When it comes to the purchase and transportation of merchandise in Chilean territory, it is very important to take into account that you must obtain a certificate of origin so that all the procedures carried out with that merchandise are legal and you can even get rid of taxes.
In this way, in the following article we are going to explain everything you need to know about this certificate, so that you are able to obtain it without having to pay a third party for the management of the process.
What is a certificate of origin?
In a very general way, without taking into account the technicalities or the specific details of the term, A certificate of origin is an official document that leaves a written record of where the product you are buying was made.. This certificate must be issued by the country in which you made the purchase of the product.
Although many times it seems like an unnecessary document to people, it is not, because thanks to it you have the possibility of saving yourself from canceling all the customs tax of Chile (only the tax, VAT is not included).
Despite the great benefit that this document represents for the person who makes the purchase, not everyone can acquire it when making a purchase abroad, because only those countries that have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Chilean government are capable of issuing it.
This way, The only way you can request the certificate is if the product or object you are buying was manufactured in one of the countries that have this agreement with Chile. This means that if the product is sold but not manufactured in that country, the certificate loses its validity.
There are several countries that have an agreement of this type with Chile, however theThe ones that are of most interest are China and the United States, and recently Uruguay, because most of the products that are imported and consumed in this country are brought from those nations.
Does this certificate free me from paying taxes?
As we already mentioned, the main advantage of obtaining the certificate of origin is that it allows you to avoid paying the Chilean customs tax, but this refers to the fact that it will not be necessary to disburse the money for the Ad Valorem Right of tax calculation.
In this way, so that you do not have any doubts, below we mention all the items that customs consider when the time comes to add the different values that calculate the import taxes:
- FOB value: is that he refers to the total amount of the purchase you made, including the payment for acquiring the product, the payment of the boxes (if applicable), the tax charged according to each state, among other expenses.
- VAT value: this value unifies the amount of the FOB value with international freight and shipping insurance. The freight is the shipping cost from the country of origin to Chile and the insurance is applied when it is owned, otherwise, approximately 2% of the total value of the object is calculated.
- Ad Valorem duty: is calculated as 6% of the total CIF value. It must be paid as a tribute of all merchandise. This is the value that is completely exempt if the manufacturing country has a Free Trade Agreement with Chile, as we mentioned before.
When is it necessary to process the certificate of origin?
It can be used in any case of import that is with countries that are in an FTA with Chile, however, the urgency of its use is seen more frequently when imports are made by a company and are constant and large, since in these cases the 6% considerably reduces the amount to be paid.
However, the fact that the import is carried out by companies is not the only case, because natural persons also have the ability to buy high-value products in other countries, and these must go through customs. In this way, having the certificate of origin becomes quite useful.
For this reason, the certificate of origin is extremely popular with importers or savvy buyers who know how to operate the system.
Thanks to him, they are allowed to increase their earnings quite considerably, especially if their purchases are constant and large.
How to get it?
Being an official document, Its issuance must be authorized by a government entity of the country of origin of the product.
In this way, you cannot directly request the certificate of origin, but you must speak with your provider to make the request and you can count on the benefit.
Most vendors will agree to this when sales are high or when you are a regular buyer, but if it is a small item being purchased, they will most likely not agree to apply for certification.
Requirementyes
Since the certificate of origin is a document issued by a foreign country and not your own, There are not many requirements that you should consider when applying. We mention them below so that you take them into account.
- Being making the purchase of an object that was manufactured in a country that has a Free Trade Agreement with Chile.
- That it be a wholesale purchase, of a large number of products (this is not mandatory but it is what suppliers request most of the time).
Steps to follow
As with the requirements, when you make a purchase of any product abroad and wish to request your certificate of origin, You don’t have to worry about going through a lot of steps, because the procedure is quite simple.
- Make the purchase of your products to import them.
- Ask your supplier to request the certificate of origin.
- Wait for your response and for the delivery of the certificate.
- Present the certificate at the time of paying the corresponding Chilean customs taxes.
As it is a procedure carried out by another country, the heavy work is carried out by the supplier that sells you the product. You only have to worry about the certificate being with you at the time of entering the product into Chile.
Considerations when carrying out the process
As it is a process that involves several national states, It is important that you take into account a series of details, which will help you obtain your certificate of origin without any problem.
- First You must investigate the specific processes for the import process under the preferential regime that you are carrying out, because each trade agreement has a totally different origin regimedespite the fact that between agreements some provisions are very similar.
- You should check the different tariff nomenclatures and how they are associated with the original standards in each of the trade agreements.
- You must be very attentive when filling out the certification forms, because for each certification system there is a different certificate, and if you make a mistake entering the data, your request will be immediately rejected, delaying your import process.
Before which entity is requested?
This will depend on the country in which you are making the purchase, so we cannot tell you a specific entity. Each country is managed with its own laws and its own government agencies, so when buying a product abroad, the first thing you should do is check how this procedure unfolds.
In Chile, for example, this task is assigned to the Chilean Copper Commission (COCHILCO), so that anyone who wants to buy a Chilean product to export it to another country and To obtain your certificate of origin you must go to this commission with all the necessary requirements.
However, not all countries have this commission, since each one within their autonomy has the freedom to delegate their tasks as a State in the way they see fit.
As we could see, the certificate of origin is a very important document that allows importers to bring a large number of products and save a considerable amount in customs taxesso that your profits are much higher.
If you want to import products in bulk and want to avoid paying an exorbitant amount of taxes just for bringing your purchased products into the country, we recommend that you request your certificate of originbecause it is the legal, fast and safe way to save that money.
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