2. Each Certificate of Origin shall bear a unique serial reference number separately given by each place or office of issuance.
3. A Certificate of Origin shall bear an official seal of the competent authority. The official seal may be applied electronically.
4. In case the official seal is applied electronically, an authentication mechanism, such as QR code or a secured website, shall be included in the certificate for the certificate to be considered as an original copy.
Article 3.21. Electronic Data Origin Exchange System
For the purposes of Article 3.19.2 (b) the Parties shall endeavour to develop an electronic system for origin infonnation exchange to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of this Chapter particularly on transmission of electronic certificate of origin.
Article 3.22. Origin Declaration
1. For the purposes of Article 3.19.2(b), the Parties shall, within one year from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, implement provisions allowing each competent authority to recognise an origin declaration made by an approved exporter.
2. The customs 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 Appendix 3C of this Agreement, irrespective of the value of the goods concerned.
3. An exporter seeking such authorisation must offer to the satisfaction of the customs authorities all guarantees necessary to verify the originating status of the goods as well as the fulfilment of the other requirements of this Chapter.
4. The customs authorities of the exporting Party may grant the status of approved exporter, subject to any conditions which they consider appropriate.
5. The customs authorities of the exporting Party shall share or publish the list of approved exporters and periodically update it.
6. An Origin Declaration shall be made out by the Approved Exporter by typing, stamping or printing on the invoice, the delivery note or another commercial document, as deemed valid by the customs authority of the importing Party, which describe the goods concerned in such a detail so as to render it identifiable. Origin Declaration shall bear the authorisation number of the Approved Exporter, the name and the original signature of the person signing the declaration of origin in manuscript. An Origin Declaration may be made out by the Approved Exporter retrospectively within one year from the date of shipment.
7. The approved exporter making out an Origin Declaration shall be prepared to submit at any time, at the request of the customs authorities of the exporting Party, all appropriate documents proving the originating status of the goods concerned, as well as the fulfilment of the other requirements of this Chapter.
Article 3.23. Application and Examination of Application for a Certificate of Origin
1. Certificates of Origin shall be issued by the competent authority of the exporting Party, either upon an electronic application or an application in paper fonn, having been made by the exporter or under the exporter's responsibility by his or her authorised representative, in accordance with the domestic regulations of the exporting Party.
2. The exporter 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 fulfilment of the other requirements of this Chapter.
3. The competent authority issuing Certificates of Origin shall take any steps necessary to verify the originating status of the goods and the fulfilment of the other requirements of this Chapter. For this purpose, it shall have the right to call for any evidence and to carry out any inspection of the exporter's accounting records, or any other check considered appropriate related to origin and according to the procedures of its domestic legislation.
Article 3.24. Certificate of Origin Issued Retrospectively
1. The Certificate of Origin shall be issued by the competent authority of the exporting Party prior to or at the time of shipment.
2. In exceptional cases where a Certificate of Origin has not been issued prior to or at the time of shipment, due to involuntary errors or omissions or other valid causes, the Certificate of Origin may be issued retrospectively within I year from the date of shipment, in which case it is necessary to indicate "ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY" in the appropriate field as detailed in Appendix 38 of this Agreement.
3. 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 under customs control. This shall be subject to the submission to the customs authorities of the importing Party, within six 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 3.16.
Article 3.25. Loss of the Certificate of Origin
1. In the event of theft, loss, or destruction of a Certificate of Origin, the manufacturer, producer, exporter, or its authorised representative may apply to the Competent Authority, which issued it, for a certified true copy of the original Certificate of Origin to be made out on the basis of the export documents in possession of the competent authority.
2. The certified true copy of the original Certificate of Origin shall be endorsed with an official signature and seal and bear the words "CERTIFIED TRUE COPY" and the date of issuance of the original Certificate of Origin in appropriate field as detailed in Appendix 38 of this Agreement. The certified true copy of a Certificate of Origin shall be issued within the same validity period of the original Certificate of Origin.
Article 3.26. Importation by Installments
Where, at the request of the importer and on the conditions laid down by the customs authorities of the importing Party, dismantled or non-assembled products within the meaning of General Rule 2(a) of the HS are imported by installments, a single Proof of Origin for such products shall be submitted to the customs authorities upon importation of the first installment.
Article 3.27. Treatment of Erroneous Declaration In the Certificate of Origin
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 Appendix 38 of this Agreement. The validity of the replacement certificate will be the same as the original.
Article 3.28. Treatment of Minor Discrepancies
1. 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.
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.
