(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 simple cutting;
(j) sifting, screening, sorting, classifying, grading or matching (including the making-up of sets of articles);
(k) simple placing in bottles, cans, flasks, bags, cases, boxes, fixing on cards or boards and all other simple packaging operations;
(l) affixing or printing marks, labels, logos and other like distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;
(m) simple mixing of products, whether or not of different kinds;
(n) simple assembly of parts of articles to constitute a complete article, or disassembly of products into parts;
(o) operations whose sole purpose is to ease port handling;
(p) a combination of two or more operations specified in sub-paragraphs (a) to (o); and
(q) slaughter of animals.
2. For the purposes of this Article:
(a) simple generally describes activities which need neither special skills nor special machines, apparatus or equipment specially produced or installed for carrying out the activity; and
(b) simple mixing generally describes activities which need neither special skills nor machines, apparatus or equipment especially produced or installed for carrying out the activity. However, simple mixing does not include chemical reaction.
Article 9. Direct Consignment
1. Preferential tariff treatment provided for in this Agreement shall be applied to goods which satisfy the requirements of this Chapter and are directly consigned between the Parties.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the following shall be considered as consigned directly from the exporting Party to the importing Party:
(a) goods that are transported without passing through the territory of a nonParty;
(b) goods whose transport involves transit through one or more non-Parties with or without trans-shipment or temporary storage of up to three (3) months in such non-Parties provided that:
(i) the goods do not enter into trade or commerce there;
(ii) the goods do not undergo any operation there other than unloading and reloading, or any operation required to keep them in good condition; and
(iii) the transit entry is justified for geographical reasons or by considerations related exclusively to transport requirements.
3. Compliance with the provisions set out in paragraph 2(b) shall be authenticated by the importer presenting to the customs administration of the importing Party either with customs documents of the non-Parties or with any other documents provided to the customs administration of the importing Party.
Article 10. Treatment of Packing
1. Where, for the purposes of assessing customs duties, a Party treats products separately from their packing, it may also, in respect of its imports consigned from the other Party, determine separately the origin of such packing.
2. Where paragraph 1 is not applied, packing shall be considered as forming a whole with the products and no part of any packing required for their transport or storage shall be considered as having been imported from a non-Party when determining the origin of the products as a whole.
Article 11. Accessories, Spare Parts and Tools
The origin of accessories, spare parts, tools and instructional or other information materials presented with the goods therewith shall be neglected in determining the origin of the goods, provided that such accessories, spare parts, tools and information materials are classified and collected customs duties with the goods by the importing Party.
Article 12. Fungible Products and Materials
In determining whether a good is an originating good, any interchangeable goods or materials shall be distinguished by:
(a) physical separation of the goods or materials; or
(b) an inventory management method recognised in the generally accepted accounting principles of the exporting Party.
Article 13. Neutral Elements
Unless otherwise provided, for the purpose of determining the origin of goods, the origin of the power and fuel, plant and equipment, or machines and tools used to obtain the goods, or the materials used in its manufacture which do not remain in the goods or form part of the goods, shall not be taken into account.
Article 14. Electronic Origin Data Exchange System
The Parties will develop an Electronic Origin Data Exchange System to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of this Chapter in a manner jointly determined by the Parties.
Article 15. Certificate of Origin
1. For the purpose of obtaining preferential tariff treatment in the other Party, a Certificate of Origin shall be issued by the authorised body of the exporting Party.
2. Each Party shall inform the customs administration of the other Party of the names and addresses of the authorised bodies issuing the Certificate of Origin and shall provide specimen impressions of official seals used by such authorised bodies. Any change in names, addresses or official seals shall be promptly notified to the other Party.
3. The Certificate of Origin shall be issued before or at the time of exportation whenever the goods to be exported can be considered originating in that Party subject to this Chapter. The exporter or producer shall submit a written application for the Certificate of Origin together with appropriate supporting documents proving that the products to be exported qualify for the issuance of a Certificate of Origin.
