General rules to determine the origin of your products for trade between the UK and EU

Use these general provisions to help you determine the origin of your products.

These general provisions set out the general rules for determining the origin of products traded under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. They cover the basic ideas, of origin and how origin should be determined in specific instances, such as:

They need to be read with the product-specific rule for a given product.

It is important that you are familiar with all the general provisions from the text of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TC), however this guidance explains some of the most important and more complex elements and gives examples to show how to apply them.

These include:

There are additional provisions that are not covered in this guidance. You can find more information on all the general provisions in the full Trade and Cooperation Agreement text.

The relevant Trade and Cooperation Agreement Articles are:

Cumulation is an important part of modern free trade agreements. It provides a system that allows originating products from one party to be treated as if they are originating in another when deciding if a goods is are able to meet a product-specific rule.

For example, this means products or materials originating in the EU can be considered as originating in the UK if those products are further processed in the UK or incorporated into another product before re-exporting to the EU.

Under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement arrangements, exporters are not only able to cumulate originating materials or products, also as well as processing or production carried out on non-originating materials (‘full bilateral cumulation’).

This means that all operations carried out in the UK or EU are taken into account when deciding if a good is able to meet a product-specific rule.

Full bilateral cumulation applies to both:

If wanting to cumulate originating materials or production carried out on non-originating materials, an exporter may only apply cumulation where the working or processing carried out in their party has gone beyond the operations deemed ‘insufficient’ under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement's ‘insufficient processing’ article.

For more information read section about insufficient production, where there are links to the full list of insufficient processing operations.

Where an exported good has got its originating status through the application of full bilateral cumulation (for example where a UK exporter has met a product-specific rule through counting production carried on non-originating materials in the EU), the exporter of those goods must get a ‘supplier's declaration’ from the supplier of the non-originating materials.

This declaration could either be in the form set out in Annex 6 (Supplier's declaration) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, or an equivalent document that has the same information, describing the non-originating materials concerned in enough detail for their identification.

Find out more information on proving originating status and claiming a reduced rate of customs duty.

Applied examples of cumulation of originating materials

HS Code: 2002.90Product: chopped tomatoesRule: production in which all the materials of chapter 7 used are wholly obtained

The rule requires all materials from chapter 7 (edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers) to be grown and harvested in the UK. However, with cumulation, UK producers can import EU tomatoes of HS heading 0702 (grown and harvested in the EU) and process them into chopped tomatoes.

The final product can then be exported back to the EU as an ‘originating’ product.

This is possible because (i) the tomatoes were wholly obtained (by cumulation), and (ii) the process carried out in the UK of chopping, cooking and canning the tomatoes as a combination goes beyond insufficient processing (read more about insufficient production).

HS code: 8408Product: diesel engineRule: 50% MaxNOM

The rule requires that the engine contains a maximum 50% non-originating content (parts). When applying cumulation, EU content can be counted as ‘originating’ as well as UK content. This means that manufacturers only need to consider content that does not originate in the UK or EU.

This gives manufacturers greater sourcing options, as they can source engine parts in the UK or EU and count both towards the final origin calculation.

For example, if a UK-made engine that costs £2,000 includes an EU-originating crankshaft and piston worth £500 combined, those EU materials count 25% towards the ‘originating’ content of the engine if it is re-exported to the EU.

Applied examples of cumulation of processing

HS code: 620520Product: cotton men's shirtsRule: weaving combined with making-up including cutting of fabric

The rule requires the specific processes set out (weaving, as well as making-up including cutting of fabric) to be carried out in the UK. However, with cumulation of processing, these processes can be divided between the UK and EU.

For example, the weaving of the fabric could be done in the EU, whilst the making-up of the shirt could be done in the UK. The final product can then be exported back to the EU tariff-free as an ‘originating’ product.

Relevant Trade and Cooperation Agreement article:

Your goods are treated as ‘wholly obtained’ if they’re exclusively produced in a country covered in an agreement, without incorporating materials from any other country.

Wholly obtained products automatically qualify for preferential treatment. These products are specified under the wholly obtained article, and you should refer to the full list of products which qualify for wholly obtained status and preferential treatment under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

A trade agreement includes a list of processes that, if carried out on non-originating materials, are considered such minor processing that they do not alone, give them originating status.

Even if a product meets its product specific rule, if the only processing carried out on non-originating materials is listed as ‘insufficient’, that product will not get originating status.