Section D. SECTION D: COOPERATION AND ORIGIN VERIFICATION
Article 3.29. Denial of Preferential Tariff Treatment
1. 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:
(a) the importer, if the goods fail or have failed to comply with any of the relevant requirements of this Chapter for obtaining preferential tariff treatment;
(b) the competent or customs authority of the importing Party has not received reply from the exporting Party about verification request within the time period set out in Article 3.31.4, or if the reply does not contain sufficient information regarding-the authenticity of the Proof of Origin or originating status of the goods;
(c) the reply of the exporting Party to a verification request detenn ines that the goods were not originating or that the Proof of Origin was not authentic.
2. When the customs authority of the importing Party denies a claim for preferential tariff treatment, it shalI provide the decision in writing to the importer that includes the reasons for the decision, if requested by the impo!ier.
Article 3.30. Notification and Cooperation
1. The Parties shalI, within 30 days prior to the date of entry into force of this Agreement:
(a) provide each other with samples of Certificates of Origin including the information on the security features, specimen impressions of stamps used by the competent authority for the issue of certificates of origin, the models of the authorisation numbers granted to approved exporters, and the addresses of the customs authorities responsible for verificarion of origin; and
(b) 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 thase contact details.
2. In order to ensure the proper application of this Chapter, the Parties shall assist each other, through their competent or customs authorities, in checking the authenticity of the certificates of origin and the origin declarations and the correctness of the information given in those documents.
Article 3.31. Verification of Proofs of Origin
1. Subsequent verifications of Proofs of Origin shall 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.
2. For the purposes of implementing the provisions of paragraph l of this Article, the customs authority or the competent authority of the importing Party, as the case may be, shall send a verification request to the competent authority of the exporting Party by e-mail or any other means that records receipt, including a copy of the Proof of Origin and the reasons for the inquiry. Any other document and information obtained suggesting that the infonnation given on the Proof of Origin is incorrect shall be sent in support of the request for verification.
3. The verification shall be carried out by the competent authority of the exporting Party. For this purpose, they shall have the right to carry out inspections at the exporter's or producer's premises, to call for any evidence, check the exporter's and the producer's accounting records, or any other check considered appropriate related to origin and according to the procedures of its domestic legislation.
4. The customs authority or the competent authority of the importing Party, as the case may be, requesting the verification shall be informed of the results of this verification within six months of the date of the receipt of the verification request. These results must indicate clearly whether the documents are authentic and whether the goods concerned can be considered as originating and fulfil the other requirements of this Chapter.
5. If the customs authority or the competent authority 0fthe importing Party, as the case may be, receives no reply wrthin the established period or if the reply doe not contain sufficient information regarding the authenticity of the Proof of Origin or the originating status of the goods, or if the reply determines that the good were not originating or that the Proofs of Origin were not authentic, the customs authority or the competent authority, as the case may be may deny preferenrial tariff treatment to the goods covered by the Proof of Origin which is subject to verification.
Article 3.32. Record Keeping Requirement
1. For the purposes of the verification process pursuant to Article 3.31, each Party shall require that:
(a) The manufacturer, producer, or exporter retain. for a period not less than three years from the date of issuance of the Proof of Origin, or a longer period in accordance with its domestic laws and regulations, alI supporting records necessary to prove that the goods for which the Proof of Origin was issued were originating; and
(b) The importers shall retain, for a period not less than three years from the date of importation of the goods, or a longer period in accordance with its domestic laws and regulations, all records to prove that the goods for which preferential tariff treatment was claimed were originating; and
(c) The competent authorityor issuing authority retain, for a period not less than three 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 of the application for the Proof of Origin.
2. 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 3.33. Confidentiality
1. 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.
2. If a Party receives information designated as confidential in accordance with paragraph 1, the Party receiving the information may nevertheless use or disclose the infornation for law enforcement purposes or in the course of judicial proceedings, in accordance with the legislation of the Party.
Article 3.34. Subcommittee on Rules of Origin
1. A Subcommittee on Rules of Origin (hereinafter referred to as the "Subcommittee") is hereby established, consisting of representatives of each Party. The Subcommittee shall meet, in person or by any other technological means as determined by the Parties, at such times as agreed by the Parties and when they deem it appropriate, to consider matters arising under this Chapter.
2. The Subcommittee may consider any matter arising under this Chapter.
3. In relation to a matter referred to in paragraph 2, the functions of the Subcommittee may include:
(a) monitoring the implementation and operation of this Chapter;
(b) revising the Product Specific Rules (PSR) list in Appendix 3A, on the basis of the transposition of the HS or at the request of either Party;
(c) making recommendations to the Joint Committee with regards to matters of its competence;
(d) developing "Explanatory Notes" for the interpretation and application of this Chapter; and
(e) carrying out other functions as may be assigned by the Joint Committee or agreed by the Parties.