4. The Certificate of Origin, based on the formats as set out in Annex 3 (Formats of Certificates of Origin), shall be completed in the English language and duly signed and stamped, covering one or more goods under one consignment. A Certificate of Origin is applicable to a single importation of a good into the Party’s territory and shall remain valid for twelve (12) months from the date of issue.
5. In cases where a Certificate of Origin has not been issued before or at the time of exportation due to involuntary errors or omissions or other valid causes, or no later than three (3) days after the date of shipment, the Certificate of Origin may be issued retrospectively but not later than one (1) year from the date of shipment, bearing the words “ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY”.
6. In cases of theft, loss or accidental destruction of a Certificate of Origin, the exporter or producer may, within validity of the original Certificate of Origin, make a written request to the authorised bodies of the exporting Party to issue a certified copy, provided that the exporter or producer makes sure that the original copy previously issued has not been used. The certified copy shall bear the words “CERTIFIED TRUE COPY of the original Certificate of Origin number ___ dated ___”.
Article 16. Claims for Preferential Treatment
1. Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, each Party’s customs administration shall require an importer claiming preferential tariff treatment for a good to:
(a) make a written declaration before or at the time of importation, in accordance with its laws and regulations, that the good qualifies as an originating good;
(b) have a Certificate of Origin in his possession;
(c) submit, if required by the importing customs administration, the original Certificate of Origin (5) and such other documentation relating to the importation of the good; and
(d) promptly make a corrected declaration and pay any duties owed, where the importer has reason to believe that a Certificate of Origin, on which a declaration was based, contains information that is not correct.
2. A Party may deny preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement to an imported good if the importer fails to comply with any requirement of this Chapter.
3. Each Party shall provide that:
(a) where the origin of the product is not in doubt, the discovery of minor discrepancies between the statements made in the Certificate of Origin and those made in the documents submitted to the customs administration of the importing Party for the purpose of carrying out the formalities for importing the products, shall not ipso facto invalidate the Certificate of Origin, if it does in fact correspond to the same products presented; and
(b) for multiple items declared under the same Certificate of Origin, a problem encountered with one of the items listed shall not affect or delay the granting of preferential tariff treatment and customs clearance of the remaining items listed in the Certificate of Origin.
4. Where a Certificate of Origin is not provided at the time of importation of a good, the importing Party, upon the request of the importer, may impose the applied nonpreferential import customs duty or payment of a deposit equivalent to the full duties on that good as requested. In such a case, the importer will be entitled to a refund of any excess import customs duty or deposit paid if the payment refund claim is made within one (1) year from the date the good was imported, provided that the requirements in paragraph 1 are fulfilled.
Article 17. Verification of Origin
1. A Certificate of Origin is the basis for eligibility of preferential tariff treatment for goods imported from the exporting Party. In cases where verification is required, the customs administration of the importing Party may conduct verification by means of:
(a) written requests for additional information from the importer;
(b) written requests for additional information from the exporter or producer in the territory of the exporting Party;
(c) requests that the customs administration of the exporting Party verify the origin of a good; or
(d) such other procedures as the customs administrations of the Parties may jointly decide.
2. A verification process under paragraph 1 shall only be initiated when there are reasonable grounds to doubt the accuracy or authenticity of the origin of the goods concerned, and when the customs duty is sufficiently material to warrant the request.
3. A verification request to the customs administration of the exporting Party shall specify the reasons, and any documents and information obtained justifying the verification activities shall be forwarded to the customs administration of the requested Party.
4. To the extent allowed by its domestic laws and practices, the customs administration of the exporting Party shall fully cooperate in any action to verify eligibility.
5. The customs administration of the Party conducting the verification shall promptly inform the customs administration of the other Party of the outcome of the verification conducted.
Article 18. Waiver of Certificate of Origin
Each Party shall provide that a Certificate of Origin shall not be required for:
(a) a commercial importation of a good whose value does not exceed US$600 or its equivalent amount in the Party's currency, or such higher amount as it may establish, except that it may require that the invoice accompanying the importation include a statement certifying that the good qualifies as an originating good; or
(b) a non-commercial importation of a good whose value does not exceed US$600 or its equivalent amount in the Party's currency, or such higher amount as it may establish, provided that the importation does not form part of a series of importations that may reasonably be considered to have been undertaken or arranged for the purpose of avoiding the certification requirements.
