General requirements
1. For the purpose of implementing this Agreement, the following products shall be considered as originating in the Community:
(a)
products wholly obtained in the Community within the meaning of Article 5;
(b)
products obtained in the Community incorporating materials which have not been wholly obtained there, provided that such materials have undergone sufficient working or processing in the Community within the meaning of Article 6.
2. For the purpose of implementing this Agreement, the following products shall be considered as originating in Croatia:
(a)
products wholly obtained in Croatia within the meaning of Article 5;
(b)
products obtained in Croatia incorporating materials which have not been wholly obtained there, provided that such materials have undergone sufficient working or processing in Croatia within the meaning of Article 6.
Bilateral cumulation in the Community
Materials originating in Croatia shall be considered as materials originating in the Community when incorporated into a product obtained there. It shall not be necessary for such materials to have undergone sufficient working or processing, provided they have undergone working or processing going beyond the operations referred to in Article 7(1).
Bilateral cumulation in Croatia
Materials originating in the Community shall be considered as materials originating in Croatia when incorporated into a product obtained there. It shall not be necessary for such materials to have undergone sufficient working or processing, provided they have undergone working or processing going beyond the operations referred to in Article 7(1).
Wholly obtained products
1. The following shall be considered as wholly obtained in the Community or in Croatia:
(a)
mineral products extracted from their soil or from their seabed;
(b)
vegetable products harvested there;
(c)
live animals born and raised there;
(d)
products from live animals raised there;
(e)
products obtained by hunting or fishing conducted there;
(f)
products of sea fishing and other products taken from the sea outside the territorial waters of the Community or of Croatia by their vessels;
(g)
products made aboard their factory ships exclusively from products referred to in (f);
(h)
used articles collected there fit only for the recovery of raw materials, including used tyres fit only for retreading or for use as waste;
(i)
waste and scrap resulting from manufacturing operations conducted there;
(j)
products extracted from marine soil or subsoil outside their territorial waters provided that they have sole rights to work that soil or subsoil;
(k)
goods produced there exclusively from the products specified in (a) to (j).
2. The terms “their vessels” and “their factory ships” in paragraph 1(f) and (g) shall apply only to vessels and factory ships:
(a)
which are registered or recorded in a Member State of the Community or in Croatia;
(b)
which sail under the flag of a Member State of the Community or of Croatia;
(c)
which are owned to an extent of at least 50 per cent by nationals of a Member State of the Community or of Croatia, or by a company with its head office in one of these States, of which the manager or managers, Chairman of the Board of Directors or the Supervisory Board, and the majority of the members of such boards are nationals of a Member State of the Community or of Croatia and of which, in addition, in the case of partnerships or limited companies, at least half the capital belongs to those States or to public bodies or nationals of the said States;
(d)
of which the master and officers are nationals of a Member State of the Community or of Croatia;
and
(e)
of which at least 75 per cent of the crew are nationals of a Member State of the Community or of Croatia.
Sufficiently worked or processed products
1. For the purposes of Article 2, products which are not wholly obtained are considered to be sufficiently worked or processed when the conditions set out in the list in Annex II are fulfilled.
The conditions referred to above indicate, for all products covered by the Agreement, the working or processing which must be carried out on non-originating materials used in manufacturing and apply only in relation to such materials. It follows that if a product which has acquired originating status by fulfilling the conditions set out in the list is used in the manufacture of another product, the conditions applicable to the product in which it is incorporated do not apply to it, and no account shall be taken of the non-originating materials which may have been used in its manufacture.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, non-originating materials which, according to the conditions set out in the list, should not be used in the manufacture of a product may nevertheless be used, provided that:
(a)
their total value does not exceed 10 per cent of the ex-works price of the product;
(b)
any of the percentages given in the list for the maximum value of non-originating materials are not exceeded through the application of this paragraph.
This paragraph shall not apply to products falling within Chapters 50 to 63 of the Harmonized System.
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply subject to the provisions of Article 7.
Insufficient working or processing
1. Without prejudice to paragraph 2, the following operations shall be considered as insufficient working or processing to confer the status of originating products, whether or not the requirements of Article 6 are satisfied:
(a)
preserving operations to ensure that the products remain in good condition during transport and storage;
(b)
breaking-up and assembly of packages;
(c)
washing, cleaning; removal of dust, oxide, oil, paint or other coverings;
(d)
ironing or pressing of textiles;
(e)
simple painting and polishing operations;
(f)
husking, partial or total bleaching, polishing, and glazing of cereals and rice;
(g)
operations to colour sugar or form sugar lumps;
(h)
peeling, stoning and shelling, of fruits, nuts and vegetables;
(i)
sharpening, simple grinding or simple cutting;
(j)
sifting, screening, sorting, classifying, grading, matching; (including the making-up of sets of articles);
(k)
simple placing in bottles, cans, flasks, bags, cases, boxes, fixing on cards or boards and all other simple packaging operations;
(l)
affixing or printing marks, labels, logos and other like distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;
(m)
simple mixing of products, whether or not of different kinds;
(n)
simple assembly of parts of articles to constitute a complete article or disassembly of products into parts;
(o)
a combination of two or more operations specified in (a) to (n);
(p)
slaughter of animals.
2. All operations carried out either in the Community or in Croatia on a given product shall be considered together when determining whether the working or processing undergone by that product is to be regarded as insufficient within the meaning of paragraph 1.
Unit of qualification
1. The unit of qualification for the application of the provisions of this Protocol shall be the particular product which is considered as the basic unit when determining classification using the nomenclature of the Harmonised System.
It follows that:
(a)
when a product composed of a group or assembly of articles is classified under the terms of the Harmonised System in a single heading, the whole constitutes the unit of qualification;
(b)
when a consignment consists of a number of identical products classified under the same heading of the Harmonised System, each product must be taken individually when applying the provisions of this Protocol.
2. Where, under General Rule 5 of the Harmonised System, packaging is included with the product for classification purposes, it shall be included for the purposes of determining origin.
Accessories, spare parts and tools
Accessories, spare parts and tools dispatched with a piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle, which are part of the normal equipment and included in the price thereof or which are not separately invoiced, shall be regarded as one with the piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle in question.
Sets
Sets, as defined in General Rule 3 of the Harmonised System, shall be regarded as originating when all component products are originating. Nevertheless, when a set is composed of originating and non-originating products, the set as a whole shall be regarded as originating, provided that the value of the non-originating products does not exceed 15 per cent of the ex-works price of the set.
Neutral elements
In order to determine whether a product originates, it shall not be necessary to determine the origin of the following which might be used in its manufacture:
(a)
energy and fuel;
(b)
plant and equipment;
(c)
machines and tools;
(d)
goods which do not enter and which are not intended to enter into the final composition of the product.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
