Electronic Certificate of Origin Singapore: What Changed
Updated 22 September 2026
Since 1 August 2026, Singapore's five authorised organisations take ordinary Certificate of Origin applications electronically only (Singapore Customs Circular No. 07/2026). At those five, an electronic Certificate of Origin Singapore application is the only way in, Certificate of Processing included, with no grace period. Singapore Customs, the sixth issuer, gives no ordinary CO for foreign goods re-exported from Singapore.
That last sentence is the one re-exporters feel. If you buy goods overseas and ship them on from Singapore, an electronic Certificate of Origin from one of the five organisations is now the only ordinary CO you can get. This guide covers what changed, who issues what, what it costs, and what to set up before your next booking.
Key takeaways
From 1 August 2026, all ordinary CO applications to the five authorised organisations must be electronic (Circular No. 07/2026).
The rule also covers the Certificate of Processing.
There is no grace period. Paper applications lodged before 1 August are still processed.
Singapore Customs issues no ordinary CO for re-exported foreign-origin goods; only the five organisations do.
Published e-CO fees differ: $7 to $10 a set at SCCCI, S$8 to S$12 at SICC (plus GST) and from S$12 at SMF.
You stay responsible for every line on the form, whoever types it.
What changed on 1 August 2026?
On 7 May 2026, Singapore Customs sent Circular No. 07/2026 to manufacturers and traders. It was drawn up with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the five authorised organisations (AOs).
The rule is simple: from 1 August 2026, every ordinary CO application to an AO goes through that AO's online platform, and paper is refused (Singapore Customs, Circular No. 07/2026).
A footnote widens it. The rule "includes both Ordinary Certificate of Origin (OCO) and Certificate of Processing". If your team files either one, it now goes online.
The circular's own FAQ settles three things people keep asking:
There is no grace period after 1 August 2026.
Paper forms handed in before 1 August 2026 will still be processed.
You can use any of the five AOs. All five already run online systems.
The circular leaves two things to each AO. One is the fee, which "may vary between different AOs". The other is how you collect the approved certificate, since each AO "may have its own prescribed procedures". Check both before you pick one.
Who can issue an ordinary Certificate of Origin now?
Six bodies issue ordinary COs in Singapore. One is Singapore Customs. The other five are the AOs:
Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI)
Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI)
Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC)
Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SMCCI)
Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF)
Which one you can use depends on the goods, not on your preference.
Your goods | Singapore Customs (TradeNet) | Five authorised organisations (e-submission) |
Made or processed in Singapore | Yes, after manufacturer registration and a cost statement | Yes |
Foreign goods re-exported from Singapore | No | Yes |
Singapore-origin textiles exported to the USA | Ask Singapore Customs | No |
The third row surprises people. Customs says the AOs "do not issue ordinary COs for the export of Singapore-origin textiles and textile goods to the United States of America". For those, talk to Customs.
An ordinary CO is also optional. Customs calls it "an optional document which you may wish to obtain for commercial reasons". Your buyer, their customs or their bank asks for it. That deadline is commercial, and it doesn't move.
Why re-exporters feel this most
A maker in Singapore has two roads to an ordinary CO. One is Singapore Customs, through TradeNet: the CO goes in with the export permit, once the factory is registered and a cost statement is in place (Singapore Customs). The second is any of the five AOs. Our guide to how a Certificate of Origin application works covers that Customs route step by step.
A re-exporter has one road. Customs' answer is short: it "does not issue ordinary Certificate of Origin (CO) for the re-export of foreign-origin goods", and it points traders to the AOs (Singapore Customs on AskGov). A second published question, about goods imported from the Netherlands and re-exported to Vietnam, gets the same direction: go to one of the five AOs.
Before 1 August, a re-exporter without an online account could still walk a paper form to a chamber counter. That fallback is gone.
If your e-CO account isn't open when the buyer's request lands, the certificate waits while you register. The shipment waits with it.
Our position is simple. If you re-export and your buyers ever ask for a CO, open an account with one AO now, before an order depends on it. Sign-up is the one step you control today. The buyer's deadline isn't.
Does a re-export ever qualify for a preferential certificate instead?
It can. Singapore Customs issues back-to-back preferential certificates for some re-exported goods and sets out the conditions in its own guide. That is a different document with different rules. An ordinary CO, from any issuer, does not reduce your buyer's duty.
So ask your buyer one question before you open any portal: are they claiming a lower duty rate? If yes, an ordinary CO is the wrong document, however fast the new system issues it.
What an electronic Certificate of Origin Singapore application costs
There is no single price. The circular says fees "may vary between different AOs", and the published lists show it.
