Certificates of Origin

A Certificate of Origin (CO) helps to attest the origin of goods. There are two types of COs, namely ordinary COs and preferential COs.

What is an ordinary Certificate of Origin?

An ordinary CO, also known as a non-preferential CO, is a trade document that helps to identify the origin of the good.

You may refer to this handbook for more information on the rules of origin for ordinary COs.

What is a preferential Certificate of Origin?

A preferential CO allows your buyer to pay lower or no customs duty when you export your goods under a Free Trade Agreement or Schemes of Preferences. To check whether the goods are covered under the Free Trade Agreement or Schemes of Preferences and the preferential tariffs, you may refer to Enterprise Singapore's Tariff Finder Tool to assist you.

These handbooks provide more information on the rules of origin for preferential COs issued under Free Trade Agreements and Schemes of Preferences:  

• Handbook on rules of origin for preferential Certificates of Origin 
• Handbook on the rules of origin for Schemes of Preference

You may use the FTA Cost Statement Calculator for a preliminary assessment of the qualifying value content and/or Change in Tariff Classification status of your manufactured good under a specific Free Trade Agreement, after you have identified the applicable origin criterion(a) for the good under the Agreement.

Who can issue Certificate of Origin?

Ordinary COs are issued by Singapore Customs or any of the following authorised organisations:

• Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Singapore International Chamber of Commerce
• Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Singapore Manufacturing Federation

These authorised organisations issue ordinary COs for locally manufactured or processed goods, and goods from other countries which are re-exported from Singapore. However, they do not issue ordinary COs for the export of Singapore-origin textiles and textile goods to the United States of America.

Preferential COs are issued only by Singapore Customs.

How to apply for ordinary or preferential Certificate of Origin for locally manufactured goods with Singapore Customs?

• Step 1: Register your Manufacturing Premises
  Register using the manufacturer’s application form.

  Singapore Customs will arrange to visit your factory to verify the production processes for the goods specified in your application to ensure that they meet the requirements. Financial and operation records may also be inspected as part of this visit. 

  The manufacturer's registration will be valid for 2 years from the date of your successful registration.

  (You may skip this step if you are already registered with us as a manufacturer for the specific goods.)
• Step 2: Submit the Manufacturing Cost Statement
  After registration, submit the manufacturing cost statement to Singapore Customs for verification that the goods in question meet the origin criteria under the respective Free Trade Agreements and Schemes.

  The submission should be made under the respective formats. The cost statement will be valid for 1 year from the date of the manufacturing cost statement.
• Step 3: Apply for Certificate of Origin via TradeNet
  Apply for a CO with export permit under the respective Free Trade Agreements or Schemes via TradeNet.

  You may refer to this handbook for more information on how to apply for a CO and export permit via TradeNet.
• Step 4: Collect the Certificate of Origin
  The CO must be collected within 1 month from its approval date. The exporter may authorise a person to collect the CO on their behalf.

  The authorised person is required to produce the Letter of Authorisation issued by the exporter for verification during collection:

  • For collection of Form D/E
  • For collection of Certificate of Origin other than Form D/E

  Note: Effective, 1 Apr 2016, all Letters of Authorisation for collection of CO must be issued by the exporter unless a blanket appointment letter is provided to an entity to collect the CO on their behalf. In such cases, this letter from the exporter and the Letter of Authorisation from the appointed entity must be provided during each CO collection.

  Please ensure that the information on the CO is accurate and tick the relevant check boxes before signing on the CO and dispatching it to your overseas customer. Explanation on the check boxes are found on the overleaf notes of the CO.

How to apply for back-to-back preferential Certificate of Origin with Singapore Customs?

The back-to-back preferential CO is issued by Singapore Customs for the re-export of goods based on the preferential CO issued by the first exporting party. The goods must be imported into Singapore and meet the conditions for it to be issued.

Please refer to the legal text of the respective Free Trade Agreements for the eligibility requirements for back-to-back preferential CO application.

The required supporting documents include:

• Original preferential CO of the first exporting party
• Exporter’s invoice
• Working sheet for partial consignments  
• Import permit (required only for application of Certificate Types 20 and 28)

You can fax the supporting documents to 6337 6361 or attach them as softcopies with the export permit and preferential CO application via TradeNet.

How to renew the validity of expired manufacturing cost statements?

