Customs legislation covers this practice which has become increasingly important since the outbreak of the COVID-19 health crisis
BERGÉ, a leading logistics operator, is encouraging exporters to use the legal entity of the “Approved Exporter” to simplify customs formalities and reduce costs incurred in connection with the payment of duties.
BERGÉ explains that these authorisations enable exporters to certify the Community origin of their goods on their own commercial invoices with a view to benefitting from tariff reductions in countries of destination which have entered into a preferential agreement with the EU and thereby replace the original EUR1 and reduce costs and customs processing times, both at origin and in destination.
Most agreements between countries recognise this entity in their protocols so that exporting companies benefit from greater flexibility and security in their trade with third parties.
During the pandemic, and with a view to streamlining formalities, the Customs and Excise Department (IIEE) published information sheet NI GA 10/2020 which enabled operators to request the EUR 1 certificate online, consequently eliminating the original certificates and allowing them to be subsequently submitted in the country of destination.
However, BERGÉ warns that some countries are rejecting the electronic signature requests for some EUR1 forms at destination and stipulating that importers are required to guarantee the customs debt until the original EUR1 is subsequently obtained in paper format.
BERGÉ is therefore urging exporters to use the Approved Exporter, provided that it has a record of frequent exports to countries that are parties to Preferential Agreements with the EU, insofar as the entity is recognised in the agreement.
Reporting channel and credit letters
BERGÉ also notes that the EU has provided exporters with a reporting channel (http://madb.europa.eu/madb/complaint_register_form.htm) where any countries which wrongly continue to physically request the EUR1 of Approved Exporters can be identified.
Moreover, in this exceptional situation, and in view of the usual practice of including clauses on EUR1 certificates in credit letters, BERGE recommends replacing the EUR1 clauses in credit letters with non-preferential Certificates of Origin issued by Chambers of Commerce because, as they are trade and not customs documents, there is greater flexibility in terms of content and form.
These recommendations enable BERGÉ to reaffirm its position as a Customs Representative, Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) and a leading consultant for the entire customs chain. The consultancy services supplement training programmes and particular customs management operations and enable BERGE to offer a comprehensive portfolio of services.
