Release of Notification of Department of Foreign Trade for Self Certification under ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA)

(34/2011)
 

Further to our Flash Report # 21/2011 regarding the Self Certification (SC) scheme under ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), the Department of Foreign Trade (DFT) released the Notification on criteria, procedure and condition for registration of self certification under ATIGA scheme on 2 November 2011.

Under this Notification, a company or manufacturer who wishes to be registered as a “certified exporter” must meet the following criteria:

1. Operate in the export business;
2. have a good historical record of obtaining Form Ds or obtain Certification by the DFT of the ATIGA rules of origin verification; and
3. neither be suspended from issuing Form Ds nor have lost the right to apply for Form Ds from the DFT

Interested companies are required to submit an application with supporting documents (including certificate of company registration, copy of ID card/ passport of the authorised person, etc.). In the event that the company is qualified as a certified exporter, the DFT will issue a registeration number to the company for declaring the country of origin in the invoice or relevant documents (e.g. billing statement, delivery order and packing list). The approval period for a certified exporter is 2 years. However, it can be extended every 2 years provided that the company submits the application and supporting documents within 3 months prior to the date of expiration.

Following the release of the official Notification, companies in Thailand can now apply for the status of Certified Exporter. Therefore, companies with a lot of intra-ASEAN trade should consider whether it is worthwhile for them to sign up for this Self Certificate scheme. Despite the benefits that this scheme could bring to exporters, companies should be aware that record keeping will become even more important as it is expected that the authorities will increase origin audits.

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