UK-Serbia Free Trade Agreement: What businesses need to know to secure zero duty trade
The UK and Serbia have a Trade and Cooperation Agreement in place, but how does it help GB and EU businesses. We explore...
Introduction
The UK and Serbia have signed a Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
The Agreement secures continued preferential trade access between the UK and Serbia. The preferential trading terms secured by the Agreement will enable businesses on both sides to trade as they did before the UK left the European Union (EU) in 2021 - with "free trade" provisions in the agreement.
However, rules have to be respected to ensure that trading does not incur customs duty.
What the agreement includes
This agreement includes provisions on:
trade in goods, including provisions on preferential tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, rules of origin
trade in services
intellectual property, including geographical indications
government procurement
Tariff rates on goods
Tariff rates for bilateral trade in goods between the UK and Serbia will apply, as set out in the agreement.
Tariff rate quotas
Tariff rate quotas in the agreement have been tailored specifically to both countries.
Rules of origin
Claiming preferential rates for your exports from the UK or Serbia
Unless a business is permitted to provide an origin declaration, they will need to fill in a certificate of origin to claim preferential treatment.
Proof of Origin
The UK and Serbia continue to use the EUR1 and EUR-MED format for movement certificates with trade partners that have mutual FTAs with the EU, including Serbia.
These movement certificates are identical to those previously in use, they just state the United Kingdom or Serbia, accordingly. EUR1 and EUR-MED certificates of origin will be available from your usual provider, such as the local chambers of commerce.
Using EU materials and processing in your exports to Serbia or the UK
Under the agreement, businesses can use EU materials or processes in exports to Serbia or the UK if the necessary requirements set out in the Rules of Origin Protocol between Serbia and the UK are met.
Minimal Processing
Businesses in Serbia or the UK must also ensure the working or processing they do in the UK or Serbia goes beyond the minimal operations listed in the agreement and the other relevant conditions are met. For example, you will not be able to simply package or label a product from the EU and export it to Serbia as a good originating in the UK. See the list of minimal operations in Article 7 of the Rules of Origin Protocol in the UK-Serbia agreement (download below).
BLOG ENTRY: Minimal Processing Explained
Many exporters or importers forget that the minimal operations rule can disqualify your product counting as originating. Find out how it works
https://www.customsmanager.org/post/rules-of-origin-minimal-operations-explained
Cumulation between the UK and Serbia
The ability to consider materials from, or processing carried out in, another country as originating when incorporated into your product is called accumulation. This is allowed between Serbia and the UK.
Using materials and/or processing from other EU, Iceland, Norway, Turkey or Switzerland in your exports to Serbia or the UK
When both the UK and Serbia have an agreement with one of the other countries provided for in the Rules of Origin Protocol, under the agreement, businesses can continue using materials, and in some cases processing, from that country in your exports to Serbia or the UK. In particular, refer to Article 3 and 4.
Please note the specific disclaimer:
Sending your goods to Serbia or the UK through the EU and other countries
Goods transited through the EU – and any other country with whom cumulation is applicable – will not be subject to the same restrictions as those in transit through other third countries. For example, you will be able to split a consignment in the EU when exporting goods to the UK, provided the goods comprising the consignment have not been entered into free circulation in the EU.
Transit through any other third country is possibly provided your goods remain under customs surveillance and do not undergo operations other than unloading, reloading or any operation designed to preserve them in good condition.
Supplier Declarations
Goods in transit and retrospective certificates of origin
If you expect goods to be in transit prior to the entry into effect of the agreement, you can obtain a retrospective certificate of origin. This will show that the goods originated in the UK or Serbia and are eligible for preferential terms. You can get retrospective certificates of origin from your usual provider as soon as the agreement takes effect.
Product Specific Rules of Origin
These can be downloaded below. They are not identical to the rule of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Here is an example of the rules for Heading 3824.
Download
The below documents detail the preferential tariffs and Rules of Origin that have been agreed in the EU-Serbia FTA. In the UK, this is based on The Customs Tariff (Preferential Trade Arrangements and Tariff Quotas) (EU Exit) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2021:
Rules of Origin in the UK-Serbia FTA: General
General Rules of Origin UK-Serbia FTA provided by Customs Manager Ltd
.pdf
Download PDF • 268KB
Rules of Origin in the UK-Serbia FTA: Product Specific
Rules of Origin UK-Serbia Product Specific Rules - FULL
.pdf
Download PDF • 1.13MB
Serbia: UK and Serbia sign Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement (FULL)
UK_Serbia_Partnership_Trade_and_Cooperation_Agreement provided by Customs Manager Ltd
.pdf
Download PDF • 789KB
Preferential Rates
Serbia-Preferential-Tariff 27.04.2021 with UK
.pdf
Download PDF • 259KB
About Customs Manager Ltd.
We are on a mission to empower people with import, export and transport responsibilities with helpful advice, insightful training and relevant trade intelligence services. We offer consultancy and expert advice, training (live, in-house and on-demand), support for your import and export business and customs clearance/broker services into the UK (Great Britain) and Northern Ireland. We devote all our passion and energy to helping businesses grow faster cross-border. Working with us means having your own multilingual Customs Manager on standby to help you trade effectively, efficiently and, of course, compliantly, wherever you want to go in the world. We even file customs declarations for you.
Join us on social media
· YouTube
· LEAVE us a POSITIVE REVIEW ON GOOGLE
Hey, I got told I need to subscribe and pay to ready your expert blogs! Where is my free stuff?
Well, remember the old saying, there is no such thing as a free lunch! Expert content creation takes time and effort, not even mentioning the years of learning and studying the geeky subjects of customs, export controls and free trade agreements. So, if you like what we are doing, please help out and subscribe to our annual plan, allowing you to access expert content for a low price affordable to any business and any customs manager / global trade professional.
As a Premium Subscriber, you get VIP treatment and access to new, fresh content every week. You also get access to the entire library of advice, more than 400 blog entries and counting. We also monitor legislation for you and let you know of all the changes, so you never miss an important legal change. At the same time, you save valuable time by engaging our dedicated trade specialists to carry the monitoring out for them. Premium subscribers also unlock all other content on the Customs Manager’s Ltd. website, including our hubs and resources helping you to stay compliant in daily tasks. Being a paying subscriber provides you with vital thought leadership development to empower you to trade effectively, efficiently and, of course, compliantly, across borders. And if you want us to cover other countries than the EU, UK and a bit of the US, then just ask. Reach out in the chat or by email.
Important Notice
Customs Manager Ltd. owns the copyright in this information.
You are not allowed to use this information in any way that infringes the intellectual property rights in it. You may have to hold a valid licence to use this information. A licence can be obtained by becoming a Premium subscriber to the Customs Managers’ Trade Intelligence service. As a Premium subscriber, you may download and print this information which you may then use, copy or reproduce for your own internal non-profit-making purposes.
However, under no circumstances are you permitted to use, copy or reproduce this information with a view to profit or gain.
In addition, you must not sell or distribute this information to third parties who are not members of your organization, whether for monetary payment or otherwise.
This information is intended to serve as general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. The application and impact of laws can vary widely based on the specific facts involved. This information should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional legal or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a Customs Manager Ltd. professional.
In no circumstances will Customs Manager Ltd, be liable for any decision made or action was taken in reliance on the information contained within this document or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.