Customs

Regulation on Harmonization of the Custom Tariff Nomenclature for the year 2018 also includes preferential tariff rates, which are prescribed by Free Trade Agreements and are applied to goods imported into the Republic of Serbia in 2018.

CRITERIA FOR ACQUIRING ORIGINATING STATUS

I Whollyobtained products(mineral products extracted from their soil or from their seabed; plant products picked or harvested etc.)

II Sufficientlyworkedorprocessedproductsaccording to the list of working or processing

Annexed to each FTA is a list of working or processing where the conditions are laid down for every tariff heading of the finished product. A product will acquire preferential origin provided that the non-originating materials have undergone sufficient working or processing.

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 their total value does not exceed 10 % of the ex-works price of the product and if any of the percentages given in the list for the maximum value of non-originating materials are not exceeded. However, this rule shall not apply to textile products falling within Chapters 50 to 63 of the Harmonized System.

III Insufficient working or processing

The following operations shall be considered as insufficient working or processing to confer the status of originating products:

a)  operations to ensure the preservation of goods in good condition during transportation or storage;

b)  disassembling and assembling of consignments;

c)  washing, cleaning, removing dust, oxide, oil, paints and other coverings;

d)  ironing or pressing of textiles;

e) simple painting, polishing;

f) husking, partial or total bleaching, polishing, and glazing of cereals and rice;

g) operations to color sugar or form sugar lumps;

h) peeling, stoning and shelling of fruits, nuts and vegetables;

i) sharpening, simple grinding or cutting;

j) sifting, screening, sorting, classifying, grading, matching (including making up sets of articles);

k) bottling, canning, bagging, casing, boxing, fixing on cards or boards, and other similar packaging operations;

l) affixing or printing marks, labels, logos or other like distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;

m) simple mixing of products, whether they are different or not; mixing of sugar with any other material;

n) simple assembling of parts for the purpose of creating a complete article or disassembly of products into parts;

o) combination of two or more of the above operations specified in (a) to (n).;

p) slaughter of animals.

2. All operations carried out within a economy 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.

IV Cumulation of origin (use of materials with preferential origin)

Cumulation/accumulation makes it possible that a product originating in Serbia, containing materials originating in another economy with which cumulation is applicable and having undergoing successive working and processing which is considered insufficient working or processing, is treated as a product obtained in Serbia.

Cumulation of origin may be applied only when a preferential trade agreement in accordance with Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is applicable between the economies; the protocols on origin of FTAs are identical and notices indicating the fulfillment of the necessary requirements to apply cumulation have been published in national Official Journals.

There are two types of cumulation:

a)      bilateral cumulation – applied betweentwo economies

b)      diagonal cumulation – applied between three or more economies

OTHER CONDITIONS THAT MUST BE MET FOR AN APPLICATION OF PREFERENTIAL REGIME DURING IMPORT

Direct transport

Products constituting one single consignment may be transported through other territories provided that:

ü  The shipment status has been detained

ü  The consignment is under customs supervision

ü  Permitted actions are unloading, reloading or any operation designed to preserve them in good condition

ü  As an evidence that the conditions of direct transport have been fulfilled shall be supplied to the customs authorities of the economy- importing economy - a certificate issued by the customs authorities of the economy of transit.

Principle of Territoriality

The conditions for acquiring originating status must be fulfilled without interruption in the economies. Except where originating goods exported from a economy to another economy return, they shall be considered as non-originating, unless it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that:

ü  The returning goods are the same as those exported;

and

ü  They have not undergone any operation beyond that necessary to preserve them ingood condition while in that economy or while being exported.

The acquisition of originating status shall not be affected by working or processing done outside a economy, or outside a cumulative zone, provided:

ü  The product being exported is originating in a economy;

ü  It can be demonstrated that the re-imported goods have been obtained by working or processing the exported materials in a third economy or territorry;

ü  The total added value, including all costs, acquired otside the economies does not exceed 10 percent of the ex-works price of the end product for which originating status is claimed (not applied for textile products);

ü  Any working or processing in a third economy shall be done under the outward processing arrangements.

ü

Prohibition of drawback of, or exemption from customs duties

Non-originating materials used in the manufacture of products originating in a economy shall not be subject in the economy to drawback of, or exemption from, customs duties of whatever kind when products obtained from the said materials are exported and not when they are retained for home use there.

ü  However, 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.

Proofs of origin

Proofs of origin shall be issued at the request of the exporter with all appropriate documents proving the originating status of goods submitted by exporter.               

The following shall be considered as proofs of origin:

ü  A movement certificate EUR.1/EUR-MED

ü  A declaration and an EUR-MED declaration given by the exporter on an invoice,or any othercommercial document:

            - by any exporter for a consignmentwith total value up to€6000

            - by an approved exporter regardless of the value of consignment

PROCEDURE FOR THE ISSUE OF A MOVEMENT CERTIFICATE EUR.1

A movement certificate EUR.1 or EUR-MED shall be issued on application having been made in writing by the exporter or, under the exporter's responsibility, by his authorised representative. The exporter shall be prepared to submit at any time, at the request of the customs authorities of the exporting economy, all appropriate documents proving the originating status of the products concerned, as well as the fulfillment of the other requirements of the Agreement.