Rules of Origin (ROO)

ASTEP ROO in Brief

ASTEP provides liberal and flexible rules of origin (ROO) for Singapore’s exports to Chinese Taipei. This includes, but is not limited to, processed agriculture products, electronics, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and petrochemicals.

Originating Goods

Goods exported to Chinese Taipei from Singapore are treated as originating if:

1. Goods are wholly obtained or produced in Singapore;
2. Goods meet the applicable product specific rules set out in Annex 4B (Product Specific Rules) of ASTEP; or
3. Goods are produced in Singapore exclusively from originating materials from Chinese Taipei.

Goods that are wholly obtained or produced in either Singapore or Chinese Taipei. These are goods that will be automatically accepted as originating under ASTEP. To qualify as such, the good must not contain non-originating materials. Such goods are normally natural resource based goods obtained in Singapore and the final products made from them that do not include any non-originating materials. This rule applies largely to agricultural goods such as live animals, plants and plant goods.

Goods that meet applicable ASTEP product specific rules. These are goods manufactured in Singapore or Chinese Taipei, which may contain non-originating materials. Under such circumstances, there are three ways below in determining if a good is originating. In addition, exporters and manufacturers have the option to apply either one of these criteria for a good for a large majority of products – such as processed food, electronics and chemicals.

a) Change in tariff classification (CTC). Goods will be considered originating if they can satisfy a change in tariff classification rule as specified in Annex 4B of ASTEP.

The difference between the classification of the final good and the classification of the non-originating materials that went into the production of the good will determine whether or not the conditions of the specific change in tariff classification rule have been met. The final product must have a different classification code (HS Code) from that of imported or non-originating raw materials used in its manufacture. CTC must occur in Singapore.

A good can be considered originating at three different levels:

Change in chapter (CC)
All non-originating materials underwent a change at the two-digit level in Singapore.

Change in tariff heading (CTH)
All non-originating materials underwent a change at the four-digit level in Singapore.

Change in tariff sub-heading (CTSH)
All non-originating materials underwent a change at the six-digit level in Singapore.

Where goods do not satisfy the CTC requirement, it can still be treated as originating if the value of all non-originating materials used in their production that did not undergo the required CTC does not exceed 10% of the Free-on-board (FOB) value of the good.

Free-on-Board means the free-on-board value of the good, inclusive of the cost of transport to the port or site of final shipment abroad.

b) Regional Value Content (RVC). A good is considered originating if it meets the minimum percentage of value originating from Singapore. The value can be calculated using the formula below:

Where:

• RVC is the regional value content expressed as a percentage;
• TV is the transaction value of the good, adjusted on an FOB basis; and
• VNM is the transaction value of the non-originating materials, when they were first acquired or supplied to the producer of the goods, adjusted on a Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) basis.

The minimum percentage of value in ASTEP is between 35 – 45%.

Cost, Insurance and Freight means the value of the good imported and includes the cost of freight and insurance up to the port or place of entry into the economy of importation

c) Process rules. Goods are considered originating if it undergoes certain specified manufacturing processes or operations (e.g., chemical reaction rule) in Singapore. Examples of such rules can be found in chemical chapters (HS 28 – 40).