CÔNG TY TNHH THƯƠNG MẠI & DỊCH VỤ LOGISTICS FASTTRANS

PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN (C/O)

The Certificate of Origin (C/O) in English is a crucial document that indicates the origin of goods, specifying the territory or country where the goods were produced.

Understanding the content and proper usage of C/O can greatly assist importers and exporters in complying with current regulations and protecting their interests with tax incentives. Therefore, C/O is a type of document related to the origin of exported goods.

What is the origin of goods?

The origin of goods refers to the country, group of countries, or territory where the entire goods are produced or where the final basic processing stage is carried out in the case of multiple countries, groups of countries, or territories participating in the production process.

(Article 3, Decree No. 31/2018/ND-CP)

Thus, "the origin of goods" is only determined when the goods have one of the following two factors:

1. The goods, including all components making it up, are produced entirely in one country.
2. The goods undergo the final basic processing stage in a specific country, and the determination of these final basic factors is the responsibility of specialized management agencies.

If you are an importing party, the most important factor is a valid C/O, which helps you enjoy import tax incentives. This part can vary from a few percent to several tens of percent, making the reduced tax amount quite significant. Therefore, customs officials scrutinize thoroughly when you go through customs procedures for batches with C/O.

So when preparing documents, whether you, as the importing party, do it yourself or through a customs declaration service company, you need to check and cross-reference the data to avoid being rejected with C/O or having to verify C/O, which can be very time-consuming.

For exporters, if you are exporting, the role of C/O is only according to the provisions in the contract with the foreign buyer. If you are the exporter, the role of C/O is not significant, and sometimes it adds to the procedure.

From the State management perspective, the certificate of origin has some roles related to anti-dumping policies, countervailing policies, trade statistics, and maintaining quota systems. Perhaps few importing parties are concerned about this issue, so I won't discuss it further here.

You can also refer to Circular 05/2018/TT-BCT, which regulates the rules of origin of goods and the declaration of origin for exported and imported goods.

Types of Certificate of Origin Forms

By mid-2022, Vietnam has participated in 17 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Correspondingly, there are models of certificates of origin to enjoy special tax rates. In addition, there are regular C/O forms that confirm the origin of goods without granting special tax advantages.

Therefore, you will find many types of C/O; depending on each specific batch of goods (type of goods, from/to which country...), you will determine which type of form you need.

Common types include:

1. C/O Form A (Used for exported goods of Vietnam)
2. C/O Form B (Not offering preferences for exported goods of Vietnam)
3. C/O Form D (For ASEAN countries)
4. C/O Form E (ASEAN - China)
5. C/O Form EAV (Vietnam - Eurasian Economic Union)
6. C/O Form AK (ASEAN - South Korea), Form KV (Vietnam - South Korea)
7. C/O Form AJ (ASEAN - Japan)
8. C/O Form AI (ASEAN - India)
9. C/O Form AANZ (ASEAN - Australia - New Zealand)
10. C/O Form VC (Vietnam - Chile)
11. C/O Form S (Vietnam - Laos; Vietnam - Cambodia)

Where to Obtain C/O?

Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is authorized to issue C/O. This ministry delegates this authority to certain agencies and organizations. Each agency is assigned specific types of C/O, as follows:

- Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI): issues C/O Form A, B...
- Departments of Export Management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade: issue C/O Form D, E, AK...

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. We are always ready to answer any queries.
Hotline: (+84) 862 677 887 or through the website: (www.fasttrans.com.vn).