The main goal of certification of origin is obtaining a preferential customs mode on the basis of certificates proving the country of origin of goods.

Customs preferences are widely used as a tariff and non-tariff regulation tool for foreign trade of the Republic of Belarus. With a view to integrating into the world society, Belarus applies regulations to determine origin of goods, which regulations have been unified with international norms.

Similar to international norms, in the Republic of Belarus the country of origin is determined on the basis of three main elements: compliance with criteria of origin, terms of shipment, and presentation of documental evidence of compliance with the preceding two elements.

The terms and criteria of country of origin determination have been established by Ordinance of the Council of Ministers No. 1743 dated December 16, 2002 “On Determination of Country of Origin of Goods Transferred through the Frontier of the Republic of Belarus”.

For the purposes of country of origin determination the goods shall be conventionally divided into two groups:

• goods completely manufactured in the country;
• goods exposed to “sufficient processing or reprocessing”.

Completely manufactured goods shall be deemed:

• treasures of the soil extracted from the country’s bowels;
• phytogenic products grown or gathered in the country;
• live animals born and raised in the country;
• products derived in the country from animals raised therein;
• products derived from hunting and fishing;
• marine fishing products got by the marine vessel belonging to, or leased/freighted by, the country;
• waste and scrap (secondary raw materials) obtained as the result of industrial or any other processing operations;
• high-tech products obtained in the open space at spaceships belonging to, and leased by, the country.

Should any materials and components originating from other countries be used for manufacture of any goods, origin of such goods shall be determined in accordance with one of the following “sufficient processing or reprocessing” criteria:

• change of commodity position (change of commodity classification code) under Commodity Classification for Foreign Economic Activities of the Republic of Belarus at the level of any of the initial four digits, occurred as the result of reprocessing;
• performance of industrial or other manufacturing operations sufficient for regarding the goods as originating from the country where such operations have been performed;
• ad valorem share rule, when percent value of used materials originating from any other countries shall not exceed 50% of the price for supplied goods on EXW terms.

If the Republic of Belarus is a member of any international treaties in the field of commercial-economic relations, which treaties establish for their member-states the rules of the country of origin determination, procedure of issue and confirmation of certificates of origin, – then the provisions of such international treaties shall be applied to determination of the country of origin and to issue and confirmation of certificates of origin.

One of the important international treaties of the Republic of Belarus is an Agreement on free economic area creation under the international treaty signed by CIS member-states on April 15, 1994. Preferential modes shall be used with a view to developing industrial production, deepening regional cooperation, and forming civilized commercial relations between the Agreement member-states with respect to any goods originating from their territories. The country of origin shall be determined in accordance with the Rules of origin of goods determination approved by the Resolution of the Council of Heads of the Governments of CIS member-states in wording of November 30, 2000. Such Rules have come into effect in respect of the Republic of Belarus after their ratification by the Government in August 1, 2002 (Law of the Republic of Belarus 125-3 dated July 17, 2002).

Hence, in accordance with the above Rules, any goods originating from the Republic of Belarus shall be granted preferential mode throughout the territory of the Russian Federation and other CIS member-states. Submission of CT-1 form certificate of origin shall be required to confirm the country of origin of any goods transported within CIS.

Since January 1993, European Community has included the Republic of Belarus into the list of beneficiary countries, i.e. the countries that enjoy preferences of the Generalized System of Preferences.

Thereupon, the certificate of origin of any goods exported to any European Union member-states shall be confirmed on the basis of requirements established by Council Regulation, EC, No. 2454/93 with amendments entered by Council Regulations, EC, Nos. 12/97, 46/1999,№1602/2000 and 980/2005.

‘A’ form certificate of origin shall be the document confirming the origin of any goods exported to EC member-states.

The terms and criteria of origin of goods stated by the above documents are similar to those established by the national rules of the Republic of Belarus.

In compliance with Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 1743 dated December 16, 2002, origin of goods from the Republic of Belarus shall be confirmed by a certificate issued by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its structural subdivisions:

• "Minsk Department of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry" Unitary Enterprise (UE “Minsk Department of BelTPP” – 65 , Y. Kolas Street, 220113 Minsk, tel. 266-04-73;
• UE "Brest BelTPP Branch"– 14, Kuibyshev Street, 224016 Brest, tel. 21-78-85;
• UE"Vitebsk BelTPPBranch"– 4, Kosmonavtov Street, 210001 Vitebsk, tel. 36-30-52;
• UE "Gomel BelTPP Branch" – 21, Iryninskaya Street, 246017 Gomel, tel. 53-03-90;
• UE "Grodno BelTPP Branch"– 23, Sovetskaya Street, 230023 Grodno, tel. 74-35-50;
• UE "Mogilev BelTPP Branch" – Pervomayskaya Street, 212030 Mogilev, House of Soviets,
  tel. 32-68-50

Authenticity of any certificates of origin issued in the Republic of Belarus shall be confirmed by the customs authorities in compliance with the procedure established by the State Customs Committee.