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Singapore Customs

Rules of Origin Overview

Understand why Rules of Origin matter, how origin is determined and the criteria used under Free Trade Agreements.

Last updated on 26 October 2026

Rules of Origin

Rules of Origin (ROO) are defined as the specific provisions applied by a country to determine the origin of goods and using principles established by national legislation or international agreements.

For the purposes of Singapore’s permit application (opens in new tab), the “Country/Region of Origin” of a good refers to the country/region in which the goods were wholly obtained or substantially transformed to their final form. When declaring the “Country/Region of Origin”, the good must meet the prevailing rules of origin of the country/region where the goods are produced or manufactured.

Non-Preferential Rules of Origin

To qualify as goods of Singapore origin for non-preferential purposes (i.e. for goods that are not seeking preferential tariff treatment), the following origin criteria apply:

  • Be wholly obtained (i.e. wholly grown or produced entirely in Singapore); or

  • Have undergone substantial transformation in Singapore by meeting any of the following criteria:

    • Manufactured in Singapore with minimum 25% of Local Content based on the ex-factory price of the finished goods;

    • Attained a Change in Tariff Classification at the 6-digit level (i.e. Change in Tariff Sub-Heading); or

    • Undergone a Chemical Reaction (only for products under HS Chapters 27 to 40).

Goods which have only undergone minimal processing in Singapore, would not qualify as Singapore-originating.

Simple/Minimal processes:

  • Operations to ensure the preservation of products in good condition during transport and storage (ventilation, spreading out, drying, chilling, placing in salt, sulphur dioxide or other aqueous solutions, removal of damaged parts, and like operations);

  • Simple operations consisting of removal of dust, sifting or screening, sorting, classifying, matching (including the making up of sets of articles), washing, painting, cutting up;

  • Changes of packing and breaking up and assembly of consignments, and simple placing in bottles, flasks, bags, cases, boxes, fixing on cards or boards, and all other simple packing operations;

  • The affixing of marks, labels or other like distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;

  • Simple mixing of products, whether or not of different kinds;

  • Simple assembly of parts of products to constitute a complete product;

  • A combination of two or more operations specified in (a) to (f);

  • Slaughter of animals.

You may refer to this handbook (opens in new tab) for more information on Singapore’s non-preferential ROO. They also apply to the issuance of ordinary (non-preferential) Certificates of Origin, which you may wish to obtain for commercial reasons.

For the purposes of Singapore’s import, export and transhipment permit applications, the “Country/Region of Origin” of a good refers to the country/region in which the goods were wholly obtained or substantially transformed to their final form. To declare “Singapore” as the “Country/Region of Origin” for goods that are not seeking preferential tariff treatment, the goods must meet the above criteria. For more resources on permit applications, you may refer to the e-Learning Resources on “Important Permit Fields (opens in new tab)”.

Certificate of Processing

Goods that have undergone manufacturing or production processes in Singapore beyond the simple or minimal processes listed above, but do not meet the above origin criteria to qualify as Singapore-origin goods, may qualify for a Certificate of Processing instead of the Ordinary (Non-Preferential) Certificate of Origin.

The Certificate of Processing certifies that the goods have undergone more than minimal processing in Singapore.

The following authorised organisations may issue Certificates of Processing. As not all of them offer this service, please check with your chosen organisation before applying:

For Singapore permit applications, the “Country/Region of Origin” of the good covered under a Certificate of Processing cannot be declared as “Singapore”. For more information, you may refer to Circular 06/2025 (opens in new tab)

Preferential Rules of Origin

To qualify as Singapore-originating goods and be eligible for preferential tariff treatment when goods are exported from Singapore to an FTA partner country/region, your goods must meet the specific origin criteria set out in the relevant FTA that is in force. You may use the EnterpriseSG FTA search engine (opens in new tab) to identify the applicable origin criteria for your goods. There are three types of preferential proof of origin.