Trade Faciliatation and Promotion Division
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Self Certificate Information
History of Self Certificate Pilot Project In Brunei Darussalam
Implementing Agreement: The MOU between Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore on the Pilot Project for the Implementation of a Regional Self-Certification System (signed 30 August 2010 in Da Nang, Viet Nam).
Entry into force: 1 November 2010, upon deposit of instruments of ratification or letters of acceptance by all Participating Member States with the ASEAN Sec-Gen.
The Participating Member States of the 1st Self-Certification Pilot Project are Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
The company must be already exporting Brunei originating products to Malaysia or Singapore, or is expected to export goods within the foreseeable future.
The company must have a good track record (e.g. trust-worthiness) and may already be applying to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (as the issuing authority) for Certificate of Origin under the ATIGA / CEPT-AFTA.
The company must agree to share information on self-certified exports with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, aimed at analysis of utilisation of the self-certification project.
Application Form
This Application Form was used for interested companies.
Successful applicants were informed by letter of their successful application, which also stated their unique Certified Exporter Registration Number, as well as the conditions that successful applicants had to adhere to (i.e. keeping of accounts, records, inspection of factories/premises, etc.)
Administrative Procedures at the level of Receiving Authority
Administrative Procedures at the level of Issuing Authority
Verification process by the receiving authority
Minimal change to the verification process by the receiving authority.
Upon receipt of goods from a Certified Exporter, the Certified Exporter Registration Number is checked against the list of certified exporters received from either Singapore or Malaysia.
Once verified as a Certified Exporter, normal checks are carried out as relevant to assessing and determining the origin of the goods.
Goods are inspected (at random) and released.
In the cases of ambiguity, a Post-Clearance Audit can take place as needed, with the cooperation of the Customs Authorities of the exporting countries.
Certificate Of Origin
What is a Certificate of Origin?
The Certificate of Origin is an instrument to establish evidence on the origin of the goods imported into any country. The certificates are issued under the scope of the Rules of Origin of any importing country that grants such concessions to tariff or merely stipulates a non-preferential certificate without granting any tariff concession.
Types of Certificates of Origin:
1. Ordinary Certificate of Origin, is a type of document that can be used to satisfy your buyers that the products exported are wholly obtained or produced or manufactured in Brunei, depending on the Rules of Origin. Ordinary Form ( Form TRD 1).
2. Preferential Certificate of Origin, is a document in a designated format, which is used to claiming preferential treatment at lower or no tariff on trade between the signatory parties of a trading arrangement leading to a free trade area. It can also help improve the competitive edge of your exports under one of the available Schemes of Preference and Free Trade Agreements listed below:
Form D (ASEAN FREE TRADE AREA)
Form E (ASEAN– China Free Trade Area)
Form AK (ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area)
Form AANZ (ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area)
Form AJ (ASEAN-Japan Free Trade Area)
Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Agreement (TPSEP)
ASEAN-India Free Trade Area
Brunei-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (Bilateral Agreement)
3 Form A (Generalized System of Preferences (GSP))
Procedure for Applying Certificate of Origin
1. Registration of Company Factory/ Manufacturing Premises
A new company/manufacturer must be registered, which can be made through an application Form available from the Department of Trade Development (DTD), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, (MOFAT).
An inspection to the exporter’s/manufacturer’s factory will be arranged to see that it has the machinery and manpower to manufacture the product and keeps proper books and records of its operations.
Upon successful application, the exporter/manufacturer will receive a letter of Company Registration with a reference number. Companies granted pioneer status, will be registered automatically once they are applying for a Certificate of Origin and factory inspection may be exempted if their applications are supported by documentary evidence of their pioneer status.
2. Submission of the Manufacturing Cost Statement
Upon successful factory registration, the manufacturer can proceed to submit the manufacturing cost statement (MCS) of their product to the Department of Trade Development for verification that the goods in question meet the necessary rules of origin. The submission should be made in the respective formats for the application of a CO under the various Schemes of Preference and Free Trade Agreements. Usually, the MCS will only valid for 1 year but if there is any changes occurred within the MCS, exporter/ manufacturer should notify the Department of Trade Development with the new changes of their MCS.
Rules Of Origin
In determining whether a product is originating in Brunei Darussalam, an Ordinary Certificate of Origin or a Preferential Certificate of Origin can be issued if the exporter/manufacturer meets the relevant criteria of being locally produced / manufactured under the various Schemes of Preference and Free Trade Agreement.
Origin Criteria
To qualify that a product is originating in Brunei Darussalam, it must be either : Wholly Obtained in Brunei Darussalam, i.e. wholly produced or obtained in Brunei Darussalam without any imported materials or
Manufactured in Brunei Darussalam from materials and parts, which are either wholly or partially imported, according to the appropriate rules of origin and must not be made through a simple or minimal operations as stipulated in the relevant Free Trade Agreement.
Depending on the Free Trade Agreement or preferential scheme, for manufactured product, the rules of origin is either one or a combination of the following criteria:
The value-added or percentage criterion
Under the value added criterion, the origin is determined by the percentage of either the imported materials or the local materials plus the direct processing cost in relation to the ex-factory cost or ex-factory price of the product.
The Process Criterion
For this criterion, the imported materials must have undergone substantial transformation. This result in the final product qualifying to be classified under a different tariff classification, as distinct from those classified for the imported materials. There are however exception to this rule.
The following guidelines provide a quick overview of the various Rules of Origin that exporters/manufacturers in Brunei Darussalam need to meet in order to qualify for an Ordinary CO and a Preferential CO under various schemes of preferences and Free Trade Agreements.
1. Ordinary CO (TRD 1) and Other Schemes (e.g.. GSP)
Ordinary CO = Product must be wholly obtained or manufactured in Brunei with at least 25% of local content based on the ex-factory price of the finished product,
2. GSP = Each preference-giving country has its own percentage rule, for example:
Australia = 50 %
Canada = 60 % local content,
Japan/ EU = 50 % local content