The Certificate of Origin shall be issued before or at the time of exportation whenever the goods to be exported can be considered originating in that Party subject to Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin). The exporter or producer shall submit a written application for the Certificate of Origin together with appropriate supporting documents proving that the products to be exported qualify for the issuance of a Certificate of Origin. The format of the Certificate of Origin is found in Annex 3 and is also available from the Singapore Customs.

Singapore and China agreed to recognise third party invoicing. This means that even if the invoices for Singapore's exports to China are issued in third countries, the originating goods will still qualify for preferential treatment as long as they are shipped from either of the signatory countries.

A Certificate of Origin is applicable to a single importation of a good into the Party’s territory and shall remain valid for 12 months from the date of issue. Producers, exporters and importers will be required to retain origin documents for three years.

An exporter, importer or any person, could submit at least three months before the date of importation of the goods for advance ruling. An advance ruling may be issued within 60 days of the date of an application, provided all the origin requirements have been complied with.

The validity period for an advance ruling is two years from the date of its issue.