have not undergone any operation there other than unloading, reloading, adding, or affixing labels to ensure compliance with specific domestic requirements of the importing Party, split from bulk carried out under customs supervision in the non-Party(ies) of transit or storage or any operation required to keep them in good condition.
An importer shall upon request supply appropriate evidence to the customs authorities of the importing Party demonstrating that the goods remained under customs supervision in the country(ies) of transit or storage.
Article Article 3.18: Free Zones
Both Parties shall take all necessary steps to ensure that originating goods traded under cover of a Proof of Origin which in the course of transport use a
free zone situated in their territory, are not substituted by other goods and do not undergo handling other than normal operations designed to prevent their deterioration.
By means of an exemption to the provisions contained in paragraph 1, when products originating in a Party enter into a free zone under cover of a Proof of Origin and undergo treatment or processing, another Proof of Origin can be made out if the treatment or processing undergone is in conformity with the provisions of this Chapter.
Goods produced or manufactured in a free zone situated within a Party shall be considered as originating goods in that Party when exported to the other Party provided that the treatment or processing is in conformity with the provisions of this chapter and supported by a proof or origin.
Section C: Origin Certification
Article Article 3.19: Proof of Origin
Goods originating in a Party shall, on importation into the other Party, benefit from preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement on the basis of a Proof of Origin.
Any of the following shall be considered as a Proof of Origin:
a paper or electronic format Certificate of Origin issued by a competent authority as per Article 3.20;
an Electronic Certificate of Origin (E-Certificate) issued by a competent authority and exchanged by a mutually developed electronic system as per Article 3.21; or
an Origin Declaration made out by an approved exporter as per Article 3.22.
A Proof of Origin may apply to a single shipment of one or more goods into the territory of the other Party.
Each Party shall provide that a Proof of Origin shall be completed in the English language and shall remain valid for one year from the date on which it is issued or made out.
Article Article 3.20: Certificate of Origin
Certificates of Origin shall be issued by the competent authority 1 of the exporting Party, upon an application by an exporter, a producer, or their authorized representative, in accordance with the domestic regulations of the exporting Party.
Certificates of Origin shall be in a format referred to in Annex 3-B.
The producer or exporter of goods, or its authorized representative applying for the issuance of a Certificate of Origin shall be prepared to submit at any time, at the request of the competent authority, of the exporting Party, all appropriate documents proving the originating status of the goods concerned, as well as the fulfillment of the other requirements of this Chapter.
Certificates of Origin shall be issued by the competent authority of the exporting Party prior to or at the time of shipment or within five working days after the date of shipment. In exceptional cases where a Certificate of Origin has not been issued prior to or at the time of shipment, or within five working days after shipment due to involuntary errors or omissions or other valid causes, the Certificate of Origin may be issued retroactively but with a validity no longer than one year from the date of shipment, in which case it is necessary to indicate “Issued Retroactively” in the appropriate field as detailed in Annex 3-B.
The provisions of this Article shall be applied to goods which comply with the provisions of this Agreement, and which on the date of its entry into force, are either in transit or are in the territory of the Parties in temporary storage in bonded warehouse under customs control or in free zones. This shall be subject to the submission to the customs authorities of the importing Party, within 12 months from the said date, of a Certificate of Origin issued retrospectively by the competent authority of the exporting Party together with documents, showing that the goods have been transported directly in accordance with the provisions of Article 3.17.
Where, at the request of the importer and on the conditions laid down by the customs authority of the importing Party, dismantled or non‑assembled products within the meaning of General Rule 2(a) of the Harmonized System are imported by installments, a single Certificate of Origin for such products shall be submitted to the customs authorities upon importation of the first installment.
1 The competent authority may delegate or grant authorization to a specific entity for the issuance of a Certificate of Origin. In such an instance, the competent authority shall provide notification to the other Party. In Korea, this responsibility has been conferred upon the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In the event of theft, loss, or destruction of the Certificate of Origin, the producer or exporter or his authorized representatives may apply to the issuing body of the exporting Party for a certified true copy of the original Certificate of Origin. The copy shall:
be issued no later than one year after the date of issuance of the original Certificate of Origin;
be based on the application for the original Certificate of Origin;
contain the same Certificate of Origin number and date as the original Certificate of Origin; and
be endorsed with the words “CERTIFIED TRUE COPY”.