You can renew the manufacturing cost statements by submitting a letter of undertaking via e-filing or manual submission.

The letter would declare the goods of all models still qualify at the prevailing origin criterion(a) under the respective Free Trade Agreements or Schemes previously approved.

How to cancel a Certificate of Origin?

A CO that is not utilised shall be returned to Singapore Customs with a cover letter stating the request for cancellation. You may send it to:

Tariffs and Trade Services Branch (Rules of Origin Unit)
Singapore Customs
55 Newton Road #07- 01
Revenue House
Singapore 307987

How to amend a Certificate of Origin?

You may amend a CO electronically via TradeNet if:

• The CO is applied together with an export permit at the time of application;
• The export permit is still valid; and
• The field which you wish to amend in the CO is an amendable field in the export permit

If the amendment is made after the CO has been generated for printing, all previously issued COs under the export permit will be considered null and void and must be returned to Singapore Customs for cancellation. A new CO number will be issued and the CO can be collected 2 working hours after approval.

Errors and Offences

Companies may be penalised under the Regulation of Imports and Exports Act (RIEA) if they do not comply with requirements relating to rules of origin.

• Examples of common offences
  • Making a false declaration
    • Deliberate false declaration of country of origin
    • Declaring non-Singapore origin materials from local suppliers as Singapore-origin

  • Incorrect trade descriptions
    • Affixing false labels of origin on textile goods

  • Failure to retain documents for the minimum retention period
    • Retaining supporting documents for preferential tariffs claimed under the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement for 3 years instead of the minimum 5 years

  For minor offences under the RIEA, Singapore Customs may offer to compound the offences for a sum not exceeding S$5,000 per offence. Offenders may be prosecuted if the offence committed is of a fraudulent or serious nature.
• Penalties upon conviction for key offences

  Offence	Penalty Upon Conviction
  Making a false declaration  (Section 28(1)(a) of the RIEA)	A fine not exceeding S$10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.
  Incorrect trade descriptions (Section 28A(1)(a) of the RIEA)	First conviction: A fine not exceeding S$100,000 or 3 times the value of the goods in respect of which the offence was committed, whichever is greater, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. Second or subsequent conviction: A fine not exceeding S$200,000 or 4 times the value of the goods in respect of which the offence was committed, whichever is greater, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
  Failure to comply with requirements of the Director-General for the issue of preferential CO (Regulation 24B(4) of the RIER)

  You may view more information on the prescribed offences and penalties under the RIEA and RIER.

Best Practices

You are accountable as an exporter or declaring agent for the export of goods and compliance with the Rules of Origin requirements. You are encouraged to observe the following Dos and Don’ts to improve your compliance with regulatory requirements:

• Do

  ✔ Ensure you are a registered manufacturer with Singapore Customs if you intend to apply for a CO with Singapore Customs.

  ✔ Familiarise yourself with the origin criteria for your goods (the criteria could vary across different Free Trade Agreements and Schemes of Preferences).

  ✔ Verify that the Singapore-origin goods which you wish to apply for a preferential CO are manufactured in Singapore and that it met the required origin criteria under the relevant Free Trade Agreements and Schemes of Preferences.

  ✔ Ensure the materials or components which you have classified as Singapore origin in your cost statement are indeed manufactured in Singapore.

  ✔ Ensure that manufacturing cost statements submitted to Singapore Customs are accurate and up-to-date. Inform Singapore Customs if there are changes to your production methods and costing. Renew your manufacturing cost statement 2 months before the expiry date.

  ✔ Ensure the CO covers all items for which preferential tariff treatment is to be claimed.

  ✔ Retain copies of preferential COs/origin declaration and all supporting documents according to the time period stated in the respective Free Trade Agreements.

  ✔ Send your employees to attend courses conducted by the Singapore Customs Academy, particularly SC103 (Rules of Origin/Free Trade Agreements) and OP002 (Outreach for Newly Registered Manufacturers).

  ✔ Cooperate with Singapore Customs for request on documentation checks or access to your production facility.

  ✔ Have clear procedures to notify Singapore Customs upon discovery of a possible error in origin declaration.
• Do Not

  ✖ Make an origin declaration without ensuring that the goods meet the origin criteria under the respective Free Trade Agreements or Schemes.

  ✖ Agree to requests from customers to make incorrect origin declarations.

  ✖ Re-label the country of origin on the goods or its packaging.