Issuer | What the published fee covers | Member | Non-member |
SCCCI | First set of 4 copies, 1 to 2 pages, self-printed eCO | $7.00 | $10.00 |
SICC | 1 original (up to 2 pages) and 4 copies, self-printed eCO; GST on top | S$8.00 | S$12.00 |
Singapore Customs (TradeNet) | CO application, locally made goods only | About S$6.29; about S$9.27 combined with the export permit | |
SMF | eCO, per set; express service costs extra | From S$12 | From S$15 |
SICCI, SMCCI | Check the organisation's current schedule | Not quoted here |
Sources: SCCCI trade documentation, SICC endorsement fees, Singapore Customs fees and SMF, all checked on 22 September 2026.
Two things move your cost more than the headline fee. The first is membership. At SICC, a non-member pays S$4 more per set than a member (S$12.00 against S$8.00, SICC fees). Ship one certificate a week and that gap is S$208 a year.
The second is where you print. At SICC, a set printed at the chamber costs S$10.00 for members and S$15.00 for non-members. Print it yourself and it is S$8.00 and S$12.00.
SCCCI's chamber-printed rate is $8.00 and $11.00 (SCCCI). So printing in your own office saves S$2 to S$3 a set at SICC, and $1 a set at SCCCI. If you ship a handful of certificates a year, stick with the non-member self-print rate. If you ship weekly, price the membership before your next order.
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What to set up before your next shipment
Work through this list once, and the next CO request becomes a same-week job instead of a scramble.
Pick one AO. Any of the five will do for ordinary COs on re-exported goods. Compare their fees and pick the one your team will actually use.
Register the e-CO account in your company's name. Under SMCCI's notice, a business must now open an e-CO account and apply online (SMCCI, August 2026).
Sort the paperwork a non-member needs. SCCCI has a separate Letter of Indemnity form just for non-members. Check what your AO asks for before you apply.
Prepare the origin evidence. For foreign goods you bought from a local supplier, SCCCI provides supplier declaration forms. For goods you make, SCCCI provides a Letter of Declaration by a Manufacturer, and SICC posted a notice on 28 August 2025 titled "Mandatory Manufacturing Cost Statement (MCS) for Certificate of Origin" (SICC).
Match the certificate to the permit. The goods description and the first six digits of the HS code should line up with the export permit. Our note on why the first six HS digits must match explains the check.
Decide who submits and who approves. Name one person, or your declaring agent, plus one backup. A login only one person knows is a shipment waiting to be held up.
Keep the records where you can find them. CrimsonLogic runs the eCO system SCCCI uses. It says past filings stay stored there for two years. Keep your own copies too.
Step 1 feels like the decision. In our view, step 6 matters more.
What documents does an e-CO application need?
Each AO publishes its own list, so read your AO's before the first filing. SMF's list is a useful benchmark because it is short and specific (SMF, Certificate of Origin). Its supporting documents include:
your company's ACRA business profile;
the commercial invoice;
the Cargo Clearance Permit for the shipment.
For goods declared as Singapore origin, SMF adds three more: a Manufacturing Cost Statement, a manufacturing process flowchart, and other documents that back up the origin claim. SMF takes these through the same CrimsonLogic eCO platform SCCCI uses.
Notice the permit on that list. The certificate goes in with the permit behind it, so the permit has to exist, and be right, first. Our note on why a Cargo Clearance Permit matters covers that side. SCCCI also publishes a Letter of Undertaking form for eCO applications.
What the switch gives you
The change is not all cost. The circular says that with electronic filing you can apply for a CO at any time and check where your application stands, instead of chasing a counter (Circular 07/2026). It also asks traders to sign up and test their AO's system early, and to contact the AO for training or technical help if they need it.
Take that offer before the first urgent order, not during it. A test filing on a shipment with no deadline tells you what your AO's form asks for. It costs one fee and saves a panic.
A worked example: one re-export, start to finish
Take the case in a published AskGov question: goods imported from the Netherlands into Singapore, then re-exported to Vietnam. The buyer in Vietnam wants an ordinary CO. Here is the path since 1 August 2026.
The goods arrive and are declared on an import permit, filed by you or your declaring agent.
Your buyer confirms they need an ordinary CO, not a preferential one. If they want a lower duty rate, stop here and look at the preferential route instead.
You apply to one of the five AOs, online. Singapore Customs is not an option for these goods (AskGov).
You attach the commercial invoice and the origin evidence your AO asks for.
The re-export permit goes in through TradeNet, with the goods description and HS code matching the certificate.
Once the AO approves the CO, you collect or print it the way that AO sets out (Circular 07/2026, FAQ Q7).