Neither erasures nor superimposition shall be allowed on the Certificate of Origin. Any alterations shall be made by issuing a new Certificate of Origin to replace the erroneous one. The reference number of the corrected Certificate of Origin should be indicated in the appropriate field on the newly issued Certificate of Origin as detailed in Annex 3-B. The validity of the replacement Certificate will be the same as the original.
The discovery of minor discrepancies between the statements made in the Certificate of Origin and those made in the documents submitted to the customs authority of the importing Party for the purpose of carrying out the formalities for importing the goods shall not ipso facto invalidate the Certificate of Origin, if it does in fact correspond to the goods submitted. Obvious formal errors, such as typing errors, in a Certificate 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.
Article Article 3.21: Electronic Origin Data Exchange System
For the purposes of Article 3.19.2(b) the Parties shall, within two years from date of entry into force of this Agreement, establish a working group to develop an electronic origin data exchange system for origin data exchange to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of this Chapter particularly on transmission of electronic Certificate of Origin. For further clarity, “origin data” refers to the data contained in the Certificate of Origin as per Annex 3-B.
Before the establishment of such exchange system, both Parties may verify the authenticity of the Certificate of Origin through a secured
website run by the competent authority as well as the electronic origin data exchange.
Article Article 3.22: Origin Declaration
For the purposes of Article 3.19.2(c) the Parties shall, within one year from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, implement provisions allowing each competent authority to recognize an Origin Declaration made by an approved exporter.
The customs or competent authorities of the exporting Party may authorise any exporter, (hereinafter referred to as “approved exporter”), who exports goods under this Agreement, to make out Origin Declarations, a specimen of which appears in Annex 3-C, irrespective of the value of the goods concerned.
An exporter seeking such authorization must offer to the satisfaction of the customs or competent authorities of the exporting Party all guarantees necessary to verify the originating status of the goods as well as the fulfilment of the other requirements of this Chapter.
The customs or competent authorities of the exporting party may grant the status of approved exporter, subject to any conditions which they consider appropriate.
The customs or competent authorities of the exporting Party shall share or publish the list of approved exporters and periodically update it.
Notwithstanding paragraph 5, a Party shall not be required to provide the information referred to in that paragraph to the other Party if it has established its own secured website, containing the above information, that is accessible to the other Party.
An Origin Declaration (the text of which appears in Annex 3-C) shall be made out by the approved exporter by typing, stamping or printing the declaration on the invoice, the delivery note or another commercial document which describes the products concerned in sufficient detail to enable them to be identified. The declaration may also be hand-written; if the declaration is hand-written, it shall be written in permanent ink in legible printed characters.
The approved exporter making out an Origin Declaration shall be prepared to submit at any time, at the request of the competent authority of the exporting Party, all appropriate documents proving the originating status of the goods concerned, including statements from suppliers or producers in accordance with the laws and regulations of
the importing Party as well as the fulfilment of the other requirements of this Chapter.
Article Article 3.23: Claim for Preferential Tariff Treatment
An importing Party shall grant preferential tariff treatment in accordance with this Agreement to an originating good on the basis of a Proof of Origin.
Unless otherwise provided in this Chapter, an importing Party shall provide that, for the purposes of claiming preferential tariff treatment, the importer shall:
make a statement or otherwise indicate in its customs declaration that the good qualifies as an originating good;
have a valid Proof of Origin in its possession at the time the declaration referred to in subparagraph (a) is made and be ready to submit it to the custom authority if so required; and
promptly make a corrected declaration in a manner required by the customs authority of the importing Party, subject to the customs laws of the importing Party and pay any duties along with interest and other charges owing, where the importer has reason to believe that a Certificate of Origin on which a declaration was based contains information that is not correct.
Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2, the importing Party may not require a Certificate of Origin if:
the customs value of the importation does not exceed US$1,000 or the equivalent amount in the importing Party’s currency or any other amount as the importing Party may establish; or
it is a good for which the importing Party has waived the requirement,
provided that the importation does not form part of a series of importations carried out or planned for the purpose of evading compliance with the importing Party’s laws and regulations governing claims for preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement.
The competent authority of the importing Party may require, where appropriate, the importer to submit supporting additional evidence that
a good qualifies as an originating good, in accordance with the requirements of this Chapter.
Where a Certificate of Origin is submitted to the customs authority of an importing Party after the expiration of the period of time for its submission, such Certificate of Origin may still be accepted, subject to the importing Party’s laws, regulations, or administrative practices, when failure to observe the period of time results from force majeure or other valid causes beyond the control of the importer or exporter.
Where the customs authority of the importing Party determines that a Certificate of Origin is illegible, is defective on its face or has not been completed pursuant to Annex 3-B, or discovers that discrepancies exist between the Certificate of Origin and the written declaration, the importer will be granted a period of not less than five working days, but not exceeding 30 working days from the date of request by the customs authority to provide a copy of the replacement Certificate of Origin.
Article Article 3.24: Post-Importation Claims for Preferential Tariff Treatment
Where a good was originating when it was imported into the territory of a Party, but the importer of the good did not make a claim for preferential tariff treatment at the time of importation, that importer of the good may, no more than one year after the date on which the good was imported, make a claim for preferential tariff treatment and apply for a refund of any excess duties paid as a result of the good not having been accorded preferential tariff treatment:
a valid Certificate of Origin and, where appropriate, other evidence that the good qualifies as an originating good; and
such other documentation in relation to the importation of the good as the importing Party may require.
Section D: Cooperation and Origin Verification
Article Article 3.25: Denial of Preferential Tariff Treatment
Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, the customs authority of the importing Party may deny a claim for preferential tariff treatment or recover unpaid duties, in accordance with its laws and regulations, where:
the good does not meet the requirements of this Chapter; or
the importer of the good failed to comply with any of the relevant requirements of this Chapter for obtaining preferential tariff treatment; or
the competent authority of the importing Party has not received sufficient information to determine that the good is originating; or
the exporter or producer or competent authority of the exporting Party does not comply with the requirements of verification in accordance with Article 3.26.
If the customs authority of the importing Party denies a claim for preferential tariff treatment, it shall provide the decision in writing to the importer that includes the reasons for the decision.
Upon being communicated the grounds for denial of preferential tariff treatment, the importer may, within the period provided for in the custom laws of the importing Party, file an appeal against such decision with the appropriate authority under the customs laws and regulations of the importing Party.
Article Article 3.26: Verification
Subsequent verifications of Proofs of Origin may be carried out at random or whenever the customs authority of the importing Party has reasonable doubts as to the authenticity of such documents, the originating status of the goods concerned or the fulfilment of the other requirements of this Chapter.
For the purposes of implementing paragraph 1, the competent authority of the importing Party may conduct a verification by means of written requests for additional information from the exporter or producer, through the competent authority of the exporting Party.
If the customs authority of the importing Party decides to suspend the granting of preferential treatment to the goods concerned while awaiting the results of the verification, release of the goods shall be offered to the importer subject to any precautionary measures judged necessary.
The competent authority requesting the verification shall be informed of the results thereof as soon as possible. These results shall indicate clearly whether the documents are authentic and whether the goods
concerned may be considered as goods originating in a party and fulfil the other requirements of this Chapter.
If, in cases of reasonable doubt, there is no reply within six months of the date of the verification request or if the reply does not contain sufficient information to determine the authenticity of the document in question or the real origin of the goods, the requesting customs authority may refuse entitlement to the preferences.
