Form SE is the preferential certificate of origin under the China–Serbia Free Trade Agreement, in force since July 1, 2024 and carried as agreement code 26 on the Chinese export declaration. China Customs or CCPIT issues it; Serbian customs accepts it at the port or at the inland terminal where the entry is filed. This guide covers what the certificate proves, why you as the consignee have to ask for it, where and by whom it is issued, the issue window and the one-year validity, the four origin criteria, what it costs, and the errors that turn a routine entry into an origin verification.
Form SE is the certificate of origin under the China–Serbia Free Trade Agreement, signed October 17, 2023 and in force since July 1, 2024. It is a preferential certificate, filled in English to the layout in Annex III of the agreement, and its job is narrow: certify that the goods meet the China–Serbia origin rule, so your broker can declare the agreement rate instead of the MFN rate. On the Chinese export declaration it is agreement code 26.
It is not a duty-free pass. Both sides put 90% of tariff lines on a reduction schedule and more than 60% went to zero on day one, but the rate your goods land on depends on the Serbian tariff line, and eligibility depends on the origin rule — a product-specific rule for the heading, or a regional value content of at least 40% where no specific rule applies. VAT and excise are untouched: Serbia assesses 20% import VAT (10% on the reduced list) on the customs value plus duty.
Who files: the exporter or the manufacturer, or an agent holding a power of attorney recorded in the e-port system. When: after the booking is confirmed, before the cargo loads. If that window was missed, the certificate can be issued retroactively within one year of the shipment date, marked ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY in box 5. Cost: the issuing office charges nothing; you pay the agent's service fee.
Three things decide whether this paper is worth anything at the border: what it proves, who signed it, and which instrument it was issued under. Get those straight before anyone types a word into the filing screen.
The certificate is issued on the layout in Annex III of the agreement, in English, one certificate per consignment. Where a consignment carries several products, each is listed on its own line and the list continues on the overflow page. It is a regional preferential certificate — not a chamber-designed CO, and nothing like the old GSP Form A. It certifies one thing: that the goods in that consignment satisfy the China–Serbia rules of origin, which is what entitles the importer to declare the agreement rate.
About the name. “Form SE” is how the trade writes it — in quotations, in booking notes, in emails to the supplier. The S comes from Serbia. The certificate itself never prints the phrase. What customs reads is the certificate number, the issuing office and the data on the paper. In the filing system the product is listed as Certificate of Origin under the China–Serbia Free Trade Agreement.
The instrument behind it. On the Chinese side, origin administration runs on the Measures on the Administration of Origin of Import and Export Goods under the China–Serbia Free Trade Agreement — GACC Announcement No. 74 of 2024, effective July 1, 2024. Export visa procedure follows the Measures on the Administration of Certificate of Origin Visas for Export Goods (GACC Order No. 270, effective September 1, 2024). Box completion on the Chinese export declaration follows GACC Announcement No. 34 of 2021, and the “preferential trade agreement code” field takes 26.
How Serbia reads it. Serbia is not an EU member state. It applies its own national customs tariff, and its customs service grants the agreement rate at the moment the import entry is filed. EU tariff treatment and EU origin rules have nothing to do with a Chinese consignment entering Serbia. And because Serbia is landlocked, the cargo usually discharges at an Adriatic or Aegean port and moves inland by truck or rail, or arrives by China–Europe block train into Belgrade — which is exactly why the direct-consignment condition decides whether the certificate still works.
A certificate that fails any of these is not a certificate with a small error. It is a certificate that will be questioned, and the container sits while it is.
If you clear cargo in Belgrade, Novi Sad or Nis, this is the document that decides which duty column your entry lands in. Your Chinese supplier applies for it, but you are the one who uses it — and you are the one who pays when it is missing, late or wrong.
Serbian customs does not grant the agreement rate because the goods came from China. Your broker has to declare the China–Serbia agreement on the entry and back it with a valid certificate or origin declaration. Without the paper, the same goods are assessed at the MFN rate — duty you did not have to pay.
