Critical EU GSP Plus listing opens for Lankan exporters

• Department of Commerce meets international deadline, unveils GSP listing call on new website
• ‘Good work by Department of Commerce’ - Bathiudeen
• More than 3,500 Lankan GSP Plus exporters to benefit
• Mandatory listing for EU GSP exporters, closes end-2018
• 2016 SL exports to the EU surges to $ 3.1 billion

Sri Lanka’s first ever European Union-mandated GSP exporter listing call went live on the Internet yesterday. 

“I commend the Department of Commerce under our Ministry for setting up this system and operationalising exactly on the first working day of 2018. We thank the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) for their support too,” said Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen yesterday.

Minister Bathiudeen was addressing the launch of the Sri Lanka Department of Commerce’s revamped website doc.gov.lk, which for the first time also integrates the REX registration system which will become a mandatory requirement for all exporters to the EU who want to claim the EU’s GSP Plus benefits. Joining the event were Secretary to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce K.D.N. Ranjan Ashoka and Director General of Commerce Sonali Wijeratne. 

Sri Lanka’s total exports to the EU increased to $ 3.1 billion in 2016 from 2015’s $ 3 billion. Usually around 60% of this is made up of apparel exports.  

The REX registration system will become a mandatory requirement for all exporters to the EU who want to claim the EU GSP Plus benefits –the zero tariff on their exports. Approximately 3,500 Lankan exporters are expected to register before the end of this year online through the doc.gov.lk site. This registration is not required for Lankan exporters to the EU who do not want to claim GSP Plus benefits. It is also not required of Lankan exporters who export to the EU and want to claim GSP Plus benefits but whose exports are valued at less than € 6,000. 

REX registration is free of charge. Once the online documents are submitted, printed copies of the submission too should be sent to the Department of Commerce by the exporter, after which the Department in Colombo, having conducted site and factory visits of the exporting company, will decide on awarding the unique ID number called REX Number (in the LK-REX [TIN] format), which the exporter will hold as a verification number over the long term and will be able to provide to any EU importer for verification at the importer’s end. 

This REX number is issued for long-term use and each registered exporter will receive their own REX number once they qualify through the Department of Commerce, the deciding authority for Sri Lanka. Already 30 Lankan exporters to the EU have made their submissions and the department is processing them at present. Exporters who want EU GSP benefits cannot submit applications after 31 December 2018 and therefore all such exporters need to complete and obtain their REX numbers within this year. Exporters to the EU who qualify and earn a REX number are not required to submit Certificates of Origin (COO) but are only required to submit a Statement of Origin for their exports.      

All details on REX registration are accessible online at the revamped Department of Commerce website (doc.gov.lk>Our Services>REX System Registration).

According to the Department of Commerce there are more than 5,000 Lankan exporters registered with the department to export under various trade agreements and facilities (such as FTAs, APTA, SAFTA, GSP Plus, etc.) and 3,500 of them are exporting to the EU under the GSP Plus facility. They are now called to complete their listing on or before 31 December 2018, totally free of charge.