The agreements contain not only the wording of the declaration of origin but also footnotes with further explanations, many of which relate to the placeholders in the prescribed text (e.g. PREFERENTIAL_ORIGIN). A general overview:
Validity period:
Enter a validity period (up to 12 months) only if you wish to submit a declaration of origin for multiple shipments. Otherwise, leave the validity period empty but include it in the declaration of origin.
Authorizations/registrations:
This is where you typically enter the reference number of the authorization or registration identifying the exporter. The information below the declaration of origin text indicates which authorization or registration is required. For shipments with a value under EUR 6,000 and with no existing authorization/registration, simply leave the field blank.
Origin specification:
You must specify the origin of the goods, taking into account the specifications for indicating origin in the relevant agreement.
Cumulation note:
For “Cumulation applied with …,” indicate the Pan-Euro-Med countries (LINK) from which you have purchased primary material included as originating material in your calculation (valid proof required). Otherwise, indicate “No cumulation applied.”
Origin criterion:
Some agreements require that you specify an origin criterion. Since these criteria are not universal, they must be looked up in the agreement in question.
Place and date:
If the commercial document itself contains information on the place and date, this information does not generally need to be indicated separately.
Signature:
Typically, declarations of origin must be signed. In those cases (such as special authorization) where the exporter does not need to sign, the name of the signatory is also omitted.