More than 60% of tariff lines went to zero on July 1, 2024, and the rest step down on the schedule. The value is in the lines that are still dutiable — machinery, chemicals, steel, some consumer goods — where the gap between the agreement rate and MFN is the whole margin on the order.
An issuer you recognise, a seal and an authorised signature, a certificate number that resolves in the verification system, and a description, HS code, package count and weight that reconcile item by item with the invoice and packing list your broker is filing.
Duty is paid first and a refund is claimed afterwards — whether it comes, and how long it takes, is Serbia's decision, and you carry the cash. Rework means the supplier re-applies, re-prints and couriers from China, while storage and demurrage run by the day at the terminal.
Write it into the contract: “Certificate of Origin under the China–Serbia Free Trade Agreement, issued by GACC or CCPIT, one original, to be provided before shipment” — with the supplier liable for clearance delays and duty losses caused by data that does not match the invoice. One clause beats a month of emails after the fact.
Serbian customs can ask China to verify origin within three years of issue. If the answer is late or thin, the preference is withdrawn, duty and interest are collected, and the entry stays in your record — which is one reason later shipments get pulled more often.
The concessions run both ways. Exporters usually ask what Serbia gave up; the same agreement, the same rules and the same certificate layout also cover Serbian goods entering China.
| Direction | What the schedule does | What it means for the importer |
|---|---|---|
| China to Serbia | Serbia eliminates duty on 90% of tariff lines over the schedule; more than 60% went to zero on July 1, 2024, the rest step down annually. Around 95% of import value ends at zero. | The certificate does not make everything free. It converts a dutiable line to the agreement rate and turns an already-zero line into a declaration that can be supported. Lines outside the schedule gain nothing from a certificate. |
| Serbia to China | China applies the same 90% coverage, with more than 60% at zero from day one. The Chinese import declaration carries agreement code 26. | Serbian wine, fruit, copper and electric motors claim the rate on a Serbian certificate or an approved-exporter declaration. The Chinese importer ticks the preferential agreement fields on the entry. |
Look the HS code up in Serbia's schedule first — the China FTA portal carries the annexes, and the tariff line tells you whether the goods are at zero from day one, inside a phase-down, or outside the deal entirely. Two classifications of the same product can land in different columns, which is why the HS code is both the starting point of the analysis and the most common reason a claim collapses later.
Serbia also assesses import VAT — 20% standard, 10% on the reduced list — and excise on tobacco, alcohol and fuel. None of that is waived by a certificate of origin. Build the landed cost with the duty line and the VAT line separately, or you will discover at release that the duty came off and the bill did not.
Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard duties are imposed under a different procedure. A product inside a case can hold a perfectly valid certificate and still be assessed the remedy. The certificate settles the agreement rate; it settles nothing about a trade case.
Three questions decide whether the paper will work at your border: the HS code you will declare, the invoice value and Incoterm, and whether you need the original in hand with the cargo. Ask them at the quotation stage, not after the booking — because the answers decide whether the price has to carry courier and rush costs.
On the export side there are exactly two: China Customs, and CCPIT with its local branches. The legal effect is identical and Serbia accepts both. Which one gets used is usually decided by the contract, the letter of credit or the buyer's habit.
| Channel | What it is | Where you file | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| China Customs | Government issuing authority — the customs house that covers the port of export | The Single Window at singlewindow.cn → origin certificates, or Internet + Customs at online.customs.gov.cn → tax and fee services → origin certificate management → issuance, then select “Certificate of Origin under the China–Serbia FTA” | You want the certificate tied to the declaration data, your buyer or the credit wants a government-issued paper, or you plan to self-print |
| CCPIT | Chamber issuer — the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and its local branches | CCPIT origin certificate system at co.ccpit.org | You already file everything through CCPIT, or your buyer specifies a chamber certificate and a chamber stamp |
Article 26 of Announcement No. 74 is short: the consignor of the exported goods and its agent, and the domestic producer and its agent, may apply to the issuing office. Where an agent files, a power of attorney is signed and the entrustment is recorded in the e-port system as the issuing office requires. The certificate header always names the consignor or the producer — delegating the filing never moves the name onto the forwarder.
