Compliance & Responsibility

Under many modern free trade agreements — including those between the EU and its trading partners — the responsibility for declaring preferential origin rests with the exporter, not a government body or chamber of commerce.

This is known as self-certification. The exporter makes the origin declaration directly on the commercial document or a separate Statement of Origin, and is legally accountable for its accuracy.

Customs authorities in the importing country may verify these declarations at any time, including years after the goods were cleared. If the exporter cannot substantiate their claim, the preferential tariff treatment may be revoked, and penalties or duty recovery may follow.

As the exporter, you are required to:

• Verify that your goods meet the applicable rules of origin before making a declaration.
• Retain all supporting evidence — supplier declarations, production records, cost calculations — for the period required by the relevant regulation (typically three to five years).
• Present this evidence to customs authorities upon request.
• Correct or withdraw declarations if you become aware that the origin claim was incorrect.

No software tool, consultant, or third party can relieve you of this legal obligation.

OriginDocsPro is a documentation and record-keeping tool. It helps you organise, prepare, and retain the records needed to support your origin declarations.

It does not make origin determinations on your behalf. It does not interact with customs authorities. It does not guarantee that your goods qualify for preferential treatment.

The decisions recorded in OriginDocsPro are your decisions. The evidence uploaded is your evidence. The statements generated reflect the information you have provided and confirmed.