4. The Joint Committee shall establish the rules of working procedures of the Subcommittee.
SECTION E: CONSULTATION AND MODIFICATIONS
Article 3.25. Consultation and Modifications
The Parties shall consult and cooperate as appropriate through the Joint Committee to:
(a) ensure that this Chapter is applied in an effective and uniform manner; and
(b) discuss necessary amendments to this Chapter, taking into account developments in technology, production processes, and other related matters.
Chapter 4. SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
Article 4.1. Definitions
1. The definitions in Annex A of the SPS Agreement are incorporated into this Chapter and shall fonn part of this Chapter, mutatis mutandis.
2. In addition, for the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) Competent authority means a government body of each Party responsible for measures and matters referred to in this Chapter;
(b) Emergency measure means a sanitary or phytosanitary measure that is applied by an importing Party to the other Party to address an urgent problem of human, animal or plant life or health protection that arises or threaten to arise in the Party applying the measure; and
(c) Contact point means the government body of a Party that is responsible for the implementation of this Chapter.
Article 4.2. Objectives
The objectives of this Chapter are to:
(a) protect human, animal, or plant life or health in the territories of the Parties while facilitating trade between them;
(b) enhance the collaboration on the implementation of the SPS Agreement;
(c) strengthen communication, consultation, and cooperation between the Parties, and particularly between the Parties' competent authorities;
(d) ensure that sanitary and phytosanitary measures implemented by a Party do not create unjustified barriers to trade;
(e) enhance transparency in and understanding of the application of each Party's sanitary and phytosanitary measures; and
(f) encourage the development and adoption of science-based international standards, guidelines, and recommendations, and promote their implementation by the Parties.
Article 4.3. Scope
This Chapter shall apply to all sanitary and phytosanitary measures ofa Party that may, directly or indirectly, affect trade between the Parties.
Article 4.4. General Provisions
1. The Parties affinn their rights and obligations under the SPS Agreement.
2. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit the rights and obligations that each Party has under the SPS Agreement. 3. No Party shall have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 15 (Dispute Settlement) with respect to the obligations described in this Chapter.
Article 4.5. Competent Authorities and Contact Points
1. To facilitate communication on matters covered by this Chapter, each Party shall notify the other Party of its competent authority and contact point within 30 days from the entry into force of this Agreement.
2. Each Party shall infonn the other Party of any change in competent authority or in its contact point within a reasonable period of time.
Article 4.6. Equivalence
1. The Parties recognise that the principle of equivalence, as provided for under Article 4 of the SPS Agreement, has mutual benefits for both exporting and importing countries.
2. The Parties shall follow the procedures for detennining the equivalence of SPS measures and standards developed by the WTO SPS Committee and relevant international standard setting bodies in accordance with Annex A of the SPS Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
3. Compliance by an exported product with SPS measures or standard of the exporting Party that has been accepted as equivalent to SPS measures and standards of the importing Party shall not remove the need for that product to comply with any other relevant mandatory requirements of the importing Party.
Article 4.7. Risk Assessment
1. Parties shall ensure that any SPS measure is applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal, or plant life or health, is based on scientific principles, and is not maintained without sufficient scientific evidence.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, where relevant scientific evidence is insufficient, a Member may provisionally adopt SPS measures on the basis of available pertinent infonnation, including that from relevant international organisations as well as from SPS measures applied by other Members. In such circumstances the importing Party shall seek to obtain the additional infonnation necessary and taking into account available scientific evidence for a more objective assessment of risk and review the SPS measure within a reasonable period of time. To this end, the importing Party may request scientific and other relevant infonnation from the exporting Party.
Article 4.8. Emergency Measures
1 . If a Party adopts an emergency measure that is necessary for the protection of human, animal, or plant life or health, the Party shall promptly notify the measure in accordance with paragraph
2. If a Party adopts an emergency measure, it shall review that measure periodically and make available the results of that review to the other Party upon request.
2. The notification referred to in paragraph I shall be made: (a) by using the WTO SPS notification submission system, if the Party is a WTO Member; and
(b) to the contact point designated under Article 4.5, if the Party is not a Member of the WTO.
Article 4.9. Transparency
1. The Parties recognise the value oftran:,parency in the adoption and application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and the importance of sharing infonnation about such measures on an ongoing basis.
2. In implementing this Article, each Party should take into account relevant guidance of the WTO SPS Committee and international standards, guidelines, and recommendations.
3. Each Party shall promptly notify the oiher Party of a proposed sanitary or phytosanitary measure that may have an effect on the trade of the other Party:
(a) by using the WTO SPS notification submission system, if the Party is a WTO Member; and
(b) to the contact point designated under Article 4.5, if the Party is not a Member of the WTO.
