Introduction
- The Treaty establishing the East African Community, in Article 75 sets out the undertaking by Partner States to the effect that they, inter alia, shall; establish a Customs Union, details of which shall be contained in a protocol which shall among others, include Rules of Origin.
- The Protocol establishing the East African Community (EAC) Customs Union (the “Protocol”) provides, in Article 14 that goods shall be accepted as eligible for Community Tariff treatment if they originate in the Partner States, and the definition of such products shall be as provided in Annex III of the Protocol of the EAC Customs Union.
Definition of EAC RoO
- EAC Rules of Origin can be defined as:
“a set of criteria that is used to distinguish between goods that are produced within the EAC Customs territory and are eligible to Community Tariff treatment against those produced outside the EAC customs territory that attract import duties specified in the Common External Tariff”.
Purpose of the EAC RoO
- The purpose of the EAC Rules of Origin is to implement the provisions of Article 14 of the Protocol establishing the EAC Customs Union to ensure that there is uniformity among Partner States in the application of the Rules of Origin and that to the extent possible the processes is transparent, accountable, fair, predictable and consistent with the provisions of the Protocol.