General rules of origin

All goods that are imported into the EU have a general origin, known as a non-preferential origin. As indicated by the name, this origin does not confer any preferential treatment with regard to customs duties. Goods may have an origin that confers preferential treatment, but only if there is a free trade agreement or a unilateral commitment and if the provisions in that agreement or commitment Given that these are different sets of rules, the same goods originate from two different countries, where on is non-preferential and the other preferential.

You need to know the non-preferential origin of your goods to determine if it is subject to licensing provisions, anti-dumping duties, penalties and countervailing duties, or tariff quotas.

The rules for establishing the origin in the context of these trade policy measures are known as rules of origin. The general rules of origin may be found in EU customs legislation. According to the rules, a product may derive its origin in two ways - either it has been wholly obtained in one country or obtained in two or more countries, or using materials from several countries.

Goods wholly obtained in one country

Goods wholly obtained in a single country or territory are deemed to originate in that country or territory. Examples of goods that are wholly obtained in one country include the following:

• Live animals born and raised in the country and products derived from such live animals.
• Vegetable products that have been exclusively raised and harvested in the country.
• Mineral products that have been extracted in the country.

Goods obtained in two or more countries

Goods produced in more than one country are deemed to originate in the country or territory where the goods underwent their last, substantial and economically justified processing using equipment designed for that purpose. This processing should result in the manufacture of a new product or represent an important stage of manufacture. Processing is not considered economically justified if the purpose thereof is the avoidance of anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties or penalties. To determine the origin it is important to know the origin of every component of the final product.

Minimal processing

A product must be more than minimally processed to derive its origin from processing. The following are examples of processing that does not change the origin of a product:

• Simple assembly of parts of products to constitute a complete product (assembly of a product).
• Operations to ensure the preservation of products in good condition during transport and storage.
• Placing in bottles, cans, flasks, bags, cases, boxes.
• Affixing marks or labels.
• Putting up goods in sets or ensembles.
• Reloading the goods.

Find more information about wholly obtained goods and minimal processing in articles 31 and 34 of the UCC Delegated Regulation.

Origins of goods not found in Annex 22-01

To establish the origin of your goods you first need to classify them. If you know the HS number of your goods (the first four digits of the commodity code) you can verify if it is included in appendix 20-01 of the UCC Delegated Act. For these goods, the EU has established the minimum processing required to be deemed to originate from a particular country.

There are two types of rules in Annex 22-01, primary rules and subsidiary rules. If the criteria for primary rule for the HS number are not met, apply the subsidiary chapter rule to determine the country of origin. You can find more information on how to apply the rules in the introductory notes in the beginning of the Annex.

Check if your goods appear in Annex 22-01 and which rules apply to your goods.

Origins of goods not found in Annex 22-01

There are no legally binding rules for goods not found in 22-01 regarding the amount of processing required to deem the goods as originating from a specific country. This means that an assessment needs to be made in each case to determine the country in which their last, substantial and economically justified processing occurred.

As guidelines when determining the origin of goods, the European Commission has published list rules. This should be read in conjunction with the introductory notes, which contain definitions and guidelines for interpreting the list rules.

Read the introductory notes to guiding table list rules.

Guiding table list rules.