4. A Party shall provide to the other Party, on request, copies of sanitary and phytosanitary measures related to the importation of goods into that Party's territory.
Article 4.10. Cooperation
1. The Parties shall explore opportunities for further cooperation, collaboration, and infonnation exchange between them on sanitary and phytosanitary matters of mutual interest, consistent with this Chapter. The Parties shall cooperate to facilitate the implementation of this Chapter.
2. The Parties shall cooperate and may jointly identify work on sanitary and phytosanitary matters with the goal of eliminating unnecessary obstacles to trade between the Parties.
Chapter 5. CHAPTERS TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
Article 5.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter, the definitions shall be those contained in Annex I of the TBT Agreement.
Article 5.2. Objectives
The objective of this Chapter is to facilitate trade, including by eliminating unnecessary technical barriers to trade, enhancing transparency, and promoting greater regulatory cooperation and good regulatory practices.
Article 5.3. Scope
1. This Chapter shall apply to the preparation, adoption, and application of all standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures of central level government bodies that may affect trade in goods between the Parties.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, this Chapter shall not apply to:
(a) purchasing specifications prepared by a governmental body for its production or consumption requirements which are covered by Chapter 10 (Government Procurement); or
(b) sanitary or phytosanitary measures which are covered by Chapter 4 (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures).
Article 5.4. Affirmation of the TBT Agreement
The Parties affirm their existing rights and obligations with respect to each other under the TBT Agreement.
Article 5.5. International Standards
1. Each Party shall use relevant international standards, guides, and recommendations, to the extent provided in Articles 2.4 and 5.4 of the TBT Agreement, as a basis for its technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
2. In determining whether an international standard, guide, or recommendation within the meaning of Articles 2 and 5 and Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement exists, each Party shall base its determination on the principles set out in the "Decision of the Committee on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations with relation to Articles 2, 5 and Annex 3 of the Agreement", adopted on 13 November 2000 by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (Annex 2 to PART I of G/TBT/l/Revl3), and any subsequent version thereof.
3. The Parties shall encourage cooperation between their respective national standardising organisations in areas of mutual interest, in the context of their participation in international standardising bodies, to ensure that international standards developed within such organisations are trade facilitating and do not create unnecessary obstacles to international trade.
Article 5.6. Technical Regulations
1. The Parties shall use international standards as a basis for preparing their technical regulations, unless those international standards are ineffective or inappropriate for achieving the legitimate objective pursued. Each Party shall, upon request of the other Party, provide its reasons for not having used international standards as a basis for preparing its technical regulations.
2. Each Party shall give positive consideration to a request by the other Party to negotiate arrangements for achieving the equivalence of technical regulations.
3. Each Party shall, upon request of the other Party, explain the reasons why it has not accepted a request by the other Party to negotiate such arrangements.
4. The Parties shall strengthen communications and coordination with each other, where appropriate, in the context of discussions on the equivalence of technical regulations and related issues in international fora, such as the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade.
Article 5.7. Conformity Assessment Procedures
1. The Parties recognise that, depending on the specific sectors involved, a broad range of mechanisms exists to facilitate the acceptance in a Party's territory of the results of conformity assessment procedures conducted in the other Party's territory. Such mechanisms may include:
(a) recognising existing international multilateral recognition agreements and arrangements among conformity assessment bodies;
(b) promoting mutual recognition of conformity assessment results by the other Party, through recognising the other Party's designation of conformity assessment bodies;
(c) encouraging voluntary arrangements between conformity assessment bodies in the territory of each Party;
(d) accepting a supplier's declaration of conformity where appropriate;
(e) harmonising criteria for the designation of conformity assessment bodies, including accreditation procedures; or
(f) other mechanisms as mutually agreed by the Parties.
2. Each Party shall ensure, whenever possible, that the results of conformity assessment procedures conducted in the territory of the other Party are accepted, even when those procedures differ from its own, provided that those procedures offer a satisfactory assurance of applicable technical regulations or standards equivalent to its own procedures. Where a Party does not accept the results of a conformity assessment procedure conducted in the territory of the other Party, it shall, on request of the other Party, explain the reasons for its decision.
3. In order to enhance confidence in the consistent reliability of conformity assessment results, the Parties may consult on matters such as the technical competence of the conformity assessment bodies involved.
4. Each Party shall give pos:tive consideration to a request by the other Party to negotiate agreements or arrangements for the mutual recognition of the results of their respective conformity assessment procedures. The Parties shall consider the possibility of negotiating agreements or arrangements for mutual recognition of the results of their respective conformity assessment procedures in areas mutually agreed upon.