Plain sailing (or flying, or driving) from June onwards

Lorraine Neish, International documentation team leader Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce

The glamorous world of international trade is an everchanging one – and the next change coming might not sound particularly sexy, but I assure you it’s a welcome one.

With effect from 1, June 2023, we will migrate to plain paper printing for United Kingdom Certificates of Origin.

Over 40% of Certificates of Origin issued worldwide are now printed on plain paper.

As we move into a digital future, Chambers like ours will be at the vanguard working with the UK Government to achieve its digital ambition for a paperless border by 2025.

The move to plain paper Certificates of Origin is the first step in this journey.

It will simplify the printing process as exporters will no longer need to insert a blank Certificate of Origin correctly into the printer or hold a stock of blank certificates.

It is written in the international conventions controlling Certificates of Origin that they must be printed in colour otherwise it is likely to be refused by customs authorities.

There will also be the option to save the certificate in PDF format and email directly to your customers saving time and money.

From this date all applications will have to be made via our online platform. However, we will continue to offer the Chamber print service, which may be necessary if the country of destination requires a wet stamp.

If needed, the Chamber can prepare and complete applications for you on our esscert platform for a small fee.

Certificates of Origin approved via the online platform have additional security features such as the QR code allowing anyone with the Certificate of Origin to scan the QR code to verify the authenticity via the ICC verification website (https:// certificates.iccwbo.org). Increasingly) Customs authorities worldwide are looking to be able to verify Certificates of Origin online.

A unique certificate number will be generated by essCert when you print on plain white paper or save to PDF. You will only have the option to print once, unless you save the PDF file.

If you hold a stock of blank Certificates of Origin, please return them to us by June 30 and we will arrange a refund.

There will be no change to the issuing of Arab British Certificates of Origin and preference EUR1 certificates.

The Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce International team offer a range of services enabling up to $1billion of goods every year to reach over 100 countries around the globe.

Last year alone we certified over 11,000 documents - and if you would like to chat about your import or export needs, we’d be delighted to hear from you.