UK legislation governs GSP preference claims and product "origin." We simplify and summarize the legislation.
Part 1 of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 (c. 22) ("the Act") says that chargeable goods should be seen as coming from a country or territory if they meet certain conditions.
These conditions are set out in Regulation 3.
This includes the requirement that the goods come from a "beneficiary country," which is an eligible developing country to which one or more of the frameworks in Part 3 of the Trade Preference Scheme (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1438) apply.
Rules of meet
Regulation 3 lists the requirements that must be met for goods listed in Column 2 of the table in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to be seen as coming from a beneficiary country.
The goods must
be completely made in that beneficiary country or, if they are made in more than one country or territory, that country or territory must be the last one where processing of the goods is an important part of making them (regulation 7 has more details on this).
meet the requirements in Regulations 4, 20(1), and, in the case of returned goods, 19. (see further below).
Proof of origin
Regulation 4 says what proof is needed for goods to be considered to have come from a beneficiary country.
Proof of origin checks
Regulation 5 says what notices HMRC Commissioners can send out about the origin of goods, how to provide and check proof of that origin, and an exporter's rights and responsibilities.
Wholly Obtained
Regulation 6 says when goods are considered to have been made in a country or territory in its entirety.
Processing
Regulation 7 says when the processing of goods is a significant step in making them, based on the conditions listed in Schedule 1, and when it is not.
How to figure out the average ex-works price
Regulation 8 says how to figure out the average ex-works price charged for goods sold and the average value of non-originating materials used when the table in Part 2 of Schedule 1 says that there can be no more than a certain amount of those materials.
Exception
Regulation 9 allows an exception for the use of certain materials up to certain weight, price, and percentage limits. This is done by looking at the table in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to see if the processing is an important step in the making of the product.
Packaging
Regulation 10 says when identical goods in a shipment have to be looked at separately and when the packaging has to be taken into account when figuring out where the goods came from.
Accessories, spare parts, and tools
Regulation 11 says that accessories, spare parts, and tools that are sent with the goods to which they belong should be seen as coming from the same place as the goods themselves.
Origin
Regulation 12 says that all the goods in a set should be considered to have come from a beneficiary country.
Disqualification
Regulation 13 lists the things that can't be used to figure out where goods come from, even if they were used to process or make the goods.
Temporary Derogation - Different rules apply to certain goods
Regulation 14 lists the reasons why the Secretary of State can give a temporary derogation to a country for certain goods and makes other rules about the derogation.
The UK can give a beneficiary country a temporary exemption from these regulations for certain goods if one or both of the reasons in are met. This is done by sending a written notice to the beneficiary country.
The reasons are:
the beneficiary country is temporarily unable to meet the conditions set out in these regulations for the goods to be seen as coming from that country; and
the beneficiary country needs time to meet those conditions.
A beneficiary country's request for a temporary derogation under paragraph (1) must:
be made in writing to the Secretary of State by the beneficiary country;
state the reasons listed above and provide evidence in support of the request for the derogation; and be sent to the Secretary of State by the beneficiary country.
The temporary exemption can only last as long as the effects of the circumstances that led to it or as long as the
Cumulation
Regulations 15 through 18 cover the different types of cumulation.
Cumulation is the system by which goods from a certain country or from the British Islands, a British overseas territory (except for Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia), the European Union, Norway, or Switzerland, in the case of cumulation under regulation 15, are considered to come from a beneficiary country when they are used to make other goods.
Extended Cumulation
Regulations 16 and 17 covers intra-regional and inter-regional cumulation between beneficiary countries in the same regional group and between beneficiary countries in different regional groups.
Schedule 3 lists the regional groups that will be used for this.
Returns
Regulation 19 has more rules about goods that are sent back to the exporting country or territory.
No Change
Regulation 20 says that goods can't be changed in any way if regulation 3's conditions are met and the goods are seen as coming from a beneficiary country.
Accounting segregation method
Regulation 21 allows the accounting segregation method to be used to manage exporters' stocks of fungible materials (as defined in that regulation).
See also
Documents
More information
UK GSP: Tariffs removals for many countries - a business guide Trade preferences reduce or remove rates of duty (tariffs) on imports from eligible developing countries into the UK. Eligible developing countries can get trade preferences through the UK Generalised Scheme of Preferences
Find out the rules to establish the country of origin of imported and exported goods and to help identify goods that qualify for lower or no customs duty.
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