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Transition period REX system extended until December 31, 2020

The Registered Exporter system (the REX system) is a system of certification of origin of goods based on a principle of self-certification. The attestation of origin replaces Form A and certifies that goods originate in developing or less developed countries with which the EU has concluded the GSP (General System of Preferences). The attestation of origin makes it possible to obtain a discount or exemption on import duties.

Nowadays, the REX system is also increasingly used in trade agreements between the EU and other countries such as Japan and Canada.

The origin of goods is declared by the exporter himself by means of so-called origin declarations. If a consignment exceeds €6,000 and the exporter wishes to make out a declaration of origin, he must be registered by his competent authorities in a database. The exporter becomes a 'registered exporter'.

Attestation of origin

The exporter shall place an attestation of origin (invoice declaration) on the invoice or any other commercial document. This does not need to be signed. However, the goods must comply with the preferential rules of origin.

The attestation of origin must be made out in English, French or Spanish. The text of the Attestation of Origin differs from the invoice declarations under other commercial agreements. An attestation of origin is valid for 12 months from the date of issue.

Dates of application of the REX system

The transition to the REX system started on 1 January 2017. The global transition period would last until 30 June 2020 at the latest.

All GSP beneficiary countries had the possibility until 30 June 2016 to notify the European Commission if they preferred to start the application of the REX system later, i.e. as from 1 January 2018 or as from 1 January 2019.

Transition period

There were 3 different dates for the application of the REX system: January 1, 2017, January 1, 2018 or January 1, 2019. The first set of beneficiary countries contains all GSP beneficiary countries which did not notify a postponement of the application of the REX system or which directly confirmed they wanted to start applying the REX system from 2017. The second and third sets of beneficiary countries contains the countries according to the date they notified to the European Commission.

When a beneficiary country starts the application of the REX system, the system of origin certification with certificates of origin Form A continues to apply in parallel during 12 months. In case those 12 months are insufficient for the beneficiary country to abandon the system with certificates of origin Form A, an extension of 6 additional months is possible.

Extension relating to COVID-19

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some beneficiary countries of the third group (2019) are facing serious difficulties to respect the 30 June 2020 time-limit for the application of the REX system.

Those countries in which the REX system could not be deployed or used due to the pandemic may benefit from another extension of the transition period to 31 December 2020, as established by Regulation (EU) 2020/750. The beneficiary countries willing to benefit from that possibility should notify DG TAXUD (TAXUD-UNIT-E5@ec.europa.eu) in writing by 15 July 2020 at the latest, providing:

  • an explanation why an extension of the transition period is necessary due to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • a work plan containing detailed information on how the notifying country intends to fully apply the REX system by 31 December 2020

Would you like to know more about Export documents service?

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Source: European Commission

25 Jun 2020 at 10:00 am