CNCI seminar on Registered Exporter system

The Ceylon National Chamber of Industries, a pioneering chamber for industries in the country, has organised an awareness training program on Registered Exporter System (REX), which will be conducted by the Department of Commerce. The Department of Commerce is the competent authority in Sri Lanka for issuing Certificates of Origin (CoO) under all FTAs and GSP schemes.  As at date, there are around 3000 Sri Lankan exporters who benefit from the EU GSP scheme. 

In order to claim the EU GSP duty concessions, Certificates of Origins (CoO) or Form ‘A’ issued by the Department of Commerce should be submitted. Currently, these CoOs are issued manually after verifying the rules of origin.

In January 2017, the EU introduced Registered Exporter System (REX) under the suggested reforms in EU Regulation No. 1063/2010 and it is applicable to all EU-GSP beneficiary countries. The effective date of implementing the REX system in Sri Lanka is 1 January 2018, with a transition period ending 31 December 2018.  

The REX system is a self- certification of origin of goods. Therefore, instead of the CoO or the Form ‘A’ issued by the Department of Commerce, the exporter will prepare a Statement on Origin (SoO) on the commercial invoice for each consignment. 

The Department of Commerce is vested with the responsibility of registering and monitoring the system. Therefore, it is compulsory for exporters to register with the Department of Commerce to obtain a REX number to be eligible to make a Statement on Origin (SoO). The REX number is issued after examining the documentations and inspecting the operations of the exporter. The Department of Commerce has already started registering eligible exporters under the REX system.  

The awareness seminar has been organised by the CNCI in order to give a comprehensive understanding about the new system, which will be conducted by the officials of the Department of Commerce at Mahaweli Centre on 23 February.  You may contact CNCI secretariat through [email protected] for further details and registration.