Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce

The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) as the authorising body in the UK for Certificates of Origin has decided that plain paper United Kingdom Certificates of Origin will be issued from the 1^st April 2023 in the UK. Over 40% of Certificates of Origin issued worldwide are now printed on plain paper. As we move into a digital future, the BCC wants the Chambers to be in the vanguard working with the Government to achieve its digital ambition for a paperless border by 2025. The move to plain paper Certificates of Origin is the first step in this journey.

From this date all applications will have to be made via our online platform, e-Cert. If you do not have an e-Cert account, please contact our Export Docs Helpdesk who will be able to assist. You will not be able to use any existing blank UK Certificates of Origin that you may hold in stock from 1^st April 2023 because the ICC is changing its logo and any certificates with the old logo on will, unfortunately, not be accepted in overseas markets.

Certificates of Origin printed via the online platform have additional security features such as the QR code allowing anyone with the Certificate of Origin to scan the QR code and see an online version of the Certificate of Origin so they can check the version they have has not been amended or falsified. Anyone with the Certificate of Origin will also be able to verify the authenticity of the Certificate via the ICC verification website (https://certificates.iccwbo.org). Increasingly Customs authorities worldwide are looking to be able to verify Certificates of Origin online.

This will also simplify the printing of Certificates of Origin by exporters as they will no longer need to insert a blank certificate correctly into the printer before printing.

FAQS- Plain Paper UK Certificates of Origin

What’s changing?

On 31 March 2023, pre-printed UK Certificate of Origin forms will be withdrawn from use in the United Kingdom.

From 1 April 2023, your Certificates of Origin will still be returned to you online in the normal way, for you to print on plain paper using a colour printer if you require a hard copy, but the Certificate of Origin pre-printed 3-part form will no longer be required.

What’s the reason for the change?

The UK Government is committed to achieving its digital ambitions for trade by 2025 and the British Chambers of Commerce are supporting this move. Over 40% of Certificates of Origin issued worldwide are now printed on plain paper, and the UK is to follow this global trend.

What are the benefits?

✓ SAVE on stationery – no need to purchase Certificate of Origin blank forms

✓ SAVE on postage and packing charges – no more charges for sending the forms to you

✓ SAVE on resubmission fees when your Certificate of Origin form is spoilt by your printer

✓ SAVE time – no more waiting for your pre-ordered forms to arrive before you can print your certificate, or time spent aligning your printer settings

Will plain paper certificates be accepted against a Letter of Credit by the bank?

Yes. The guidelines the banks work to allow plain paper certificates. These guidelines are published in Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits 600 (UCP) and International Standard Banking Practice for the Examination of Documents Under UCP 600.It is recommended that you stamp your plain paper certificate as an ‘original’, and any additional copies required under the terms of the credit should be stamped ‘copy’ before you present your documents to the bank.

If as stated, the old UK Certificates are no longer valid after the 01.04.23 will they still be accepted in the destination countries and if not will the chamber be issuing replacement certificates free of charge to cover those already in transit during the change over period?

If the Certificates are dated before 01.04.23 they should still be accepted

What does the Chamber recommend us to use for the remaining 60% of the world which are not using plain paper certificates or for countries which will not accept electronic signatures?

All countries should accept the Certificates of Origin that have been digitally signed that you submit as express applications.  If they want a copy which has the Chambers original stamp and signature, then you would need to submit via e-Cert as a standard application, and we will print this for you.  Most of the time it is your customers who are insisting on original stamps and signatures; however, we highly recommend you ask your customer to provide you with an official statement or evidence from their customs authorities clearly stating that digital signatures will not be accepted. We can then feedback this to our governing body to bring this up with the authorities in that country.

Please advise how much the new plain paper certificates will cost so that we can plan our pricing structures in advance.

There is no stationery to purchase anymore, so all you need is to use plain white paper and a colour printer. We recommend the use of good quality paper.