1. What the certification requires
CCPIT’s commercial certification reviews the document against the company’s record and the transaction’s supporting documents.
The requirements vary by certification type, and the common set follows.
2. The base documents for every application
Business licence, current and legible.
Foreign trade operator registration, where the certification concerns export documents.
The applicant’s authorisation, where the person filing is not the legal representative.
3. Certificate of origin
The base documents:
The commercial invoice.
The packing list.
The transport document, where issued.
The product pre-assessment, where the product contains imported materials or the origin criterion requires determination.
Material cost breakdown, where a value criterion applies.
Supplier declarations for imported materials, where applicable.
4. Commercial invoice certification
The commercial invoice.
The contract or purchase order.
The packing list.
The certificate of origin, where one has been issued, for consistency.
5. Business licence authentication
The business licence.
A certified translation, where English is required.
The company chop and the legal representative’s signature.
6. Contract authentication
The executed contract, signed by both parties.
Board authorisation, where the signatory’s authority is to be established.
A certified translation, where the contract is not in the required language.
7. Price list certification
The price list, with product identification, units, currency and trade term.
A covering statement of the price list’s validity.
8. Free sale certificate attestation
The free sale certificate issued by the competent authority.
The product information supporting it.
9. Force majeure certificate
The application describing the event.
The evidence of the event: government notices, regulatory orders, media reports.
The affected contract.
Evidence of the event’s impact on performance.
10. The consistency requirement
The documents must be internally consistent before filing.
The invoice’s goods description must match the certificate of origin’s.
The company name must be the same across the licence, the invoice and the application.
The consignee must be the same across the invoice, the packing list and the transport document.
Inconsistency is the most common reason for a returned application.
11. Common errors
Licence out of date
The company changed its registered capital or its scope, and the licence was reissued.
English name inconsistent
The commercial name differing from the registered English name.
Missing pre-assessment
Where a product contains imported materials.
Contract not signed by both parties
Certification of an incomplete document.
12. Closing view
The document list is short and the consistency requirement is where the work is.
CCPIT reviews documents against each other, and a set that is internally consistent moves through in a day.
*This article is based on the commercial certification services provided by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. Exporters should confirm current requirements with their local branch.*