The “Eur.1” Certificate

The EUR.1 movement certificate is used to certify that goods originate from a country of export that enjoys preferential EU trade arrangements. The European Union has concluded preferential trade agreements with several countries. Preferential trade agreements grant reciprocal preferential arrangements, including lower or, in certain cases, zero tariffs.

The applicant for the EUR.1 (the exporter) must be able to prove the origin of the goods, which is usually done by presenting the supplier invoice which states the origin of the product. This is called the “supplier’s declaration” (SD). The exporter then fills in the EUR.1 application form, and hands it over to the relevant authorities (usually the customs office) along with the supplier’s invoice. The authorities certify the form with a stamp and send it back to the exporter.

Instead of a movement certificate, a simple declaration of origin on the invoice can be provided by the manufacturer or sender of the goods instead of a proper movement certificate: this is called an invoice declaration. This is an accepted alternative to the EUR.1 only if the number of items with EU-preferential origin in a single shipment does not exceed a certain amount/value (for a non-approved exporter). If it involves an approved exporter, this value (limit) does not apply.

An EUR.1 Certificate once issued, remains valid for between 4 and 10 months.

(the EUR.1 movement certificate = Die Warenverkehrsbescheinigung EUR.1 preferential trade agreement = Zollpräferenzabkommen reciprocal preferential arrangements = gegenseitige Zollpräferenzen application form: Antragsformular Invoice declaration = Rechnungserklärung exceed = überschreiten approved exporter: ermächtiger Ausführer)