The Certificate of Origin is a document that is used in international trade that confirms both the country of origin and the country of production of the goods concerned. The Certificate of Origin is applied for by the manufacturers themselves. Certificates of origin are usually issued by the relevant chambers of industry and commerce in the respective country.

Certificates of origin are required by some recipient countries in international trade and are intended to serve various purposes. These include the control of the flow of goods and the implementation of anti-dumping measures. The Certificate of Origin are important for monitoring restrictions and quotas when importing goods.

Difference between preferential and non-preferential

A distinction is made between preferential and non-preferential certificates of origin. Non-preferential certificates of origin are primarily issued and documented.

This ensures that the goods are not affected by a so-called customs preference with regards to a special bilateral or multilateral agreement. Preferential certificates of origin, on the other hand, guarantee that the goods belong to such an agreement, which means that they are required by customs formalities in order to ultimately be able to allocate the goods or products.

Certificates of origin for US aircraft imports

The so-called Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin is one of the special certificates of origin. This is required for new vehicles that have not yet been registered in the USA. However, this certificate of origin has the same function as the Certificate of Title, which is used for registered vehicles that are already in use. The Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin is required for the shipment of the vehicles in the USA as well as import and registration here in Germany. The vehicle cannot be registered in Germany without these documents, so it is essential to take care of this in advance. Nevertheless, these certificates of origin are checked during transport.