can obtain a Declaration by the Manufacturer that the goods are made by him and that the manufacturer has a valid Manufacturing Cost Statement verified by Customs. A specimen of this Declaration can be found here ( DOC 25kb ).
Amendments on a Certificate of Origin must be endorsed by the Singapore Customs. The trader must inform Singapore Customs in writing within 2 weeks from the date of approval of any such amendments. If the consignment is not exported within a month from the date of approval, the documents are to be returned to Singapore Customs for cancellation.
If the Certificate of Origin sent to the exporter's buyer is lost, stolen or destroyed, he can apply for a certified true copy from the Singapore Customs. The following documents must be submitted with the written request:
- 3 copies of Certificate of Origin (At the point of submission, a processing fee of $4 is payable via NETS, cash card or credit card)
- 1 copy of Duplicate copy of approved Certificate of Origin
To renew an approved Cost Statement, the manufacturer can submit a fresh Manufacturing Cost Statement for verification by Singapore Customs or he may submit a Letter of Undertaking (LU) ( DOC 41kb ), declaring that the product for all models still qualify at the prevailing origin criteria of the relevant tariff preferential/non-preferential Scheme which was previously approved. The application can also be made via the E-services portal.
Under the GSP and CEPT schemes and most Free Trade Agreements, preferential treatment can be claimed if the product sent from Singapore for exhibition in any of the GSP donor countries, ASEAN country or FTA partner countries is sold after the exhibition in that country.
This is on the condition that the appropriate Customs authority is satisfied that:
- the product has met the rules of origin under the appropriate scheme or FTA;
- the product was consigned by a Singapore manufacturer to that country where the exhibition was held and exhibited it at the specified destination;
- the product was sold during or immediately after the exhibition to the buyer in that country to which it was sent for exhibition;
- the product has not been used for any purpose other than for demonstration or exhibition.
The usual application procedure for the preferential CO applies. The exporter will have to indicate the name and address of the exhibitor on the form.
Documents relating to the production and shipment of exports accompanied by any of the Certificates described in this guide should be kept for the stated period of time for post-verification by the Singapore Customs or by the overseas Customs' authorities.
| GSP, CEPT, CPC, ACFTA, CECA and Ordinary CO |
At least 2-year period. In the case of GSP Form As for shipments made under the EU GSP scheme, the said documents for exports must be kept for at least three years.
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AKFTA, FTAs with EFTA States, Japan, Jordan and Trans-Pacific SEP with Brunei New Zealand and Panama
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At least 3 years |
| FTA with New Zealand |
At least 4 years
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| FTAs with Australia, US and Korea |
At least 5 years |
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Singapore Customs issue the Certificate of Free Sales (CFS) for exports of goods which are sold locally. For products not sold locally, the CFS application may be approved on a case-by-case basis. In this regard, a different application Form will be used. The Form is obtainable from Documentation Specialists Branch. Application procedures can be found in the application form found here ( DOC 883kb ).
Singapore Customs issues a Certificate of Non-Manipulation to goods transshipped through Singapore, between the goods origin and destination, which serves as a document to indicate that the goods were not manipulated in any way. Conditions relating to the certificate can be found in the application form found here DOC 872kb ).
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