The China–Serbia certificate is on the customs list of self-printable certificates. After review clears, print it double-sided in colour on A4: the electronic seal of the company and of customs and the electronic signature are loaded onto the sheet, and the result has the same effect as a certificate issued across the counter. Before the first self-print, the company's Chinese and English seal and the declarant's signature have to be uploaded and authorised in the Single Window.
The alternative is the “print pending issuance” mode: print one original with the back-page instructions and two copies on an ordinary printer, sign and stamp, then take them to the customs issuing office to complete issuance. Same legal effect, one counter visit more.
Serbia is landlocked. Cargo booked to Koper, Rijeka, Bar or Thessaloniki discharges at the sea port and crosses into Serbia by truck or rail; cargo on the China–Europe block train arrives at Belgrade. Either way, box 4 carries the departure date, the vessel and voyage or flight, the port of loading and the port of discharge the cargo actually used. That is the first comparison a Serbian broker makes, and the first question a verification raises.
The traffic also runs the other way: Serbian goods entering China at the agreement rate need a Serbian certificate or approved-exporter declaration, checked against the same rules and valid for one year. Where the paper is not in hand at entry, the Chinese importer can post a security and produce it later — but a claim made after release does not reopen an assessment that has already been made.
Factory, trading company or forwarder — all three walk the same official process. What changes is who knows the bill of materials, who absorbs the rework, and who has to answer when a verification lands.
The manufacturer is registered, keeps its profile current and applies in its own name. Strongest control over the origin story, and the easiest file to defend — the BOM, the process sheet and the supplier invoices are already in the building.
The exporter applies in its own name, so the certificate header matches the invoice and the bill of lading it issued. Workable only if it can pull material lists and process records from the factory, rather than filing off a single invoice.
We file and print on your behalf, and the certificate still carries the shipper's or the manufacturer's name. The usual route for exporters with no registration yet, a thin documents desk, or cargo spread across several ports. The data still comes from the exporter, and so does the liability.
A company that holds approved-exporter status may issue its own origin declaration instead of applying certificate by certificate — the declaration goes on the invoice or packing list with the approved exporter number and a signature. Status and supervision run under the Measures on the Administration of Approved Exporters (GACC Order No. 254). It saves a visa per shipment; it does not save the origin work behind the claim.
The issuing office issues the certificate, but the truth of the origin claim belongs to the applicant. During review the office may call for material, process and cost records, and may verify production equipment, raw materials and shipping marks on site. When Serbia raises a verification request, the obligation to answer sits with the exporter and the producer — not with the agent who filed.
The certificate carries the departure date, the vessel and voyage or flight, the port of loading and the port of discharge. None of that exists until the booking is confirmed — which is why the filing sits between booking and departure, and why filing early with guesses creates amendments.
Departure date, vessel and voyage or flight, discharge port — for Serbia usually an Adriatic or Aegean port with inland movement, or Belgrade by block train. Pull the invoice, packing list, HS codes and origin support.
Decide WO, WP, PSR or RVC against the product-specific rule for the heading, and assemble the BOM and process description behind the number you are about to type.
Filed in the customs or CCPIT system, description taken from the commercial invoice, HS at six digits, criterion stated. A complete file is usually decided within one to two business days.
Self-print on A4 in colour, or complete issuance at the counter. The PDF goes to you first so your broker can pre-file; the original travels with the documents or by courier.
The issue date starts the normal one-year validity. The shipment date — the on-board date on the bill of lading or the air waybill date — decides whether the certificate counts as retroactive and how its validity is measured. The application date is just process time. Under Articles 17 and 18 of Announcement No. 74, a certificate issued before or at shipment is valid for one year from issue; where special circumstances prevented that, it may be issued within one year of the shipment date, with box 5 marked ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY, and is valid for one year from shipment.
