Tolerance or de minimis

If the rule of origin attributed to your product is not satisfied (see sufficiently transformed goods section (link to the section), your import product may still be considered as originating from your partner country in some cases.

The good can still be considered as satisfying the applicable rule of origin if the value of the non-originating materials does not exceed a concrete threshold specified in each set of rules of origin. This threshold is normally 10% or 15% of the ex-work price of your good.

If the rule applicable to your good is one of the three rules described in the sufficiently transformed goods section (link to new section) tolerance can apply as follows

  • if the change of tariff classification rule is used, the tolerance allows the producer in the partner country to use non-originating materials which have the same tariff headings as the final product. This is provided that the value of these materials does not exceed the tolerance threshold. This threshold is specified in the relevant rules of origin.
  • if the manufacture from certain products rule is used, the tolerance permits the producer in the partner country to use non-originating materials that represent a later stage of production - provided that their value does not exceed the tolerance threshold. This threshold is specified in the relevant set of rules of origin.
  • if the value-added rule is used, note that you cannot use the tolerance for your import product as the threshold for the specific rule of origin attributed to your product. In this case the maximum percentage threshold cannot be exceeded.
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