U.S. Origin Invoice Declaration
 

Effective January 10, 2018, U.S. exporters to Israel are no longer required to provide Israeli authorities a hard copy Certificate of Origin (commonly referred to as the “Green Form” or “Form A”). Instead, U.S. exporters or the producers are required to complete and sign the U.S. Origin Invoice Declaration.

The declaration must be stated on a commercial document. This includes any document that the U.S. exporter or manufacturer prepare to describe the content of the specific shipment, including a commercial invoice, shipping list and pro-forma invoice. However, some commercial documents, like certificate of conformity, even though may be issued by the producer, would not applicable as they do not provide the information pertaining to a specific shipment, including product name, quantities and prices that a shipping list or a commercial invoice would. For more information, contact U.S. Commercial Service in Israel.

 

U.S. Origin Invoice Declaration I, the undersigned, hereby declare that unless otherwise indicated, the goods covered by this document fully comply with the rules of origin and the other provisions of the Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area between the Government of Israel and the Government of the United States of America. Check one that applies: ___ The Exporter       (whether the exporter is the producer or not) ___ The Producer       (is not the exporter) Tax Identification: Name: Title: Email: Signature:

 

Rules of Origin Provision

American exporters are advised to ensure that they carefully review and understand the language of the FTA’s Rules of Origin Provision before they sign the Invoice Declaration.
 
(Rules of Origin) apply to any article if:
 
(a) that Article is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of the Unites States or is a new or different article of commerce that has been grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States:
 
(b) that article is imported directly from the United States into Israel; and
 
(c) the sum of the following:  
No article shall be considered a new or different article of commerce under this Agreement and no material shall be eligible for inclusion as domestic content under this Agreement by virtue of having merely undergone (1) simple combining or packaging operations or (2) mere dilution with water or with another substance that does not materially alter the characteristics of the article or material.
 
For further information and for the full text of the FTA, please refer to the Trade Agreement Compliance website.
 

Certificate of Non-Manipulation

In order to enter Israel under the terms of the FTA, goods must be imported directly from the United States into Israel. Products transshipped through a third country will come under closer scrutiny from Israeli Customs. The product will also a require a Certificate of Non-Manipulation from the customs authority of the third country to prove that the goods remained in a bonded warehouse in the third country, and have not been manipulated in that country.

Content Verification

Israeli Customs may initiate a U.S. Content Verification Investigation if they question the accuracy of a claim of U.S. origin made on the Invoice Declaration, and/or if they choose to randomly verify the content origin.

• To prevent a prolonged Content Verification Investigation and possible delays for goods arriving in Israel, U.S. exporters are advised to carefully review and understand the Rules of Origin Provision before signing the Invoice Declaration (please refer to the “Rules of Origin Provision” on page 1). 

• Any U.S. exporter or manufacturer signing an Invoice Declaration must be prepared to submit a Verification Declaration upon request from Israeli Customs, setting forth all pertinent details concerning the production or manufacture of the articles which were the subject of the Invoice Declaration.

 

The information on the Verification Declaration should contain at least the following details:   A description of the article, quantity, numbers and marks of packages, invoice numbers and bills of lading; A description of the operations performed in the production of the article in the United States and identification of the direct costs of processing operations; A description of any material used in production of the article, which are wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of the United States, and a statement as to the cost or value of such materials; A description of the operations performed on and a statement as to the origin and cost or value of any foreign (non-U.S.) materials used in the article which are claimed to have been sufficiently processed in the United States so as to be materials produced in the United States; and A description of the origin and cost or value of any foreign (non-U.S.) materials used in the article, which have not been substantially transformed in the United States.

   
 

Prepared by the International Trade Administration. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.