If the competent authority of the importing Party is not satisfied with the results provided by competent authority of the exporting Party, the competent authority of the importing Party may conduct a verification in the exporting Party by means of:
written requests for additional information, documents, or explanations, to the competent authority of the exporting Party, concerning the results of the above verification. Such information shall be provided no later than 90 days from the receipt of such request from the customs authority of the importing Party; or
a verification visit to the premises of the exporter or producer in the exporting Party. To that purpose:
the customs authority of the importing Party shall deliver a written notification in advance to the competent authority of the exporting Party regarding the intention of the importing Party to conduct a visit at the exporter or the producer’s premises;
the exporting Party shall set a date of visit upon agreement from the exporter or the producer, the importing Party and the exporting Party. The visit shall be conducted no later than 90 days from the receipt of the written notification by the competent authority of the exporting Party;
officials from the exporting Party shall accompany and assist the officials from the importing Party in their visit and at the exporter's premises; and
the competent authority of the importing Party conducting the verification shall provide the competent authority of the exporting Party with a written determination of whether the goods qualify as originating goods within three months after the date the
verification visit was completed, including findings of fact and the legal basis for the determination.
Article Article 3.27: Third Party Invoicing
The customs authority in the importing Party shall not deny a claim for preferential tariff treatment only for the reason that the invoice was not issued by the exporter or producer of a good provided that the good meets the requirements in this Chapter. However, an Origin Declaration shall not be provided on an invoice or any other commercial document issued in a third party.
The exporter of the goods shall indicate “third party invoicing” and such information as name and country of the company issuing the invoice shall appear in in the appropriate field as detailed in Annex 3-B (Certificate of Origin) or, in the case of an origin declaration made out by an approved exporter as per Article 3.22, on the origin declaration
Article Article 3.28: Record Keeping Requirement
For the purposes of the verification process pursuant to Article 3.26, each Party shall require that:
the manufacturer, producer, or exporter retain, for a period not less than five years from the date of issuance of the Proof of Origin, or a longer period in accordance with its domestic laws and regulations, all supporting records necessary to prove that the good for which the Proof of Origin was issued was originating;
The importer shall retain, for a period not less than five years from the date of importation of the good, or a longer period in accordance with its domestic laws and regulations, all records to prove that the good for which preferential tariff treatment was claimed was originating; and
The competent authority2 retain, for a period not less than five years from the date of issuance of the Proof of Origin, or a longer period in accordance with its domestic laws and
2 The competent authority may delegate or grant authorization to a specific entity for the issuance of a Certificate of Origin. In such an instance, the competent authority shall provide notification to the other Party. In Korea, this responsibility has been conferred upon the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
regulations, all supporting records of the application for the Proof of Origin.
The records referred to in paragraph 1 may be maintained in any medium that allows for prompt retrieval, including but not limited to, digital, electronic, optical, magnetic, or written form.
Article Article 3.29: Confidentiality
All information related to the application of this Chapter communicated between the Parties shall be treated as confidential. It shall not be disclosed by the Parties authorities without express permission of the person or authority providing it.
The information referred to paragraph 1 shall not be disclosed without the specific permission of the person or government providing such information, except to extent that it may be required to be disclosed for law enforcement purposes or in the course of judicial proceedings.
Article Article 3.30: Contact Points
Each Party shall, within 30 days of the date of entry into force of this Agreement for that Party, designate one or more contact points within its competent authority for the implementation of this Chapter and notify the other Party of the contact details of that contact point or those contact points. Each Party shall promptly notify the other Party of any change to those contact details.
Article Article 3.31: Mutual Assistance
The competent authorities of both Parties shall provide each other before the agreement getting in force with the following:
a specimen impression of the official stamps and signatures used in their offices for the issue of Certificate of Origin;
name and address of the competent authorities responsible for verifying the Proof of Origin; and
secured web address for the QR codes and electronic Certificates authentications.
Section E: Consultation and Modifications
Article Article 3.32: Consultation and Modifications
The Parties shall consult and cooperate as appropriate through the Committee on Rules of Origin and Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation to:
ensure that this Chapter is applied in an effective and uniform manner, including the interpretation of this Chapter;
work on matters unsettled between the competent authorities requesting verification and the competent authorities carrying out verification; and
discuss necessary amendments to this Chapter, taking into account developments in technology, production processes, and other related matters.