Nothing in that path is new except step 3. Before August, step 3 could be a walk to a counter. Now it needs an account that exists before the order does.
Should you or your declaring agent hold the e-CO account?
Your company should hold it. The certificate is in your name, the papers behind it are yours, and so is the duty to get it right. SMCCI's own reminder is that businesses "must continue to ensure that the information submitted in an e-CO application is complete, accurate, and supported by the appropriate documentation".
That doesn't mean your team has to key every application. A declaring agent who already files your export permits holds the same invoice, packing list and HS codes the certificate needs. When the form is prepared from that same set, the CO and the permit have less room to disagree. Whether an agent can file under your account is a question for your AO, so confirm the set-up with them first.
Our preference: the account in your name, the application prepared from the same invoice, packing list and HS codes as the export permit, and every approved certificate saved to your own files the day it is issued.
What did not change
The AO still checks the form and can refuse it. SICC can refuse to issue or endorse a CO. If an applicant can't meet its requirements, it may ask for an insurance or banker's guarantee instead (SICC).
The origin rules behind the certificate are the same ones that applied in July. Only the channel moved.
Permit accuracy still matters as much as before. SMF's page points traders to Singapore Customs Circular No. 06/2025, which requires the Country/Region of Origin on every import, export and transhipment permit to be declared accurately (SMF). The origin on your permit and the origin on your CO should tell the same story.
And the document is still optional in Singapore. SMCCI notes that overseas customs, buyers, banks or others may ask for a CO. None of them will wait because the portal was new to you.
Get the right certificate on the first try
We handle import and export permit declarations, re-export permit declarations and transhipment permit support for goods moving through Singapore: the permit side that every CO application now leans on. For the permit behind the shipment, our Cargo Clearance Permit guide sets out the steps.
Tell us what the goods are, where they were made and where they are going. We'll tell you in writing which issuer and which certificate the shipment needs, before you book it. Contact our declaration team or use the WhatsApp button on this page.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I still submit a paper Certificate of Origin application in Singapore?
No. Under Singapore Customs Circular 07/2026, the five AOs stopped taking paper ordinary CO applications on 1 August 2026, with no grace period. Paper forms lodged before that date are still processed. Everything filed from 1 August 2026 goes through the AOs' online systems.
Can Singapore Customs issue an ordinary CO for re-exported goods?
No. Customs' published answer is that foreign goods passing through Singapore get no ordinary CO from it. For a certificate of origin for re-export, traders apply to one of the five authorised organisations: SCCCI, SICCI, SICC, SMCCI or the Singapore Manufacturing Federation. Since 1 August 2026, that application must be made electronically.
Which bodies issue the electronic Certificate of Origin Singapore traders use?
Five authorised organisations issue ordinary Certificates of Origin electronically: SCCCI, SICCI, SICC, SMCCI and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation. Singapore Customs also issues ordinary COs through TradeNet for goods made or processed in Singapore, but not for re-exported foreign goods. Any of the five organisations can be used.
How much does an electronic Certificate of Origin cost in Singapore?
It depends on the issuer. At SCCCI, a member pays $7.00 and a non-member $10.00 for the first four self-printed copies. SICC lists S$8.00 and S$12.00 per set, plus GST, and SMF starts from S$12 and S$15. Singapore Customs charges about S$6.29 per TradeNet CO application for locally made goods.
Is a self-printed eCO as valid as one printed at the chamber?
It still carries the chamber's stamp and signature, applied digitally. SICC says an approved eCO printed at your premises is digitally stamped, signed and dated (SICC). SCCCI says the same for its self-print option. If a buyer or bank wants a hand-signed original, both offer chamber printing at a higher fee.
Does the 1 August 2026 rule cover the Certificate of Processing?
Yes. A footnote in Circular 07/2026 extends the online-only rule to the Certificate of Processing as well as the ordinary CO. From 1 August 2026, the five authorised organisations take either document only through their own e-platforms. Paper is no longer accepted.
Fees and procedures for the electronic Certificate of Origin Singapore exporters file are as published by Singapore Customs and the authorised organisations on 22 September 2026. They change, and each organisation sets its own procedures. This is general information, not legal advice.
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PUBLISHED BY Declaration Nexus Team Declaring agent and customs broker at Paya Lebar Square, Singapore |
WRITTEN BY · SEO & GEO BY  SingRank Team Written by the SingRank Team together with the Declaration Nexus team. SEO & GEO by SingRank.com · singrank.agency |
Last updated 22 September 2026. Have a customs question? WhatsApp the Declaration Nexus team at +65 8786 3987. |
