Art. 64 CDU sets out the rules for the acquisition of preferential origin of goods in EU agreements or in the provisions granted unilaterally and for temporary derogation. Articles 37 et seq. of the Royal Decree lay down the rules of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).

Subsection 1 of the Royal Decree, concerning the procedures to facilitate the correct issue or making out of proofs of origin of goods, refers to the information certificates INF 4 and to the authorizations of approved exporter on the issue and making out of proofs of origin of goods, furthermore, articles 41 to 58 Royal Decree (Subsections 2 to 3) and Articles 70 to 111 RE (Subsections 2 to 9) regulate the GSP rules of origin of goods, the cumulation of origin and the REX system, in a systematic and separate fashion in relation to the registration of exporters outside the GSP ambit of the Union (art. 68 RE).

The Union's GSP rules lay down rules of origin that are easier to apply within the cumulation to enhance the opportunities for sourcing materials originating from partner countries, by way of derogation from the criteria of sufficient processing. Consequently, where internal or external factors temporarily deprive the beneficiary country of the ability to comply with the rules of origin or where such country should need time to conform with them, bilateral, regional and extended cumulation can be used, as well as the temporary derogation from the rules of origin. SPG.

Regarding the registered exporter (REX) - which came into force on January 1, 2017 - Articles 79 to 90 RE govern the registration procedures of REX exporters in the beneficiary countries and Member States, the export procedures in the transitional period and the control activities of the competent customs authorities to verify the accuracy of the data indicated by the REX operators in the form set out in Annex 22-06 RE. Articles 92-93 RE concern the certificates of origin (where data are specified in Annex 22-07), the methods of completing the request also after the export of products, and the certifications in cases of splitting of a shipment or in cases of accumulation.

Art. 79 RE defines the registration procedures in the beneficiary countries and the application starting, at the latest, from 30 June 2020. The UCC also provides for an administrative cooperation system that allows the government authorities of the beneficiary country, the customs authorities of the EU and the European Commission to jointly guarantee the correct and effective application of the GSP system and ensure its benefits only to the companies that are entitled to it.

Articles 109 and 110 IR discipline the a posteriori verifications of statements of origin, of the replacement statements of origin and, respectively, of the certificates of origin, form A, and of the invoice declarations whenever the Customs Authorities of the Member States have reasonable grounds to doubt their authenticity, the originating status of the products in question or compliance with other requirements established by Union legislation to acquire the preferential tariff benefit.

In concluding, we mention the annexes 22-03 (introductory notes and GSP preferential list rules), 22-04 (products excluded from regional cumulation) and 22-05 RD (processes excluded from GSP regional cumulation for textile products) and the annex 22-11 RD (introductory notes and list rules) dedicated specifically to the unilateral preferential regimes referred to in art. 61 RD. Meanwhile, to benefit from the preferential regimes, the annexes 22-02 to 22-20 RE make the forms available.