Article 19. Record Keeping Requirement
1. Each Party shall require its producers, exporters and importers to retain origin documents for three (3) years.
2. Each Party shall ensure that its authorised bodies retain copies of Certificates of Origin and other documentary evidence of origin for three (3) years.
3. The records to be maintained may include electronic records and shall be maintained in accordance with the domestic laws and practices of each Party.
Article 20. Confidentiality
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to require a Party to furnish or allow access to confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement, or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, or which would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.
2. Each Party shall maintain, in accordance with its domestic laws, the confidentiality of information collected pursuant to this Chapter, including information obtained from the verification of Certificates of Origin, and shall protect that information from disclosure that could prejudice the competitive position of the persons providing the information.
3. Pursuant to Article 19 (Record Keeping Requirement), any information communicated between the Parties shall be treated as confidential and used for the validation of Certificates of Origin only.
Article 21. Third Party Invoicing
The importing Party shall accept Certificates of Origin in cases where the sales invoice is issued either by a company located in a non-Party or by an exporter in the exporting Party for the account of the said company, provided that the product meets the requirements of this Chapter.
Article 22. Committee on Rules of Origin
1. The Parties hereby establish a Committee on Rules of Origin under the FTA Joint Committee, composed of government representatives of each Party.
2. Unless the Parties otherwise agree, the Committee on Rules of Origin shall meet in regular session at least once a year, preferably together with the FTA Joint Committee meetings set out in paragraph 4 of Article 111 (Implementation and Review), to consider any matter arising under this Chapter to ensure that this Chapter is administered effectively, uniformly and consistently with the spirit and objectives of this Agreement, and shall cooperate in the administration of this Chapter, including but not limited to the following:
(a) keeping the Annexes of this Chapter updated on the basis of the transposition of the nomenclature established under the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System developed by the World Customs Organization;
(b) consulting to discuss possible amendments or modifications to this Chapter, taking into account developments in technology, production processes or other related matters, to be submitted to the FTA Joint Committee for approval;
(c) addressing technical issues related to the implementation of this Chapter and its Annexes, such as change in tariff classification, regional value content calculation, etc.; and
(d) addressing technical or implementation aspects of the Electronic Origin Data Exchange System.
Chapter 5. Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation
Article 1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) customs administration means:
(i) in relation to the People’s Republic of China, the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China; and
(ii) in relation to the Republic of Singapore, the Singapore Customs;
(b) customs law means the statutory and regulatory provisions relating to the importation, exportation, movement or storage of goods, the administration and enforcement of which are specifically charged to the customs administration of a Party, and any regulations made by the customs administration under its statutory powers;
(c) customs procedures means the treatment applied by the customs administration of each Party to goods and the means of transport, which are subject to that Party’s customs law;
(d) Customs Valuation Agreement means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, which is part of the WTO Agreement. and;
(e) means of transport means various types of vessels, vehicles and aircrafts which enter or leave the territory carrying persons and/or goods.
Article 2. Objectives
The objectives of this Chapter are to:
(a) ensure predictability, consistency and transparency in the application of the customs laws of the Parties;
(b) promote efficient, economical administration of customs procedures, and the expeditious clearance of goods;
(c) simplify and promote harmonisation of customs procedures of the Parties; and
(d) promote cooperation between the customs administrations of the Parties.
Article 3. Scope
1. This Chapter shall apply to customs procedures applied to goods traded between the Parties and to the movement of means of transport between the Parties.
2. This Chapter shall apply in accordance with the Parties’ respective international obligations and domestic laws and regulations, and within the competence and available resources of their respective customs administrations.
Article 4. Facilitation
1. Each Party shall ensure that its customs procedures and practices are predictable, consistent, transparent and trade facilitating while maintaining appropriate customs controls.
2. Each Party shall use efficient customs procedures with the aim to reduce costs and unnecessary delays in trade between both Parties, based, as appropriate, on international standards, in particular, trade-related instruments, standards and recommended practices of the World Customs Organisation, to which that Party is a contracting Party.
