Taiwan instituted the electronic transmission of certificates of origin for imported goods on August 26 to conform to APEC’s paperless trade initiative and speed up customs clearance. The Directorate General of Customs （DGOC） indicates that since Taiwan has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Korea for cooperation in the cross-border exchange of electronic certificates of origin, in the initial period this operation will be used for import declarations for products whose origin is reported as Korea. Use of the electronic system is not compulsory; business can decide themselves whether or not to use it.

The DGOC also points out that all the certificates of origin that businesses used in the past were paper documents, and that whenever the customs authorities had doubts about their validity they would have to be verified by Taiwan’s overseas economic offices. This added to the time required for verification and affected the timely delivery of goods. The exchange of electronic certificates of origin can greatly reduce the cost, for both sides, of checking the validity of certificates of origin, since importers will be able to receive the documents, sign to confirm them, and then relay them to Customs online; this will assure the security of transmission and prevent the counterfeiting or alteration of certificates of origin, while also shortening the time needed for goods to clear customs.