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1. What are Rules of Origin?


  • Rules of origin are the criteria needed to determine the country of origin of a good.  There are two types of rules of origin, namely non-preferential rules of origin and preferential rules of origin.


2. What are Non-Preferential Rules of Origin?


  • It is used for determining the origin of products subject to all kind of commercial policy (such as anti-dumping measures, quantitative restrictions etc.) or tariff quotas. It is also used for statistical purposes.


3. What are Preferential Rules of Origin?


  • Preferential Rules of Origin conferred on goods from particular countries, which have fulfilled certain criteria allowing preferential rates of duty to be claimed.

  • Preferential Rules of Origin confers certain tariff benefits (entry at a reduced or zero rate of duty) on goods traded between countries.


4. What are the basic concepts in determining origin?


  • There are two basic concepts to determine the origin of goods namely 'Wholly Obtained' products and products having undergone a 'last substantial transformation'. 

  • If only one country is involved the "wholly obtained" will be applied. This will be restricted to mostly products obtained in their natural state and products derived from wholly obtained products.

  • If two or more countries are involved in the production of goods, the concept of "last substantial transformation" determines the origin of the goods.

  • In general, the criterion of last substantial transformation is expressed in three ways:
  1. By a rule requiring a change of tariff (sub) heading in the HS nomenclature

  2. By a list of manufacturing or processing operations that do or do not confer on the goods the origin of the country in which these operations were carried out

  3. By a value added rule, where the increase of value due to assembly operations and incorporation of originating materials.


5. What are Preferential Rules of Origin Requirement under different Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)?


  • Goods that satisfy the preferential rules of origin under an FTA is considered as an originating good and be allowed to pay lower or no import tariffs when imported into Brunei Darussalam under the FTA. 

  • Preferential Rules of Origin vary from FTAs to FTAs. As such, a good which qualify for a FTA may not be able to qualify as an originating good in other FTAs. 


​​The Tariff Reduction Schedule can also be searched by product below: