What is a Connected Certificate of Origin? Released

The back-to-back C/O, known as the connected certificate of origin, is a form of certificate of origin that contrasts with the non-processing certificate existing in multilateral FTA agreements such as the Korea-ASEAN FTA and the RCEP agreement.

This certificate of origin is issued and prepared in the intermediate transit party country based on the certificate of origin initially prepared and issued in the first exporting country. It is significant in helping apply the FTA benefits in the final destination country by proving that it still originates from the regional party when transported to the final agreement party country within the territory of the agreement parties.

It is a self-governing measure that can prevent the FTA from becoming a constraint from the perspective of corporate logistics efficiency, as the FTA benefits are maintained even if the logistics hub within the region is designated and distributed within the region.

In this case, the price should be stated based on the FOB price of the transit country, not the FOB price of the initial exporting country.

Also, it can only be issued if all of the following requirements are met:

① Presentation of a valid original certificate of origin

② The validity period of the connected certificate of origin is within the validity period of the original certificate of origin

③ The connected certificate of origin includes the information of the original certificate of origin according to Annex I of the agreement

④ The consignment to be re-exported using the connected certificate of origin shall not undergo additional processing in the intermediate transit party country, except for logistics activities such as labeling limited to cases required by the laws, regulations, procedures, administrative decisions, and policies of the importing party country, or any other processes necessary to preserve the goods in good condition or to transport the goods to the importing party country

⑤ In the case of split export shipments, the quantity of the split export shall be presented in place of the total quantity of the original certificate of origin, and the total quantity re-exported according to the split shipment shall not exceed the total quantity of the original certificate of origin

⑥ Include the issuance date and issuance number of the original certificate of origin in the connected certificate of origin

However, why was a separate form of connected certificate of origin created even though the goods only move within the agreement parties?

This is because, in the application of the direct transportation principle, all other agreement member countries, except for the exporting and importing parties, are treated the same as non-party countries in terms of transportation.

Therefore, the initially issued certificate of origin may fundamentally violate the direct transportation principle when transiting through a third country, so it should be seen as a device prepared to supplement this.