Chapter FOUR. CUSTOMS PROCEDURES AND TRADE FACILITATION
Article Article 4.1: Definitions
For the purpose of this Chapter, the following definitions shall mean:
customs laws means provisions implemented by legislations and regulations concerning the importation, exportation, transit of goods, or any other customs procedures whether relating to customs duties, taxes or any other charges collected by the Customs Authority, or to measures for prohibition, restriction, or control enforced by the Customs Authority;
customs procedure means the measures applied by the customs authority of a Party to goods and to the means of transport that are subject to its customs laws and regulations;
persons means both natural and legal person, unless the context otherwise requires;
Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) means the agreement that further enhances customs cooperation and exchange of information between the Parties to secure and facilitate lawful trade which entered into force on the 16th of December 2015;
Authorized Economic Operator(s) (AEO) means the program which recognizes an operator involved in the international movement of goods in whatever function that has been approved by the national Customs Authority as complying with the World Customs Organization (WCO) or equivalent supply chain security standards; and
Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) means the arrangement between the Parties that mutually recognize AEO authorizations that has been properly granted by one of the Customs Authority which entered into force on the 1st of October 2018.
Article Article 4.2: Scope
This Chapter shall apply, in accordance with the Parties’ respective international obligations and their national laws, rules and regulations, to customs procedures required for clearance of goods traded between the Parties.
Article Article 4.3: General Provisions
Parties agree that their customs laws and procedures shall be transparent, non-discriminatory, consistent and avoid unnecessary procedural obstacles to trade.
Customs procedures of the Parties shall conform where possible, to the standards and recommended practices of the World Customs Organization.
The Customs Authority of each Party shall periodically review its customs procedures with a view to their further simplification and development to facilitate bilateral trade.
Article Article 4.4: Publication and Availability of Information
Each Party shall ensure that its laws, regulations, guidelines, procedures, and administrative rulings governing customs matters are promptly published through the Internet, in the English language, to the extent possible.
Each Party shall designate, establish, and maintain one or more inquiry points to address inquiries from interested persons pertaining to customs matters, and shall endeavour to make available publicly through electronic means, information concerning procedures for making such inquiries.
Nothing in this Article or in any part of this Agreement shall require any Party to publish law enforcement procedures and internal operational guidelines including those related to conducting risk analysis and targeting methodologies.
Each Party shall, to the extent practicable, and in a manner consistent with its domestic laws and legal system, ensure that new or amended laws and regulations of general application related to the movement, release, and clearance of goods, including goods in transit, are published or information on them made otherwise publicly available, as early as possible before their entry into force, so that interested parties have the opportunity to become acquainted with the new or amended laws and regulations. The Parties shall endeavor to make such
information and publications available in the English language, to the extent possible.
Article Article 4.5: Risk Management
The Parties shall adopt a risk management approach in their customs activities, based on their identified risk of goods, in order to facilitate the clearance of low risk consignments, while focusing their inspection activities on high-risk goods.
Article Article 4.6: Paperless Communications
For the purposes of facilitating bilateral exchange of international trade data and expediting procedures for the release of goods trade facilitation, the Parties shall endeavour to provide an electronic environment that supports business transactions between their respective Customs Authority and their trading entities.
The Parties shall exchange views and information on realising and promoting paperless communications between their respective Customs Authority and their trading entities.
The respective Customs Authority of the Parties, in implementing initiatives which provide for the use of paperless communications, shall take into account the methodologies agreed at the WCO.
Article Article 4.7: Advance Rulings
In accordance with its domestic laws and regulations, the Customs Authority of the Parties upon a request shall issue in a reasonable time-bound manner, not exceeding 90 days after a request, to a person, prior to the
importation of a good into their territory based on a request containing all the necessary information an advance ruling, in relation to:
tariff classification;
origin of goods;
the application of valuation criteria in accordance with the application of the provisions set forth in the Customs Valuation Agreement; and
such other matters as the Parties may agree.