Classification of goods is not only important to determine the customs duty rate, but also to issue a certificate of origin.

Rules of origin always contain a list of working or processing required to be carried out on non-originating materials in order that the product manufactured can obtain originating status. This is kwon as the ‘list rules’.

This list is based on the Harmonized System (HS) and contains for each position the appropriate conditions.

The result is that if your HS code is not correct, you are not going to apply the correct rule of origin and then there is the risk that also the origin of your product is not correct.

But there is also another aspect that needs to be taken into consideration. In using the list rules, it is important to establish which version of the HS is being applied.

If you just got a BTI for your product based on the HS version 2022, it does not mean that your product was classified in this same HS code in a previous version of the HS. The problem is that in most of the cases the list rule is based on an older version of the HS.

For example, CETA uses the HS 2012, but the EU-UK TCA uses the HS 2017.

It means that economic operators need to check every time the correlation tables between the different versions of the HS to be sure to apply the correct rule of origin, but they should also know which version of the HS is used for each preferential origin rules.

Moreover, could be that you are going to use an HS code to export your goods and a different one for the rules of origin.

Do you want to know more about the origin of goods? Contact our Team at info@customseasy.com.