2022 Free Trade Agreements
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Effective from 1st of January 2022
Australia will form part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RECP), a regional free trade agreement that will build on our economic partnerships with 14 other Indo-Pacific countries.
RCEP comes into force 1 January 2022 following ratification by Australia, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
When in force for all 15 signatories, RCEP will be the world’s largest free trade agreement (FTA) and include nine of Australia’s top 15 trading partners.
A “Proof of Origin” must be held at the time the goods are entered to claim the preferential tariff rates. It must be in writing or any other medium, including electronic format and can be a Certificate of Origin (COO) or a Declaration of Origin (DOO) as outlined below.
The COO / DOO must specify that the goods are originating and meets the requirements of the FTA and contain the minimum information requirements as set out in Annex 3B to the FTA.
- A Certificate of Origin issued by an issuing body in accordance with Article 3.17 (Certificate of Origin);
- A Declaration of Origin by an approved exporter in accordance with subparagraph 1(a) of Article 3.18. We understand approved exporter status may be granted to Trusted Traders identified by their ABN.
- A Declaration of Origin by an exporter or producer in accordance with subparagraph 1(b) of Article 3.18
The agreement provides that Australia, Brunei Darussalam, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam will allow type (c) DOO no later than 10 years after their respective dates of entry into force of this Agreement.
Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar will allow type (c) DOO no later than 20 years after their respective dates of entry into force of this Agreement.
Proof of Origin documents are valid for one year from the time they are issued. COO can be issued retroactively, but it must be within one year of the date of shipment.
Back-to-back COO and DOO are permitted under similar circumstances to Australia’s other FTAs.
We have summarized the requirements of each type of Proof of Origin in a downloadable file, enabling quick distribution to suppliers.
Proof of Origin Documentation Requirements:
Please enquire with our team for any further queries relating to the RECP.