Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1.Origin of goods - Determination - Substantial process or operation - Exclusion of simple assembly operations - Definition

( Regulation No 802/68 of the Council, Art . 5 )

2.Origin of goods - Determination - Substantial process or operation - Assembly operation - Conditions for taking into account

( Regulation No 802/68 of the Council, Art . 5 )

3.Origin of goods - Determination - Presumption of intention to circumvent certain provisions applicable to goods from specific countries in relation to the place of the process or operation - Transfer of assembly operations from the country of production of the components - Conditions giving rise to and effects of the presumption

( Regulation No 802/68 of the Council, Art . 6 )

Summary

1.Simple assembly operations do not come within the definition of a substantial process or operation to be taken into account in determining the origin of goods within the meaning of Article 5 of Regulation No 802/68, interpreted in the light of the provisions of the International Convention on the simplification and harmonization of customs procedures, which have been accepted by the Community . Simple assembly operations are those that do not require staff with special qualifications for the work in question or sophisticated tools or specially equipped factories for the purposes of assembly . Such operations cannot be held to be such as to contribute to the essential characteristics or properties of the goods in question .

2.It is clear both from Article 5 of Regulation No 802/68 and the provisions of the International Convention on the simplification and harmonization of customs procedures, which have been accepted by the Community, that the mere assembly of previously manufactured parts originating in a country different from that in which they were assembled is sufficient to confer on the resulting product the origin of the country in which assembly took place, provided that from a technical point of view and having regard to the definition of the goods in question such assembly represents the decisive production stage during which the use to which the component parts are to be put becomes definite and the goods in question are given their specific qualities . If the application of that criterion is not conclusive, it is necessary to examine whether all the assembly operations in question result in an appreciable increase in the commercial, ex-factory value of the finished product . On the other hand, it is not necessary to determine whether the assembly involves any intellectual contribution .

3.Article 6 of Regulation No 802/68 on the common definition of the concept of the origin of goods must be interpreted as meaning that the transfer of assembly from the country in which the parts were manufactured to another country in which use is made of existing factories does not in itself justify the presumption that the sole object of the transfer was to circumvent the provisions applicable in the Community or the Member States to goods from certain countries unless the transfer of assembly coincides with the entry into force of the relevant regulations . In that case, the manufacturer concerned must prove that there were reasonable grounds, other than avoiding the consequences of the provisions in question, for carrying out the assembly operations in the country from which the goods were exported .