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Form D certificate of origin: how it cuts ASEAN duty

A form D certificate of origin is the paper that proves your goods were made in an ASEAN country, so the buyer can ask for the lower import duty set by the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, often called ATIGA. The form is used in trade between ASEAN member states. The customs office of the importing country decides, in box 4, whether the lower rate is given.

What the form D certificate of origin says

Form D is a combined declaration and certificate. The exporter declares that the goods were produced in one country and meet the origin rules of the agreement for the country they are going to. The certifying authority then states that, on the basis of the control it carried out, the exporter's declaration is correct.

The top of the form asks for the exporter, the buyer, the means of transport and the route. The middle lists each item, the marks and numbers on the packages, a description of the goods and the invoice number and date. Box 8 gives the reason the goods count as local. Box 11 holds the exporter's declaration. Box 12 holds the official certification.

The form is printed as an original, a duplicate and a triplicate, and each one carries a reference number.

Ten member states accept the form: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Sources: ASEAN Secretariat, ATIGA Annex 7, Form D and Overleaf Notes 1 and 7 (asean.org).

Who needs a form D certificate of origin

The exporter or producer fills in the declaration. The form may name the manufacturer as the exporter. The buyer needs the form too, because it goes with the goods to the importing country, where customs uses box 4 to mark whether preferential treatment is given.

The overleaf notes set three main conditions. The product must fall within a description of products that get lower duty in the country of destination. The goods must meet the consignment conditions, which means direct consignment under Article 32 of the agreement. And they must meet the origin criteria in Chapter 3 of the agreement.

Each item must qualify on its own. The notes warn about this when similar articles of different sizes or spare parts are sent together. If one line fails the test, do not list it as if it passed.

Sources: ASEAN Secretariat, ATIGA Annex 7, Form D and Overleaf Notes 2, 4, 7 and 8 (asean.org).

How to fill in the origin box

Box 8 is where most questions arise. The exporter or producer writes the origin criterion the goods meet. The overleaf notes give a table:

  • "WO" for goods wholly obtained in the exporting state, such as crops grown there, under Article 27.
  • A percentage, for example "40%", for goods that meet the regional value content rule under Article 28.
  • The actual tariff rule, for example "CC", "CTH" or "CTSH", for goods that change tariff classification.
  • "SP" for goods that meet a specific process rule.
  • A combination rule written out, for example "CTSH + 35%".
  • "PC" with a percentage, for example "PC 25%", for partial cumulation.

Describe the goods in enough detail for a customs officer to identify them. Add the name of the maker and any trade mark. Use the tariff code of the importing country in the ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature, known as the AHTN.

Sources: ASEAN Secretariat, ATIGA Annex 7, Form D and Overleaf Notes 3, 5 and 6 (asean.org).

Special cases and the tick boxes in box 13

Box 13 has tick boxes for special cases. Each one has a note that tells you what else to write on the form.

Third country invoicing: if a company in a third country issues the invoice, tick the box and write that company's name and country in box 7. Back-to-back certificate: tick the box and give the reference number and date of the original form D in box 7. Exhibitions: if goods go abroad for an exhibition and are sold during or after it, tick the box and write the name and address of the exhibition in box 2.

Issued retroactively: in exceptional cases, because of involuntary errors or omissions or other valid causes, a form D may be issued after the fact. The box must be ticked.

Accumulation: if goods made in one member state are used in another member state as materials for finished goods, tick the accumulation box. Partial cumulation: if the regional value content of the material is under 40 percent, a form may be issued for cumulation purposes, and the partial cumulation box is ticked. De minimis: if a good misses the required change in tariff classification but the non-qualifying part is no more than 10 percent of the FOB value, tick the de minimis box.

Sources: ASEAN Secretariat, ATIGA Annex 7, Form D and Overleaf Notes 11 to 17 (asean.org).

FOB values and multiple items

For goods exported from and imported by Cambodia, Indonesia and Lao PDR, where the regional value content test is used, the exporter gives the FOB value of the goods in box 9. FOB means free on board, the value of the goods loaded on the ship.

If one form lists several items and the importing customs office does not give preferential treatment to some of them, it says so in box 4. It also circles or marks those item numbers in box 5.

A short checklist helps before you ship. Confirm the buyer's country is one of the ten that accept the form. Check the tariff code against the importer's list. Make sure every item meets an origin rule by itself. Pick the right entry for box 8. Tick any special box in box 13. Rules differ in the details between countries, so ask your local issuing authority before the first shipment about the steps for getting the form certified.

Sources: ASEAN Secretariat, ATIGA Annex 7, Form D and Overleaf Notes 8, 9, 10 and 16 (asean.org).

Sources

  • ASEAN Secretariat, ATIGA Annex 7, Form D and Overleaf Notes: asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/ATIGA-07-Annex-7-Form-D-and-Overleaf-Notes-AFTAC-33.pdf