RR:IA 003906 ch
Director, NAFTA Center
P.O. Box 610088
Dallas, Texas 75261-0088
RE: Corrected NAFTA Certificates of Origin; 19 CFR 181.23(c).
Dear Madam:
This is in response to your memorandum, dated December 5,
1995, requesting internal advice concerning corrected NAFTA
Certificates of Origin under Customs Regulation 181.22 (19 CFR
181.22).
FACTS:
The Certificate of Origin (Customs Form 434) is used to
certify that a good qualifies as an originating good for purposes
of preferential tariff treatment under the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The form includes fields for the name
and address of the producer, importer and exporter; the blanket
period for which preferential treatment is claimed; a description
of goods; the preference criterion; the Harmonized System tariff
classification number; the country of origin; the authorized
signature; the date of signature.
ISSUES:
Whether a port director must allow an importer to correct
the contents of Customs Form 434 pursuant to 19 CFR 181.23(c)?
Whether such a Certificate must be signed by the exporter?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Corrected Certificates
The Certificate of Origin must be used to claim preferential
tariff treatment under the NAFTA. 19 CFR 181.11. According to
19 CFR 181.22(b), an importer claiming preferential treatment
shall provide, at the request of the port director, a copy of
each Certificate of Origin pertaining to the goods in question.
In addition, the Regulation states in part that the Certificate
of Origin must be on Customs Form 434 or other format approved by
the Office of Trade Operations and must be signed by the exporter
or the exporter's authorized agent.
19 CFR 181.22(c) states in pertinent part that:
A Certificate of Origin shall be accepted by the port
director as valid for the purpose set forth in 181.11(a) of
this part, provided that the Certificate is completed,
signed and dated in accordance with the requirements of
paragraph (b) of this section. If the port director
determines that a Certificate is illegible or defective or
has not been completed in accordance with paragraph (b) of
this section, the importer shall be given a period of not
less than five working days to submit a corrected
Certificate. Acceptance of a Certificate will result in the
granting of preferential tariff treatment to the imported
good unless, in connection with an origin verification
initiated under subpart G of this part or based on a pattern
of conduct within the meaning of 181.76(b) of this part, the
port director determines that the imported good does not
qualify as an originating good or should not be accorded
such treatment for any other reason as specifically provided
for elsewhere in this part. (Emphasis supplied).
Under the terms of 19 CFR 181.23(c), the port director must allow
an importer at least five working days to cure a Certificate of
Origin that has not been completed in accordance with 19 CFR
181.23(b). As noted above, 19 CFR 181.23(b) requires that the
Certificate of Origin must be on Customs Form 434 or other
approved format. Accordingly, the port director must allow the
importer at least five working days to correct Customs Form 434,
including the data fields contained therein. Further, pursuant
to 19 CFR 181.23(c), the port director must accept the corrected
Form 434 as valid unless he or she determines that the imported
good does not qualify as originating for reasons provided for
elsewhere in Part 181 of the Regulations.
Signing the Corrected Certificate
Article 501, subsection (3), of the NAFTA states in
pertinent part that each Party shall:
(a) require an exporter in its territory to complete and
sign a Certificate of Origin for any exportation of a
good for which an importer may claim preferential
tariff treatment on importation of the good into the
territory of another Party; and
(b) provide that where an exporter in its territory is not
the producer of the good, the exporter may complete and
sign a Certificate on the basis of
(i) its knowledge of whether the good qualifies as an
originating good,
(ii) its reasonable reliance on the producer's written
representation that the good qualifies as an
originating good, or
(iii) a completed and signed Certificate for the
good voluntarily provided to the exporter by
the producer.
(Emphasis supplied).
Thus, the NAFTA requires an exporter to sign a NAFTA Certificate
of Origin. In many instances, the exporter will be the producer
of the good. However, when this is not the case the producer is
not permitted to sign the Certificate for the exporter. Rather,
the exporter must sign the form on the basis of his or her
knowledge of whether the good qualifies as an originating good or
upon the producer's written declaration to that effect.
19 CFR 181.22(b)(2) reflects subsection 501(3) of the NAFTA
and states that the Certificate of Origin "shall be signed by the
exporter or by the exporter's authorized agent having knowledge
of the relevant facts." In view of the foregoing, only the
exporter or the exporter's authorized agent may sign a corrected
Certificate of Origin.
HOLDING:
The port director must allow an importer at least five days
to correct the contents of the NAFTA Certificate of Origin
(Customs Form 434). A corrected Certificate must be signed by
the exporter or the exporter's authorized agent.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification Appeals Division