In cumulation of origin, cumulation does not apply for these purposes – if the only processing carried out on a product in the UK is insufficient, it will not meet the rules of origin even if the processing was carried out on EU-originating materials or if further processing (beyond insufficient) had previously been carried out in the EU.

The full list of processes which do not have originating status for the purposes of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is available in Article 43 Insufficient Production. Completion of one or any combination of the included processes is insufficient to give originating status.

For example, ‘simple painting and polishing operations’ or ‘peeling, stoning and shelling, of fruits, nuts and vegetables’ are not considered to be significant manufacturing and as such do not get originating status by themselves.

Some of the listed operations can be clearly identified as insufficient operations, such as the affixing of a label on the product. However, there are also some operations that need to be assessed further as they contain the term ‘simple’, for example ‘simple assembly’.

Operations are considered ‘simple’ if neither special skills nor machines, apparatus or equipment especially produced or installed are needed for carrying out those operations.

This section has applied agri-food and manufacturing examples demonstrating the insufficient production provisions within the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Agri-food examples

HS code: 0406.20Product: grated cheeseRule: production in which both:

Cheese is imported from the EU and grated in the UK. The ‘cutting’ process is qualified by the word ‘simple’ in the insufficient processing text.

Therefore, if the only operation that is performed on the cheese is grating in a manner that does not need special skills or a machine especially produced or installed for the processing, then the grated cheese would not be originating in the UK.

This is true even though the input cheese would otherwise be considered originating by virtue of bilateral cumulation.

HS code: 081190Product: frozen nutsRule: production in which both:

Nuts from the EU can be used if the processing goes beyond insufficient. All shelling of nuts is an insufficient process, so even if machinery is used for the processing the shelling will be considered insufficient to confer origin. This is because the ‘simple’ qualifier does not apply in this instance.

Manufactured goods example

HS code: 9403Product: wooden tableRule: MaxNOM 50%.

A wooden desk is assembled in the UK by fixing a non-originating desktop to non-originating table legs (using only non-originating materials). These materials make up 40% of the ex-works price of the final product (the remaining 60% being made up of other costs, for example, labour and brand).

Although the final product meets the product-specific rules of origin (as the non-originating materials make up less than the maximum 50% threshold for non-originating content), it will not be considered originating in the UK if the only processing that takes place in the UK is classified as ‘simple assembly’ (see see Article 43 (o)).

This would be true even if either the desktop or table legs, or both, were sourced from the EU, as bilateral cumulation could not apply in these circumstances.

However, if a wooden desk is assembled in the UK by fixing a non-originating desktop to UK-originating table legs, this would count as going beyond insufficient processing.

As in the first scenario, the table would meet the product-specific rules of origin (maximum 50% non-originating content). In this circumstance the table would be considered ‘UK originating’ because it incorporates UK-originating inputs, which have necessarily undergone more than insufficient processing.

Relevant Trade and Cooperation Agreement articles:

Tolerance is a relaxation of the rules of origin under certain conditions. It means that, even if a product does not meet its product-specific rules, it can still be originating if only a limited amount of non-originating materials are used in the production of that product.

Tolerance can only be applied to certain types of product-specific rules.

For example, tolerance can be applied when using a ‘Change in Tariff Heading’ rule – this rule typically prevents the use of non-originating material from within the same Tariff Heading (at 4-digit level) as the final product. Applying tolerance means a small amount of non-originating content of the same heading can be used and the product will be considered originating, as long as the total amount of non-originating material used in the product does not go over the limits.

If a product-specific rule requires the final product to be wholly obtained, or needs a value threshold to be met, then tolerance cannot be applied in addition. However, if a rule requires that materials used in the production of the final product must be wholly obtained, tolerance can apply to those materials (when a small amount of those materials could be not wholly obtained).

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement allows a tolerance of 15% by weight of the final product for agri-food goods and 10% by value of the value the final product for manufactured goods (except clothing and textiles).

Textile and clothing products classified under HS50-63 are subject to specific tolerance thresholds, which are detailed in Notes 7 and 8 (page 1014 to 1019) of Annex 2 (introductory notes to the product-specific rules of origin).