Lost original: where the certificate was stolen, lost or accidentally destroyed and is confirmed unused, a certified duplicate can be issued inside the validity period. Box 5 carries “DUPLICATE OF THE ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN NUMBER … DATED …”, the number and issue date stay the same as the original, and the validity is unchanged. Once the duplicate is presented the original is void; if the original was already used, the duplicate is void.
Wrong content: apply to the original issuing office within one year of issue, return the original and file the amendment or re-issue application. An amendment changes document data, not the origin criterion — if the criterion itself was wrong, it is a fresh declaration, and the materials have to be explained properly first.
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Issue timing | Before or at the time of shipment |
| Retroactive issue | Within one year of the shipment date, box 5 marked “ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY”, valid one year from shipment |
| Validity | One year from the date of issue for a certificate issued before or at shipment |
| Amendment | Within one year of issue, original returned to the issuing office |
| Review time | Normally one to two business days for a complete filing, at the discretion of the accepting customs house or CCPIT branch |
| Record keeping | Three years from the date the certificate is issued or the declaration is made |
Two separate numbers paid to two different parties: the official charge, which is nothing, and the fee charged by whoever prepares and files the certificate. Everything else — courier, overflow pages, amendments — is cost, not price.
| Item | How it is charged |
|---|---|
| Visa fee | Zero. Export origin certificates are exempt from the visa fee under Cai Shui [2017] No. 20 and related instruments. |
| Certificate stock | Zero. The certificate is self-printed on A4; there is no blank stock to buy. |
| Service fee | Per certificate. Where one certificate carries several products, the item count is what drives the work. |
| Rush handling | Priced separately, and subject to what the issuing office can actually schedule that day. We do not promise same-day issuance. |
| Amendment or re-issue | Per instance, and the original certificate has to come back with the application. |
| Third-party invoice | Priced separately, because the intermediary's details and the invoice behind the entry have to be reconciled. |
| Overflow pages | Per page, matched line by line to the invoice items. |
| Courier | At cost. The original to Serbia normally goes by international express. |
Product, item count, whether it is rushed, whether overflow pages are needed and where the original has to reach — each one moves the cost. Send the invoice, the packing list and the HS code, tell us the destination terminal and what your broker needs at entry, and you get an itemized quote for the number of certificates the shipment actually requires. One price, stated once, with nothing added later.
Self-filing and agent filing walk the same official route. What changes is who fills the form, who checks it, and who does the rework when a field is wrong. One step exists here that a plain CO does not have: settling the origin criterion before anything is typed.
Look the HS code up in Serbia's tariff schedule for this agreement. Zero from day one, inside a phase-down, or outside the deal — three different answers, and only the first two are worth a filing.
Check the product-specific rule for the heading. Wholly obtained, wholly originating materials, the specific rule, or the 40% value test — and note that the value test cannot be used where a specific rule applies.
Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill. Reconcile invoice number, date, value, package count, gross and net weight, marks.
Box 9 takes the six-digit subheading. Serbia declares at its national ten-digit code; the first six have to agree and the description has to be recognisable against the goods.
Exporter, producer, consignee, routing and goods. The description follows the invoice line by line, HS at six digits, criterion in box 10.
The issuing office reviews and, where something is missing, tells you exactly what to correct before you resubmit. A complete file is usually decided in one to two business days.
Self-print in colour on A4, or complete issuance at the counter. Check number, seal and signature before the PDF goes out.
PDF first so the consignee can pre-file, original with the shipping documents or by express. Copy and application file kept for three years.