3. The customs administration of each Party shall periodically review its customs procedures with a view to exploring options for their simplification and the enhancement of mutually beneficial arrangements to facilitate international trade.
4. Each Party shall limit controls, formalities and the number of documents required in the context of trade in goods between the Parties to those necessary to ensure compliance with legal requirements.
5. Each Party shall administer, in a uniform, impartial and reasonable manner, its customs law relevant to trade between the Parties, and endeavour to ensure consistency across nationwide implementation of its customs law among its regional customs offices.
Article 5. Use of Automated Systems
1. The customs administrations shall use information technology to support customs operations, including sharing of best practices for the purposes of improving their customs procedures, where it is cost effective and efficient, particularly in the paperless trading context taking into account development in this area within the World Customs Organization (the “WCO”).
2. In using information technology to support customs operations, the customs administration of each Party shall take into account:
(a) their available infrastructure and capabilities; and
(b) the relevant standards such as the WCO Data Model and best practices recommended by the WCO.
Article 6. Single Window
1. Each Party shall establish or maintain a single window, enabling traders to submit documentation and/or data requirements for importation, exportation or transit of goods through a single entry point to the participating authorities or agencies. After the examination by the participating authorities or agencies of the documentation and/or data, the results shall be notified to the applicants through the single window in a timely manner.
2. In cases where documentation and/or data requirements have already been received through the single window, the same documentation and/or data requirements shall not be requested by participating authorities or agencies except in urgent circumstances and other limited exceptions which are made public.
3. Each Party shall, to the extent possible and practicable, use information technology to support its single window.
Article 7. Customs Valuation
The Parties shall apply Article VII of GATT 1994 and the Customs Valuation Agreement to goods traded between them.
Article 8. Tariff Classification
The Parties shall apply the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System to goods traded between them.
Article 9. Publication and Enquiry Points
1. Each Party shall publish, including on the Internet, its laws, regulations, and where applicable, administrative rules or procedures, of general application, relevant to trade in goods between the Parties.
2. Each Party shall designate and maintain one or more enquiry points to address enquiries from interested persons pertaining to customs matters, and shall make available on the Internet information concerning the procedures for making such inquiries.
3. For greater certainty, 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 methodology.
Article 10. Risk Management
1. The customs administration of each Party shall, based on risk management, determine which persons, goods or means of transport are to be examined and the extent of such examination.
2. The Parties shall adopt a risk management approach in determining the risk profile of goods to facilitate the clearance of low-risk consignments, while focusing its control measures on high-risk goods.
3. The Parties shall exchange best practices on risk management techniques used for customs purposes.
Article 11. Advance Rulings
1. Each Party shall issue an advance ruling, prior to the importation of a good into its territory, at the written request containing all necessary information, on an application of the exporter, importer or any person with a justifiable cause or a representative thereof (1), with respect to:
(a) origin of goods;
(b) tariff classification of a product; and
(c) the appropriate method or criteria, and the application thereof, to be used for determining the customs value under a particular set of facts, in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Valuation Agreement.
2. The importing Party shall issue an advance ruling within sixty (60) days on receipt of all necessary information.
3. The customs administration of each Party shall establish a validity period for an advance ruling of three (3) years from the date of its issuance.
4. The importing Party may modify or revoke an advance ruling:
(a) if the advance ruling was based on an error of fact;
(b) if there is a change in the material facts or circumstances on which the advance ruling was based;
(c) to conform with a change in its domestic laws, a judicial decision or a modification of this Chapter; or
(d) if incorrect information was provided or relevant information was withheld.
5. Each Party shall provide that any modification or revocation of an advance ruling shall be effective on the date on which the modification or revocation is issued, or on such later date as may be specified therein, and shall not be applied to importations of a good that have occurred prior to that date, unless the person to whom the advance ruling was issued has not acted in accordance with its terms and conditions.
Article 12. Penalties
Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures that provide for the imposition of civil, criminal or administrative penalties where appropriate, for violations of its laws and regulations relating to this Chapter in accordance with its domestic legislation.