General requirements
1. Products originating in the Community shall, on importation into Croatia and products originating in Croatia shall, on importation into the Community benefit from the Agreement upon submission of either:
(a)
a movement certificate EUR.1, a specimen of which appears in Annex III; or
(b)
in the cases specified in Article 22(1), a declaration, subsequently referred to as the “invoice declaration”, given by the exporter on an invoice, a delivery note or any other commercial document which describes the products concerned in sufficient detail to enable them to be identified; the text of the invoice declaration appears in Annex IV.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, originating products within the meaning of this Protocol shall, in the cases specified in Article 27, benefit from the Agreement without it being necessary to submit any of the documents referred to above.
Procedure for the issue of a movement certificate EUR.1
1. A movement certificate EUR.1 shall be issued by the customs authorities of the exporting country on application having been made in writing by the exporter or, under the exporter’s responsibility, by his authorised representative.
2. For this purpose, the exporter or his authorised representative shall fill out both the movement certificate EUR.1 and the application form, specimens of which appear in Annex III. These forms shall be completed in one of the languages in which this Agreement is drawn up and in accordance with the provisions of the domestic law of the exporting country. If they are hand-written, they shall be completed in ink in printed characters. The description of the products must be given in the box reserved for this purpose without leaving any blank lines. Where the box is not completely filled, a horizontal line must be drawn below the last line of the description, the empty space being crossed through.
3. The exporter applying for the issue of a movement certificate EUR.1 shall be prepared to submit at any time, at the request of the customs authorities of the exporting country where the movement certificate EUR.1 is issued, all appropriate documents proving the originating status of the products concerned as well as the fulfilment of the other requirements of this Protocol.
4. A movement certificate EUR.1 shall be issued by the customs authorities of a Member State of the Community or of Croatia if the products concerned can be considered as products originating in the Community or in Croatia and fulfil the other requirements of this Protocol.
5. The customs authorities issuing movement certificates EUR.1 shall take any steps necessary to verify the originating status of the products and the fulfilment of the other requirements of this Protocol. For this purpose, they shall have the right to call for any evidence and to carry out any inspection of the exporter’s accounts or any other check considered appropriate. They shall also ensure that the forms referred to in paragraph 2 are duly completed. In particular, they shall check whether the space reserved for the description of the products has been completed in such a manner as to exclude all possibility of fraudulent additions.
6. The date of issue of the movement certificate EUR.1 shall be indicated in Box 11 of the certificate.
7. A movement certificate EUR.1 shall be issued by the customs authorities and made available to the exporter as soon as actual exportation has been effected or ensured.
Movement certificates EUR.1 issued retrospectively
1. Notwithstanding Article 17(7), a movement certificate EUR.1 may exceptionally be issued after exportation of the products to which it relates if:
(a)
it was not issued at the time of exportation because of errors or involuntary omissions or special circumstances;
or
(b)
it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that a movement certificate EUR.1 was issued but was not accepted at importation for technical reasons.
2. For the implementation of paragraph 1, the exporter must indicate in his application the place and date of exportation of the products to which the movement certificate EUR.1 relates, and state the reasons for his request.
3. The customs authorities may issue a movement certificate EUR.1 retrospectively only after verifying that the information supplied in the exporter’s application agrees with that in the corresponding file.
4. Movement certificates EUR.1 issued retrospectively must be endorsed with the following phrase in English:
“ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY”.
5. The endorsement referred to in paragraph 4 shall be inserted in the “Remarks” box of the movement certificate EUR.1.
Issue of a duplicate movement certificate EUR.1
1. In the event of theft, loss or destruction of a movement certificate EUR.1, the exporter may apply to the customs authorities which issued it for a duplicate made out on the basis of the export documents in their possession.
2. The duplicate issued in this way must be endorsed with the following word in English:
“DUPLICATE”.
3. The endorsement referred to in paragraph 2 shall be inserted in the “Remarks” box of the duplicate movement certificate EUR.1.
4. The duplicate, which must bear the date of issue of the original movement certificate EUR.1, shall take effect as from that date.
Issue of movement certificates EUR.1 on the basis of a proof of origin issued or made out previously
When originating products are placed under the control of a customs office in the Community or in Croatia, it shall be possible to replace the original proof of origin by one or more movement certificates EUR.1 for the purpose of sending all or some of these products elsewhere within the Community or Croatia. The replacement movement certificate(s) EUR.1 shall be issued by the customs office under whose control the products are placed.
