IPGN2300 - General principles: preference certificates and certifying authorities

• Form A (certificate of origin) - where Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) treatment is claimed.
• EUR1/EUR-MED (movement certificate) - for all other preferences.

These documents are completed by the overseas supplier/manufacturer and presented to an approved government office (known as the certifying authority) which must stamp and endorse the certificate before it can be forwarded to the UK customer.

The Tariff Preference UoE hold a compendium of all valid overseas stamps used for authenticating preference certificates. Officers unable to resolve a stamp query locally must contact the Tariff Preference UoE for advice.

Some countries are beneficiaries of more than one preference scheme, eg DCTS and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT). In these cases, the type of certificate presented determines which preference may be claimed, eg if a Form A is presented only DCTS can be claimed.