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Cambodia: Certificates of origin project expands
Starting Monday, provincial authorities in Banteay Meanchey and Oddar Meanchey will be able to issue the ‘D form’ needed to obtain certificates of origin (CO) for exports, according to an announcement from the Ministry of Commerce.
Producers, traders and exporters in Banteay Meanchey and Oddar Meanchey will now be able to obtain the form without leaving the province.
The initiative is part of a pilot programme that also includes Palin and Battambang. All the four provinces involved in the programme so far share a border with Thailand, but the government has plans to expand it to other areas of the country in the near future.
“The MoC will delegate the issuance of ‘D forms’ for certificates of origin to other provincial commerce departments across the country soon in order to facilitate business activities and exports,” the announcement said.
“The new arrangement will particularly benefit exporters whose offices are located in the provinces.”
A certificate of origin is an official document used to certify that a product was wholly produced or manufactured in a country. It is generally a key document required by buyers.
Book Laychy, director of Banteay Meanchey’s commerce department, told Khmer Times that producers, traders and exporters in his province will have to wait until late March or early April to apply for the form.
“The issuance of ‘D forms’ for certificates of origin in my province will help producers, traders and exporters reduce costs and save time, as they will no longer have to travel to the capital to obtain the form,” Mr Laychy said.
Khy Maly, sale and export manager of Amru Rice, said the process of securing COs was streamlined with the introduction of an online platform to process applications in November. She said now it only takes five or six days to obtain the form.
“We mainly export rice through the ports in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, and we found that the process is now much quicker. Before we used to have to wait up to 10 days,” Ms Maly said.
“The faster we submit the CO form to the ministry, the faster we can start exporting.”
Ho Sivyong, director of the export and import department, told Khmer Times that the programme will include all provinces in the country by 2018, expanding first to those that share a border with Vietnam like Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, Tboung Khmum and Takeo.
“Once all provincial commerce departments can issue CO documents, exporters and producers won’t have to come to the capital to submit their applications, saving them time and resources,” Mr Sivyong said. “It will also facilitate cross-border trade between Cambodia and neighbouring countries.”
Source: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/50114403/certificates-of-origin-project-expands/