It is reported that on December 20, 2022, Decision No. 1/2022 of the Customs Committee of the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Singapore was adopted, which modifies Protocol 1 of Origin of said Free Trade Agreement. .

The Decision will enter into force on January 1, 2023, will be published in the Official Gazette, series C, in the coming days and covers the following elements:

• Protocol No. 1 is updated to the 2022 version of the Harmonized System.

• For EU exporters, the "approved exporters" system is replaced by "registered exporters".

  This means that from 1 January 2023, Singapore importers have to claim tariff preference through origin communications from registered EU exporters, indicating their REX number, and no longer through "origin declarations". indicating an authorization number of an authorized exporter.

  To facilitate the transition, the Decision establishes a transitional period ensuring that Singapore Customs will continue to accept origin declarations made by EU-approved exporters until March 31, 2023.

• The coverage (but not the volumes) of 3 origin quotas for Singapore exports to the EU is expanded. Consequently, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1927 is in the process of being amended.