The list is short, but every item on it has to survive a double read — once by the issuing office in China, once by the Serbian officer at the other end.
| Box | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| 1 — Exporter | Full registered name, address and country of the Chinese exporter; consistent with the invoice and the bill of lading. |
| 2 — Producer | Name and address where known; “SAME” where the producer is the exporter, “UNKNOWN” where it genuinely is not known. |
| 3 — Consignee | Name, address and country of the Serbian importer. |
| 4 — Transport | Departure date, vessel and voyage or flight number, port of loading, port of discharge; identical to the bill of lading. |
| 5 — Remarks | Where retroactive or duplicate wording goes. A third-party invoice is not written here. |
| 6 — Item number | Sequential, continued on the overflow page, aligned with the invoice lines. |
| 7 — Marks | Marks and numbers on the packages; N/M where there are none; I/S or IMAGE OR SYMBOL for graphics. |
| 8 — Description | Package count and type per line, and a description taken from the invoice that shows specification and model. |
| 9 — HS code | The six-digit Harmonized System subheading, line by line. |
| 10 — Origin criterion | One of WO, WP, PSR or RVC, matching how the goods were actually produced. |
| 11 — Quantity | Gross or net weight in kilograms, or the customary secondary unit where that is how the goods are traded. |
| 12 — Invoice | Invoice number and date, identical to the invoice the consignee clears against. |
| 13 — Exporter declaration | Place, date and the signature of the authorised person at the exporter. |
| 14 — Certification | Place, date, signature and seal of the issuing office. |
Whether the certificate delivers anything is decided by these rules, not by the certificate. They sit in Announcement No. 74 and the annexes to the agreement, and the logic is not complicated — the evidence behind it is the hard part.
Minerals extracted, plants grown or harvested, live animals born and raised, and their products; fish caught in the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone or on the high seas by a registered vessel flying the flag; and goods produced entirely from those.
Goods produced in a party using only originating materials. Chinese material used in Serbia to make another product counts as Serbian originating material, provided the last processing goes beyond minimal operations — and the reverse holds too.
Non-originating materials were used, but the required change in tariff classification or other condition is met. Look the rule up by HS code in Annex 1 to Announcement No. 74. Some headings carry a compound rule, where both conditions must be satisfied at once.
Where the goods fall outside the product-specific rules, the value test applies: a regional value content of at least 40% confers origin. This tier cannot be mixed with PSR — you do not get to choose the easier one.
Where the goods transit a third country, they keep their preference only if the transit was for geographical or transport reasons, the goods did not enter trade or consumption there, nothing was done beyond unloading, reloading, splitting the consignment or keeping them in condition, and they stayed under customs control throughout. Serbia being landlocked makes this the operative clause on most Adriatic and Aegean routings.
RVC = (ex-works price − value of non-originating materials) ÷ ex-works price × 100. The ex-works price is what is paid to the last manufacturer, including all materials, labour and other costs, with profit net of any export drawback. Non-originating material value is taken at the customs value determined under the WTO Valuation Agreement, and material of unknown origin is treated as non-originating.
For goods subject to a change-in-tariff-classification rule, non-originating materials that fail that change are still disregarded where their value does not exceed 10% of the ex-works price and the other conditions are met. The tolerance applies to classification-change rules only — not to the value test and not to specific process requirements.
A set classified under GIR 3 is originating where all components originate. Where it mixes originating and non-originating components, it is still originating if the non-originating components do not exceed 15% of the ex-works price of the set.
Processing to preserve goods in transit or storage, splitting, sorting and repacking, washing, cleaning and removing paint, simple cutting and grinding, sifting, screening and grading, simple bottling, canning and boxing, affixing marks and labels, simple assembly or disassembly, slaughtering and meat cutting — alone or in combination, none of these confer origin. Knocked-down imports assembled, repacked and relabelled in China usually qualify only for a processing certificate or a re-export certificate, not for a preferential certificate.
Only two documents carry preference into Serbia, and both come from the same agreement. RCEP does not apply and a plain CO earns nothing. Choosing the wrong one is not “safer” — it is money spent on a file that cannot be used.
