Harbin Customs launched a new self-service for the important Certificate of Origin document on May 20, as part of trade facilitation initiatives being rolled out by Heilongjiang province in the current year, according to officials.

Applicant businesses – after having earlier physically submitted the necessary materials -- can now print off the approved certificate in their offices without having to go to the service counter at Harbin Customs, a staff member said.

The new DIY certificate is also loaded with anti-counterfeiting information, including a QR code. After the successful printing, the enterprises know that the information has already gone out to the customs of other countries or regions that have established an electronic data sharing system with China, which is safe and efficient.

“It saves us a lot of time compared with the previous procedures”, said Wang Huijun, an employee with an import and export tires business, the first company benefiting from the new service.

In printed form or as an electronic document, the certificate is used in international trade to affirm that exported goods have been produced, manufactured and processed in a particular country. Such certificates are instrumental in proving goods of a certain origin fall within the framework of bilateral or multilateral free trade agreements and other preferential tariff treaties.

In the first four months of this year, Harbin Customs had issued some 7,413 copies of preferential Certificates of Origin for Heilongjiang-based businesses conducting foreign trade.

The issued copies of the certificates involve exported goods worth $422.2 million, and all of the exported goods qualified for a total of $18.65 million in tariff exemptions, saving money for businesses.