First things first: ICC stands for ‘International Chamber of Commerce’, the biggest and most representative business organisation in the world, with more than 45-million members in more than 100 countries. Its members’ interests span every sector of private enterprise. Meanwhile, ‘genesis’ refers to the origin or beginning of something.

This leads to the question: What is ICC Genesis? A reasonable assumption is that it has to do with origin – but the origin of what, exactly?

Launched in 2024, ICC Genesis is described as a reliable verification tool, valuable not only to exporters for their origin statements but also to importers and customs authorities, working together to reduce fraud risk and costs and to facilitate smoother customs checks.

So, it has to do with origin and, more specifically, certificates of origin, or CO for short, according to the ICC. ‘Certificate of origin’ is also abbreviated as CoO, or DoC, with the latter actually standing for ‘declaration of origin’. A CO essentially confirms the ‘nationality’ of a product or good and serves as a declaration to satisfy customs or trade requirements. COs are mainly required for customs clearance procedures to determine duties or taxes, as well as the legitimacy of imports.

The ICC Genesis platform is described as a trusted verification tool that helps reduce risks and costs for smoother customs checks, and is accessible at https://genesis.iccwbo.org/.

Why is there a need for ICC Genesis? Rules of origin are commonly used to determine if goods are eligible for duty-free treatment or reduced duties under free trade agreement (FTA) rules, even though they may contain non-originating or non-FTA components. Certified invoice ‘origin’ declarations, a self-certification process carried out by the exporter, are used within the numerous FTAs currently in effect. According to the World Trade Organisation, 361 FTAs were in force as of January 1. Efficient application of rules of origin enhances the trustworthiness of exporters, reduces fraud risk and legal liability for importers, and ensures smoother customs checks.

Currently, there are no regulations or obligations on the certification of an invoice declaration. This declaration is carried out by suppliers or exporters voluntarily or at the request of customs authorities or importers as part of the procedures listed in an FTA.

The lack of awareness and understanding of preferential rules of origin by exporting companies, especially smaller businesses, can result in errors while self-certifying the origin on the invoice declaration. This challenge can be exacerbated by preferential rules of origin generally varying, depending on the agreement and the type of product.

ICC Genesis is a user-friendly, secure and cost-effective platform supporting businesses of any size in the origin declaration process.

Several ICC chambers participated in a successful pilot phase, which ended in March 2023. After a series of training sessions on preferential rules of origin and testing early this year, the platform is now scheduled to be deployed.

Exporters can apply online in just a few steps to their local chamber of commerce (in South Africa’s instance, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry – https://sacci.org.za/) to obtain the invoice declaration and origin statement certification.

Upon receiving an invoice declaration, an importer verifies that the document and preferential origin claim have been certified by a chamber of commerce in the country of export. This indicates a reduced level of risk in the transaction and potentially enables the chamber of commerce to benefit from duty-free import or reduced duties under the existing FTA between the two countries.

In summary, then: 1. Exporter applies online through its chamber of commerce; 2. Exporter declares the preferential origin in the invoice; 3. Chamber of commerce verifies and certifies the preferential origin on the invoice declaration; 4. Exporter receives certification of invoice declaration; and 5. Importing customs officials or the importer checks the declaration.

According to the ICC, its ICC Genesis enables chambers of commerce to diversify their services to the business community and maintain their trusted reputation as trade facilitators as well as their credibility in the field of origin. Those chambers of commerce interested in joining ICC Genesis or requesting a demo should contact the ICC at https://iccwbo.org/contact-us.