Approved Exporter Status.

Regardless of negotiated shipping terms, it is imperative that the supplier ensures that they have all the necessary documentation and export certificates needed to legally export their product(s) to the Republic of Korea (South Korea). It is strongly advised that the supplier seeks advice from their local or national customs and revenue authority on the best course of action when exporting to South Korea. Especially when exports include alcoholic beverages. For orders under €6,000 the supplier is still required to make a declaration of origin, but Approved Exporter (AE) status may not be required. Please read the below sections for more information.

Under the terms of the EU-Korea FTA agreement; European suppliers must gain ‘Approved Exporter’ (AE) status in order to export consignments over €6,000 to South Korea, and in doing so benefit from preferential tariffs. Unlike other FTA agreements, the EUR1 form is not accepted under the terms of the EU-Korea FTA Agreement. Instead it stipulates that if a shipment is valued over €6,000, the exporter must have ‘Approved Exporter’ (AE) status and must instead make an origin declaration directly on to an invoice or other commercial document (packing list or consignment note), detailing their Customs Authorisation Number. Please note that a Bill of Lading is not suitable and should not be used for this purpose. Additionally, in most cases it is preferable to make the declaration onto an official invoice. For orders under €6,000 the supplier is still required to make a declaration of origin, but Approved Exporter (AE) status may not be required. Please read the below sections for more information. For more information on the specifics of the Korea-EU FTA Agreement, please visit the Korea Customs Service’s website here. AE Status is also not to be confused with the Declaration of Bottling & Origin documentation needed for import into South Korea, a company’s EORI number or a product’s HS Code. These are separate documents and/or numbers. Regardless of order size and monetary value; a declaration of origin must be made onto an official invoice. Below are two examples of scenarios likely to be applicable to most suppliers;

Scenario 1: Orders Below the €6,000 Threshold

With orders under €6,000, Approved Exporter (AE) status is likely to be unnecessary and a Customs Authorisation Number is not needed. However, a declaration of origin must still be made on an official invoice. Please copy and paste the below declaration directly onto an official invoice, ensuring that it is signed and the country of origin is appropriately inserted into the correct location of the declaration. Orders under the value of €6,000 EUR from companies who are not Approved Exporters must in all circumstances be signed by a person of authority within the company. This is to ratify the origin declaration. Invoices that are not signed will be rejected by the Customs Authority. 

Please copy and paste the following text onto your commercial invoice, ensuring that the relevant area(s) are filled in and the invoice is signed. — 

“The exporter of the products covered by this document declares that, except where otherwise clearly indicated, these products are of [Insert Product Country of Origin] preferential origin. [Signature of Exporter] “

Scenario 2: Orders Above the €6,000 Threshold

Orders over €6,000 will require the supplier to have gained Approved Exporter (AE) status, and therefore a Customs Authorisation Number. If you are already an Approved Exporter for other preferential agreements, ask the customs office that manages your AE status to add South Korea and to enter an additional clause in your prior declaration of origin and your approved exporter authorisation, too. 

Please copy and paste the following text onto your commercial invoice, ensuring that the relevant area(s) are filled in, with the AE Number clearly stated. 

” The exporter of the products covered by this document (Customs Authorisation No.: [Insert Customs Authorisation Number]) declares that, except where otherwise clearly indicated, these products are of [Insert Product Country of Origin] preferential origin.”

Additional Notes

A Customs Authorisation Number can also sometimes be referred to as an Approved Exporter Registration Number. This should not be confused with an EORI Number, HS Code or Company Registration Number. A Customs Authorisation Number is issued to an exporter by their local customs authority. Only exporters with Approved Exporter (AE) status can obtain a Customs Authorisation Number. AE status indicates that an exporter meets their local customs authority’s requirements and in doing so has been authorised to issue a declaration of preferential origin on a commercial document (i.e invoice) in lieu of issuing an EUR1 declaration of origin document. The Customs Authorisation Number is usually the EU country code (E.g IE, DE, FR etc.) followed by several numeric characters (E.g DE/123/456).

Applying for AE Status

To apply to become an Approved Exporter (AE) please contact your local customs authority, making sure that you have your EORI (Economic Operator Registration and Identification reference), the number begins with 2 letters, followed by 12 to 15 numbers, for example GB123456789007, and the commodity codes of the goods you intended to export/sell to Taesan Liquor, and finally an estimate of quantities and values of the consignments you intend to export each year. Moreover, among other preconditions; products should meet the rules of origin requirements outlined in Annex II of the FTA protocol. Lastly, you may also be required to submit supporting evidence corresponding to your application. Additionally, as part of the application process; a member of your local customs authority will visit your company premises directly and perform an ‘audit’. The time it takes to complete this process may differ depending on your locale, but suppliers should set aside 1 to 2 months to complete this process fully. Once completed the supplier will be provided with a unique Customs Authorisation Number, thus achieving Approved Exporter (AE) status. Regardless of the size of the order, we strongly recommend that all of our suppliers seek Approved Exporter (AE) status before selling and exporting to Taesan Liquor Inc,.