This section gives applied agri-food and manufacturing examples demonstrating the general tolerance rules within the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Agri-food examples

HS code: 0813.50Product: mixtures of dried fruit and nutsRule: production in which both:

According to the rule, edible fruit and nuts and peel of citrus fruit or melons (chapter 8) must be grown or harvested in the UK or EU (using bilateral cumulation). There is also a requirement for non-originating sugar (headings 17.01 and 17.02) to make up 20% or less of the weight of the product.

The tolerance rule allows the use of non-originating ingredients forbidden by the rule, in this case edible fruit and nuts or other products within chapter 8, however, the total weight of the non-originating materials cannot go over 15% of the net weight of the product.

This would allow the final product (mixtures of dried fruit and nuts) to obtain originating status.

Tolerance would not apply to sugar in this example as it is already subject to a weight restriction.

HS code: 1509Product: olive oilRule: production in which all the vegetable materials used are wholly obtained

According to the rule, olives used in olive oil must be grown or harvested in the UK (or EU by cumulation). The tolerance rule allows the use of non-originating olives (that if used would mean the origin rule is not met), if the total weight of non-originating olives does not go over 15% of the net weight of the product.

This would allow the final product (olive oil) to obtain originating status.

Manufactured goods example

HS code: 9503 Product: dollsRule: CTH (non-originating material used in the production of a doll must be from a different heading than the doll)

Doll's eyes fall into the same heading as a doll.

The rule states that all non-originating parts must fall under a different heading to that of the final product, meaning the doll's eyes must be originating for the final doll to be originating.

However, applying the tolerance rule, non-originating doll's eyes that make up 10% or less of the ex-works price of the doll may be used, and the final doll would still be considered originating.

The total non-originating material from within the same heading as the doll may not make up more than 10% of the ex-works price of the doll.

Relevant Trade and Cooperation Agreement article:

Originating and non-originating fungible materials may be used in the production of a product without being physically separated during storage, if an accounting segregation method is used.

Fungible materials are materials that are of the same kind and commercial quality, with the same technical and physical characteristics, and which cannot be distinguished from one another for origin purposes.

An example of a fungible material is sugar. ‘Originating’ and non-originating sugar are fungible and as such can be stored together, and the volumes used in the production of a final product managed through accounting methods. This is particularly helpful if businesses need to keep their non-originating materials to a certain threshold.

Additionally, Trade and Cooperation Agreement allows fungible products of HS10, 15, 27, 28, 29, headings 3201 through 3207, and headings 3901 through 3914 to be stored in a party before exportation without being physically separated if an accounting segregation method is used.

Fungible products may be exported without any further processing, provided the stock of originating materials is enough to cover the quantity of product exported.

For example, this means that UK manufacturers of ethylene (HS2901) can store originating and non-originating ethylene in the same tank before exporting to the EU if an accounting segregation method is used.

UK manufacturers have to make sure that the amount of materials or product that is receiving originating status through accounting segregation does not go over the amount that would receive originating status through physical segregation.

Accounting segregation involves applying an inventory management system which should:

Agri-food examples

HS code: 1806Product: chocolate barRule: CTH, provided that all the materials of chapter 4 used are wholly obtained and either the:

For this product, accounting segregation can be used to manage the volume of the fungible materials (sugar) in the finished product (chocolate bar). It would not be necessary to prove that each single product was within the threshold limits. An inventory management system could be used to prove that threshold was met over a number of shipments as agreed with customs authorities.

If businesses used a mixture of originating and non-originating sugar over the year, then businesses do not have to make sure that in each single product (chocolate bar) the non-originating threshold did not go over the limit (40% weight of the final weight of the product) – but rather over a specific time and number of exported chocolate bars (based on agreement with UK customs authority) that the threshold did not go over the limit for all the chocolate bars exported under preference.

HS code: 1001.11Product: wheat seedRule: production in which all the materials of chapter 10 used are wholly obtained.

In this example, product level accounting segregation is used to store together fungible products.

Accounting segregation can be used to manage the volume of the fungible products (wheat seed) to be exported.

It would not be necessary to prove that all wheat seed was wholly obtained. An inventory management system could be used to prove that the quantity of wheat seed exported tariff free does not go over the quantity of originating wheat seed available, over a number of shipments as agreed with customs authorities.

Therefore, if you export a mixture of originating and non-originating wheat seed over the year then you do not have to make sure that all of the wheat seed is originating, but rather over a specific time and quantity of wheat seed (based on agreement with the UK customs authority) that the quantity of product being exported tariff free does not go over the quantity of originating product that is being stored.