ICC Digital Library Forum

Dear Sirs,

We would like to have your opinion on the below relating to GSP FORM A.

Documentary credit wording required :

GSP FORM A CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN, IN ONE ORIGINAL AND ONE COPY ISSUED BY A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OR A FEDERATION OF INDUSTRY OR ANY GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY AND BEARING THEIR REFERENCE NUMBER.

Goods origin : ETHIOPIA

The GSP Form A we received showed/indicated :

- in Box 6 (Marks & no. of packages) = In the marks & no. of packages, it is included : ''(...) PRODUCE OF ETHIOPIA (...)''

- in Box 7 (no. & kind of packages, description of goods) = ''(...) ARABICA ETHIOPIA SIDAMO (...)''

- in Box 8 (Origin criterion) = P (which means that product is wholly obtained in the exporting country as per notes indicated on the back of the GSP FORM A)

- Box 12 (Declaration by the exporter) the field ''produced in'' is blank. No indication of ETHIOPIA as would be expected.

The GSP FORM A is duly signed and stamped by Ethiopian custom authorities in box No.11 and box No.12 bears the stamp of the exporter.

Also the top right hand corner of the document does not indicate on the doted lines after ''issued in....'' the country where the certificate has been issued.

Our query is :

Do you consider the document as discrepant since box No.12 is incomplete? (no indication where the goods were produced)
or
Do you consider the document as not fulfilling its function due to box No.12 being incomplete?

Thanks in advance for your feedbacks and comments.

Regards.

Michael James

For your easy guidance, a web link is indicated hereunder showing a blank copy of the GSP Form A with the box numbers.

http://unctad.org/Sections/gsp/docs/gsp ... new_en.pdf

Mr. James
My opinion is based on the information you provided.
when reading your topic I immediately thought of article A17 of ISBP quote: "The fact that a document has a box, field or space for date to be inserted does not necessarily mean that such box, field or space is to be completed" end of quote. The document requirement does not indicate that the document must be ‘’fully completed’’ or the like either.
I believe the document fulfills its function as it is clear that the goods are of Ethiopian origin from information written elsewhere on the document. The fact that it is not indicated in the field itself does not make it discrepant in my opinion.
Regards,

Hi,
It is complicated to address the issue without seeing the document itself.
It is right to say that the fact that the document has a box for some data does not imply that the box must be completed. Nevertheless, the field 12 of GSP-A represents the only "official" field on the document where origin is to be bindingly declared. The checker should consider this fact when ascertaining whether the document "fulfills the function of the required document".
In any case, marks and numbers clearly do not represent declaration of origin (simply, in marks and numbers the seller may state any text regardless of reality). So, if the only indication of "produce of Ethiopia" was stated as part of marks and numbers, I would not consider it sufficient.
Usage of word "Ethiopia" merely as part of the goods description does not sufficiently indicate origin of the goods, either. To use a clear example, if you go buy "Swiss cheese" in the US, it does not always imply that the cheese was made in Switzerland...
So, unless the document somewhere (else than marks and numbers) clearly stated that the goods were made (produced, ...) in a specific country, I would consider it discrepant.
Regards, Radek