Accounting segregation
1. Where considerable cost or material difficulties arise in keeping separate stocks of originating and non-originating materials which are identical and interchangeable, the customs authorities may, at the written request of those concerned, authorise the so-called “accounting segregation” method to be used for managing such stocks.
2. This method must be able to ensure that, for a specific reference-period, the number of products obtained which could be considered as “originating” is the same as that which would have been obtained if there had been physical segregation of the stocks.
3. The customs authorities may grant such authorisation, subject to any conditions deemed appropriate.
4. This method is recorded and applied on the basis of the general accounting principles applicable in the country where the product was manufactured.
5. The beneficiary of this facilitation may issue or apply for proofs of origin, as the case may be, for the quantity of products which may be considered as originating. At the request of the customs authorities, the beneficiary shall provide a statement of how the quantities have been managed.
6. The customs authorities shall monitor the use made of the authorisation and may withdraw it at any time whenever the beneficiary makes improper use of the authorisation in any manner whatsoever or fails to fulfil any of the other conditions laid down in this Protocol.
Conditions for making out an invoice declaration
1. An invoice declaration as referred to in Article 16(1)(b) may be made out:
(a)
by an approved exporter within the meaning of Article 23,
or
(b)
by any exporter for any consignment consisting of one or more packages containing originating products whose total value does not exceed EUR 6 000.
2. An invoice declaration may be made out if the products concerned can be considered as products originating in the Community or in Croatia and fulfil the other requirements of this Protocol.
3. The exporter making out an invoice declaration shall be prepared to submit at any time, at the request of the customs authorities of the exporting country, all appropriate documents proving the originating status of the products concerned as well as the fulfilment of the other requirements of this Protocol.
4. An invoice declaration shall be made out by the exporter by typing, stamping or printing on the invoice, the delivery note or another commercial document, the declaration, the text of which appears in Annex IV, using one of the linguistic versions set out in that Annex and in accordance with the provisions of the domestic law of the exporting country. If the declaration is hand-written, it shall be written in ink in printed characters.
5. Invoice declarations shall bear the original signature of the exporter in manuscript. However, an approved exporter within the meaning of Article 23 shall not be required to sign such declarations provided that he gives the customs authorities of the exporting country a written undertaking that he accepts full responsibility for any invoice declaration which identifies him as if it had been signed in manuscript by him.
6. An invoice declaration may be made out by the exporter when the products to which it relates are exported, or after exportation on condition that it is presented in the importing country no longer than two years after the importation of the products to which it relates.
Approved exporter
1. The customs authorities of the exporting country may authorise any exporter, hereinafter referred to as “approved exporter”, who makes frequent shipments of products under this Agreement to make out invoice declarations irrespective of the value of the products concerned. An exporter seeking such authorisation must offer to the satisfaction of the customs authorities all guarantees necessary to verify the originating status of the products as well as the fulfilment of the other requirements of this Protocol.
2. The customs authorities may grant the status of approved exporter subject to any conditions which they consider appropriate.
3. The customs authorities shall grant to the approved exporter a customs authorisation number which shall appear on the invoice declaration.
4. The customs authorities shall monitor the use of the authorisation by the approved exporter.
5. The customs authorities may withdraw the authorisation at any time. They shall do so where the approved exporter no longer offers the guarantees referred to in paragraph 1, no longer fulfils the conditions referred to in paragraph 2 or otherwise makes an incorrect use of the authorisation.
Validity of proof of origin
1. A proof of origin shall be valid for four months from the date of issue in the exporting country, and must be submitted within the said period to the customs authorities of the importing country.
2. Proofs of origin which are submitted to the customs authorities of the importing country after the final date for presentation specified in paragraph 1 may be accepted for the purpose of applying preferential treatment, where the failure to submit these documents by the final date set is due to exceptional circumstances.
3. In other cases of belated presentation, the customs authorities of the importing country may accept the proofs of origin where the products have been submitted before the said final date.
Submission of proof of origin
Proofs of origin shall be submitted to the customs authorities of the importing country in accordance with the procedures applicable in that country. The said authorities may require a translation of a proof of origin and may also require the import declaration to be accompanied by a statement from the importer to the effect that the products meet the conditions required for the implementation of the Agreement.
Importation by instalments
Where, at the request of the importer and on the conditions laid down by the customs authorities of the importing country, dismantled or non-assembled products within the meaning of General Rule 2(a) of the Harmonized System falling within Sections XVI and XVII or headings 7308 and 9406 of the Harmonized System are imported by instalments, a single proof of origin for such products shall be submitted to the customs authorities upon importation of the first instalment.
