Certificates of origin

Certificates of origin serve the purpose of confirming the origin of a specific good. The concept is primarily known from free-trade agreements, but they stipulate on customs perquisite for goods originated in the respective countries of the agreement. The Agreement on the European Economic Area also has a special protocol on the origin on goods, protocol 4.

The Customs offices in states which have not made free-trade agreements with Iceland often request confirmation of the goods origin. It is also common that foreign buyers of goods request that Icelandic exporters acquire from the Chamber a confirmation of the goods Icelandic origin. The reason for these certificates are issued by the Chamber is the general trust that Chambers around the world enjoy. In some cases they are considered more reliable than governments. Inscriptions on certificates of origin are provided to members free of charge.

A draft of the certificate can be found here which exporters can fill in and sign. The certificate needs to be stamped by the Chamber and the Chamber needs to receive a copy of each and every certificate.