Certificates of origin of Albanian products will be issued electronically with a digital signature

 

 Albania votes for the Regional Convention on Preferential Rules of Origin Pan–Euro-Mediterranean.

The General Director of Customs, Mr. Genti Gazheli, represents Albania at the EU meeting on simplifying procedures for rules of origin.

Albanian Customs has facilitated another convenience for business. At the invitation of the European Commission, the General Director of Customs, Mr. Genti Gazheli, participated today in the Joint Committee Meeting on Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Preferential Rules of Origin (PEM) in Brussels.

According to the Convention voted on today, from January 1, 2025, the certificate of origin of goods will be issued electronically with a digital signature, reducing time and costs for businesses on the origin of goods both in import and export, according to the official announcement of Customs.

The use of the electronic certificate of origin will facilitate businesses in exports and imports to/from the 27 European Union countries, EFTA countries, CEFTA countries, Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia, and the Barcelona Pact countries.

Until now, circulation certificates for preferential origin had to be submitted signed and stamped, while with today's vote, the process will be electronic, easing business in foreign trade, both in export and import.

The need for the use of electronic certificates arose in 2020, as a result of the impossibility faced by trading partners to offer them since contacts between customs administrations and economic operators in these countries were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a contracting party to the PEM Convention, Albania has been part of the 10-year discussions and negotiations to change and improve the rules of preferential origin to achieve the objectives of their simplification with the aim of increasing trade benefits from the parties to the Convention.