Exemptions from proof of origin
1. Products sent as small packages from private persons to private persons or forming part of travellers’ personal luggage shall be admitted as originating products without requiring the submission of a proof of origin, provided that such products are not imported by way of trade and have been declared as meeting the requirements of this Protocol and where there is no doubt as to the veracity of such a declaration. In the case of products sent by post, this declaration can be made on the customs declaration CN22/CN23 or on a sheet of paper annexed to that document.
2. Imports which are occasional and consist solely of products for the personal use of the recipients or travellers or their families shall not be considered as imports by way of trade if it is evident from the nature and quantity of the products that no commercial purpose is in view.
3. Furthermore, the total value of these products shall not exceed EUR 500 in the case of small packages or EUR 1 200 in the case of products forming part of travellers’ personal luggage.
Supporting documents
The documents referred to in Articles 17(3) and 22(3) used for the purpose of proving that products covered by a movement certificate EUR.1 or an invoice declaration can be considered as products originating in the Community or in Croatia and fulfil the other requirements of this Protocol may consist , inter alia, of the following:
(a)
direct evidence of the processes carried out by the exporter or supplier to obtain the goods concerned, contained for example in his accounts or internal book-keeping;
(b)
documents proving the originating status of materials used, issued or made out in the Community or in Croatia where these documents are used in accordance with domestic law;
(c)
documents proving the working or processing of materials in the Community or in Croatia, issued or made out in the Community or in Croatia, where these documents are used in accordance with domestic law;
(d)
movement certificates EUR.1 or invoice declarations proving the originating status of materials used, issued or made out in the Community or in Croatia in accordance with this Protocol;
(e)
appropriate evidence concerning working or processing undergone outside the Community or Croatia by application of Article 12, proving that the requirements of that Article have been satisfied.
Preservation of proof of origin and supporting documents
1. The exporter applying for the issue of a movement certificate EUR.1 shall keep for at least three years the documents referred to in Article 17(3).
2. The exporter making out an invoice declaration shall keep for at least three years a copy of this invoice declaration as well as the documents referred to in Article 22(3).
3. The customs authorities of the exporting country issuing a movement certificate EUR.1 shall keep for at least three years the application form referred to in Article 17(2).
4. The customs authorities of the importing country shall keep for at least three years the movement certificates EUR.1 and the invoice declarations submitted to them.
Discrepancies and formal errors
1. The discovery of slight discrepancies between the statements made in the proof of origin and those made in the documents submitted to the customs office for the purpose of carrying out the formalities for importing the products shall not ipso facto render the proof of origin null and void if it is duly established that this document does correspond to the products submitted.
2. Obvious formal errors such as typing errors on a proof of origin should not cause this document to be rejected if these errors are not such as to create doubts concerning the correctness of the statements made in this document.
Amounts expressed in euro
1. For the application of the provisions of Article 22(1)(b) and Article 27(3) in cases where products are invoiced in a currency other than euro, amounts in the national currencies of the Member States of the Community or of Croatia equivalent to the amounts expressed in euro shall be fixed annually by each of the countries concerned.
2. A consignment shall benefit from the provisions of Article 22(1)(b) or Article 27(3) by reference to the currency in which the invoice is drawn up, according to the amount fixed by the country concerned.
3. The amounts to be used in any given national currency shall be the equivalent in that currency of the amounts expressed in euro as at the first working day of October. The amounts shall be communicated to the Commission of the European Communities by 15 October and shall apply from 1 January the following year. The Commission of the European Communities shall notify all countries concerned of the relevant amounts.
4. A country may round up or down the amount resulting from the conversion into its national currency of an amount expressed in euro. The rounded-off amount may not differ from the amount resulting from the conversion by more than 5 per cent. A country may retain unchanged its national currency equivalent of an amount expressed in euro if, at the time of the annual adjustment provided for in paragraph 3, the conversion of that amount, prior to any rounding-off, results in an increase of less than 15 per cent in the national currency equivalent. The national currency equivalent may be retained unchanged if the conversion would result in a decrease in that equivalent value.
5. The amounts expressed in euro shall be reviewed by the Stabilisation and Association Committee at the request of the Community or of Croatia. When carrying out this review, the Stabilisation and Association Committee shall consider the desirability of preserving the effects of the limits concerned in real terms. For this purpose, it may decide to modify the amounts expressed in euro.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