| Document | Nature | Covers | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| China–Serbia FTA certificate — Form SE | Preferential certificate under the agreement | China → Serbia | The default. Serbia is cutting duty on 90% of lines and this is the document customs sees most often. Mandatory where the contract or the credit names a certificate. |
| China–Serbia FTA origin declaration | Preferential declaration under the agreement | China → Serbia | Only for an approved exporter that wants to drop the per-shipment visa. Typed, stamped or printed on the invoice or packing list, with the approved exporter number and a signature. |
| Certificate of origin — CO | Non-preferential certificate | Any destination | Where the buyer only needs proof of Chinese origin and no agreement rate is involved — trade statistics, anti-dumping responses, documentary credits that call for a CO. |
| RCEP certificate | Preferential certificate under RCEP | ASEAN ten plus China, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand | Not for this trade. Serbia is not an RCEP party, so an RCEP certificate gets no agreement rate at a Serbian entry. |
Three tests: eligibility (a declaration is closed to anyone without approved-exporter status), document cost (a visa per shipment against self-issue), and what your buyer will accept — some Serbian importers and their banks still expect an original certificate. Only when all three clear does the question become “which is more convenient”.
One certificate, one consignment. List each item on its own line, continue on the overflow page when there are many, and keep the line numbers matched to the invoice. Where one consignment carries several HS codes, list them separately — merging them into a single line guarantees that the Serbian line-by-line comparison fails.
Issuance is the easy half. What Serbian customs questions is rarely whether a certificate exists — it is whether the paper describes the goods accurately and whether the goods are really originating.
Imported materials declared as wholly obtained, or a value test claimed without the numbers behind it. Verification asks for the BOM, supplier invoices and process records; without them the preference is denied.
“Machine”, “garment”, “goods” give the officer nothing to match against the cargo. The description has to follow the invoice line by line — product, specification, model, quantity.
Six digits on the certificate against ten at the Serbian entry is normal. What is not normal is a first six that disagree, or a code that describes a different product than the invoice — that triggers the review.
A Hong Kong or other intermediary invoice must be declared on the filing screen and matched to the invoice the consignee clears against. Written into the wrong box, or omitted, the preference can be refused outright.
Processing beyond a container change, entry into trade or consumption, or leaving customs control during a third-country transit ends the preference. Serbia's inland position puts this clause in play on most routings.
An invoice lowered to suit the buyer leaves the certificate, the payment and the declaration telling three different stories. On verification, the duty and the penalty run far past whatever the under-declaration saved.
When Serbia has doubts about origin, it can ask China Customs for assistance under the agreement's framework, request information in writing from the exporter or the producer, or ask the issuing office to confirm the certificate. China Customs may send a verification request within three years of the date the certificate was issued or the declaration made — and Serbia may do the same in the other direction.
The timeline that matters: if no reply arrives within six months of the verification request, or the reply does not establish that the certificate is authentic and the goods qualify, the agreement rate stops applying to that consignment. During the verification the importer may release the goods against a duty security. For the exporter, those six months are the window to assemble evidence — which is why three-year retention is an obligation rather than a habit.
The twelve questions that come up most often from Serbian buyers and their brokers, answered with the rule rather than the sales pitch.
No. It is the certificate of origin under the China–Serbia Free Trade Agreement, printed in English to the layout in Annex III of the agreement — the same layout published in GACC Announcement No. 74 of 2024. “Form SE” is trade shorthand, the S taken from Serbia; the phrase does not appear on the paper. In the filing system you select “Certificate of Origin under the China–Serbia FTA”. There is no separate Form SE filing screen, and customs reads the certificate number and the issuing office, not the nickname.
Because the agreement rate is never applied on its own. Serbian customs needs the entry to declare the China–Serbia agreement and needs a valid certificate of origin or origin declaration behind that declaration. Without the document the same goods are assessed at the MFN rate. China and Serbia have not yet switched on electronic origin data exchange, so the officer verifies the paper itself, the certificate number and the record at origin.customs.gov.cn — a missing page or a number that does not resolve holds the container at the border.
On the Chinese side there are two issuers: China Customs (the regional and local customs houses) and CCPIT with its local branches. Serbia accepts both. The applicant is the exporter or the producer of the goods, or an agent holding a signed power of attorney that is also recorded in the e-port system. A forwarder files as agent, which is what we do: the certificate still carries the shipper's or the manufacturer's name, never ours.
