5 April 2021

All the comfort of working with an Approved Exporter

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On September 2019, after an audit which aim is to demonstrate that the Company can give properly proof of the preferential origin of the exported goods, E.C.S. SRL obtained the “Approved Exporter status”.

E.C.S. SRL can declare in its invoices the details of the goods (preferential origin); this declaration substitutes the issuance of the EUR 1 movement certificate for the exports towards Countries that have a trade agreement with EU (South Korea, Chile, Serbia, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Israel).

What is Approved Exporter status

The status of Approved Exporter is a facility, provided for by EU customs legislation, which guarantees facilities in import and export with some third countries on the basis of agreements made between the EU and the aforementioned countries.

This status is issued by the customs authorities, which allow companies to be able to certify the preferential origin of the exported products directly on the invoice instead of through a Eur1 certificate.

The Approved Exporter status simplifies export formalities by allowing the Approved Exporter to certify the preferential origin himself by including a specific declaration on the invoice or another commercial document identifying the exported products.

Thus, the Approved Exporter is not obliged to apply upon each export for issue of a movement certificate EUR.1 or EUR-MED.

Countries with which the EU has stipulated origin agreements preferential are:

Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Faroe Islands (EFTA countries);
Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Israel, Palestine and the Gaza Strip, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria;
Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine;
Andorra, Ceuta and Melilla;
South Africa, APC States and Cariforum;
OCT (Overseas Countries and Territories) countries in some cases
Mexico, Chile, Peru and Colombia, Central American states;
South Korea.

E.C.S. in particular works with Algeria, Tunisia, morocco, Israel, Serbia, Chile and South Corea.

How to become Approved Exporter

The application for the Approved Exporter status is a one-off formality, where the exporter provides the competent customs office with the necessary information. Once the authorization is issued, it is valid for all exports of the covered originating goods during the period of the authorization.

The Approved Exporter is an entity who can make “certificates of preferential origin” – generally invoice declarations – which replace the normal EUR 1 certificate in trade with countries that allow this facility. The Authorization is issued by the competent Customs Office for the area and allows the company that owns it to benefit from reduced or zero duty.

The main conditions to obtain the approved exporter status are:

being established within the customs territory of the European Union;
providing the necessary assurances of the proper conduct of the procedure;
providing a guarantee;
declaring goods for a customs procedure at the latest on the day following the day the goods are presented.

Customs supervision must be possible at all times and any accompanying administrative measures must be in proportion to the economic needs.

Advantages of being Approved Exporter

The status of Approved Exporter has several advantages:

Elimination of waiting times at customs for the issue of the Eur1 Certificate
Cancellation of costs associated with the issue of the Eur1 certificate
Reduction of the risk of error, also punishable by law, in relation to any discrepancies between what is indicated on the invoice and what is reported in Eur1
Speed and simplification of the customs bureaucracy

How E.C.S. became an Approved Exporter

The European Union has established trade relations based on specific agreements with numerous third countries or groups of Countries.

By virtue of these agreements goods originating in the countries acceding to such agreements can

access the Community market, and vice versa, benefiting from the reduction or even exemption from duties, or the so-called “Preferential treatment”.

The products to be traded must have precise characteristics and be escorted by a document that justifies its origin preferential upon presentation to the customs authorities.

The documents that justify the preferential origin are alternatively:

Movement certificate EUR 1 for the countries that have signed up free trade agreements
FORM-A certificate of origin for goods from countries beneficiaries of the System of Generalized Preferences (GSP)
Declaration of origin on invoice signed by the subject exporter, accepted as an alternative to other proofs of origin (if required by the agreements).

For amounts exceeding € 6,000, proof of preferential origin can be provided, in addition to the EUR 1 form, also by the declaration on invoice issued by an exporter who has obtained from the Agency of Customs authorization for the status of Approved Exporter.

The status of authorized operator allows this simplification even when the value of the exported products is higher than € 6,000: for amounts lower than this figure, the declaration of preferential origin on the invoice is always allowed.

The company wishing to obtain this title of Approved Exporter must submit the application to the customs office responsible for the administrative headquarters of this.

In order to issue the certificate, we were required to:

demonstrate to carry out regular exports to countries for which recognition of the status of authorized exporter is requested. The number of exports is not relevant, the important is the regular frequency. But we were also asked to demonstrate the number of exports made in the last two years and details about the exported goods, including CN codes
be able to prove, at any time, the originating status of the goods to be exported. This assumes that our company is aware of the applicable rules of origin and is in possession of all supporting documents of origin
take full responsibility, in case of misuse of the declaration of origin if it is incorrect or used improperly
take responsibility that the person representing the company knows the rules of origin to meet the relevant legislation
keep any supporting document for at least three years from the declaration
present, at any time, at the request of the Customs Authority, any evidence and to accept to be checked at any time by the same Authority
provide sufficient guarantees on originating status of goods that relate to our past and present activities on the export as well as the ability to undergo any consequent obligation.

All the comfort of working with E.C.S.

In the past years at E.C.S. we have faced the procedures for recognition as Approved Exporter, Approved Place and the registration to REX – Registered Export System, with the clear goal of improving the service offered to our customers.

Thanks to the experience that our staff gained over the years and the in-depth knowledge of the subject we successfully obtained the Approved Exporter status and the registration to REX – Registered Export System in 2019, and Approved Place status in 2020.

We are now able to guarantee our customers all the comfort of Simplified Procedure managed by our internal operators. We can offer our customers:

Faster handling and fewer delays in logistic trade flows
Speed and simplification of the customs bureaucracy
Substantial time savings
Immediate handling of problems and emergencies