Not legally, but it is the only document that lets your broker declare the agreement rate. Since July 1, 2024 both sides have been cutting duty on 90% of tariff lines, and more than 60% went to zero on day one. In practice your contract or the letter of credit usually names the certificate. Whether a given shipment needs it comes down to the contract, the credit and what your broker needs at entry.
It removes or reduces duty, not every charge. Serbia still assesses import VAT — 20% standard, 10% on the reduced list — and excise on tobacco, alcohol and fuel. Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard duties run on a separate track and can apply to goods holding a perfectly valid certificate. And the rate only holds if the goods actually meet the origin rule; a claim that fails verification is reassessed with duty and interest.
File after the booking is confirmed and before the cargo loads: the certificate carries the departure date, the vessel and voyage or flight, the port of loading and the port of discharge, and none of those exist until the booking is locked. If it could not be issued before or at shipment, it may be issued retroactively within one year of the shipment date, with box 5 marked “ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY”, and it is then valid for one year from the shipment date.
One year from the date of issue for a certificate issued before or at shipment; one year from the shipment date for a retroactive one. The importing authority has to see it inside that window. Past the expiry date Serbian customs will not grant the agreement rate on that paper, and the only route left is a fresh application, which cannot cure an entry that has already been assessed.
One certificate covers one consignment. List each item on its own line, continue onto the overflow page when there are many, and keep the item numbers aligned with the invoice line numbers. Box 9 takes the six-digit HS subheading. Serbia declares at its own ten-digit code, which is normal — but the first six digits have to match the certificate, and the description has to be recognisable against the goods.
The issuing office charges no visa fee and no certificate stock fee — export origin certificates are exempt under Cai Shui [2017] No. 20, and the certificate can be self-printed on A4. A complete filing is normally reviewed within one to two business days. What you actually pay is the agent's service fee, quoted per certificate; rush handling, amendments, a third-party invoice, overflow pages and courier are itemized separately.
Tick “third-party invoice / non-party company” on the filing screen and enter the intermediary's name, address and country there — not in any other box of the certificate. Box 1 still names the actual Chinese exporter, not the Hong Kong company that billed you. A company registered in China does not count as a third party; the intermediary has to sit outside both China and Serbia, and the invoice number, date and value must match the invoice your broker files.
Only if the Chinese exporter is an approved exporter. Under Article 19 of Announcement No. 74, an approved exporter may declare origin on its own commercial documents — typed, stamped or printed on the invoice or packing list, in English, carrying the approved exporter number and the signatory's signature. It is valid one year from the date of the document and may be issued within one year of shipment. Administered under GACC Order No. 254. Everyone else still applies for a certificate.
The usual reasons: the origin criterion does not match how the goods were actually made, the description is too broad to identify the product, the HS code disagrees with the invoice, a third-party invoice was not declared, the routing broke direct consignment, or the declared value drifted away from the payment record. Once Serbia raises a verification request, the exporter has to produce the bill of materials, supplier invoices, process records and cost build-up; if no answer or an insufficient one arrives within six months, the agreement rate no longer applies to that consignment.
We are a freight forwarder and documentation desk in Shenzhen, working out of Futian. Export declarations, origin certificates, fumigation, commodity inspection and consular legalization for one order are delivered through one window wherever the rules allow it.
We take the HS code and the material list, run them against the product-specific rules, and tell you whether this shipment can claim the rate at all — before a certificate is filed on a hope.
Invoice, packing list, bill of lading and declaration data are checked against each other — product name to specification, marks to net weight — so the predictable refusal points are removed before filing.
Cargo out of Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nansha, Huangpu, Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin or Xiamen is filed with the office that matches the port of export, which keeps follow-up simple.
The PDF goes out as soon as it clears so your broker can pre-file. The original travels with the documents or by express, and the copy and application file are archived for three years.
Tell us what the goods are made of, and when the vessel, the truck or the block train loads. You get an origin assessment, the document that actually pays at your border, the issue date we can hold, the checklist, and an itemized quote for the filing — from Shenzhen, for cargo out of any China port.
