EU–UK Statement on Origin: How to Put It on Your Shopify Invoices

You sell from Germany to customers in Great Britain, or from the UK to customers in France. The goods are made in your own workshop, or by a supplier in the same country. Under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), they can cross the border at zero tariff, but only if someone claims it. Usually that claim is a short paragraph on your invoice: the statement on origin.

This guide explains when you may use the statement, the exact wording, which number goes in it, what changes above €6,000, and the mistakes that make the claim fail. It is practical guidance, not customs advice. Whether your goods qualify under the rules of origin is for you to check, and you remain responsible for what you declare.

What the statement on origin does

The TCA removes tariffs on goods that originate in the EU or the UK, where the rules of origin are met. To get that zero rate, the importer claims preferential treatment, based either on a statement on origin made out by the exporter or on the importer’s own knowledge that the product originates (Revenue: EU–UK preferential origin).

For a shop, the statement is the practical route: your customer is the importer and does not know where your products are made. The statement may be made out on an invoice or on any other document that describes the product in enough detail to identify it.

Without a valid claim, the goods pay the normal tariff rate for their HS code, even if they were made next door.

Origin is not where you ship from

This is the mistake that matters most. A product has EU or UK preferential origin only if it meets the agreement’s rules of origin, for example because it was wholly obtained or sufficiently worked or processed there. Shipping from the EU or the UK does not make it originating.

• A ceramic mug made in Portugal and sold from your German warehouse to a UK customer: EU origin, the statement can cover it if the rules are met.
• A phone case made in China and resold from the UK to the EU: not UK origin. It cannot be covered, and the import pays the tariff for its code.

That is why the country of origin on each product matters. If your catalogue mixes both, one invoice can carry both kinds of line, as long as the document clearly shows which goods are originating and which are not (GOV.UK: Get proof of origin for your goods).

The exact wording

The text is fixed by Annex 7 of the agreement (Annex ORIG-4 in the draft text). The English version reads:

(Period: from ___________ to ___________ (1))
The exporter of the products covered by this document (Exporter Reference No ... (2))
declares that, except where otherwise clearly indicated, these products are of ... (3)
preferential origin.
(Place and date (4))
(Name of the exporter)

The footnotes explain the fields (Trade and Cooperation Agreement, OJ L 149, 30.4.2021):

1. Period only for a statement that covers multiple shipments of identical products, up to 12 months. Otherwise leave it blank.
2. Exporter reference: the number your side assigns to you. See the next section.
3. Origin: “the United Kingdom” or “the Union”. Write UK or EU origin, not the name of a member state.
4. Place and date may be left out if the document already shows them.

The statement can be made out in any of the official EU languages listed in the annex. The footnotes do not have to be printed. If you write it by hand, use ink and printed characters.

Which number goes in it: REX or EORI

You export from	Consignment value	Exporter reference
The EU	€6,000 or less	No registration needed; your REX number if you have one
The EU	Above €6,000	Your REX number. You must be registered in REX
Great Britain	Any value	Your GB EORI number

The European Commission’s guidance confirms both parts: EU exporters must be registered in the Registered Exporter system (REX) for consignments above €6,000, with a waiver below that, and UK exporters must enter their GB EORI number in every statement, whatever the value (European Commission: Compendium on EU–UK rules of origin). Most single shop orders are well below €6,000, but wholesale orders may not be.

Northern Ireland follows EU customs rules for goods, so a shipment between Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a different case from an EU–UK export. Check the current Windsor Framework guidance for that route.

How long it is valid

A statement on origin is valid for 12 months from the date it was made out when the EU is the importing side. The Commission notes that the UK, as the importing side, allows 24 months (Compendium, question 33). For a shop order the invoice date and the import are days apart, so this mostly matters for invoices you reprint later.

Five mistakes that cost the zero tariff

1. Claiming origin for resold goods. The statement says the products originate. If they were made outside the EU or the UK, the claim is wrong, and the customer can face a duty bill and the questions that follow.
2. No REX number above €6,000. An EU exporter who is not registered in REX cannot make out a valid statement for a larger consignment.
3. No GB EORI from a UK exporter. UK statements need the number at any value.
4. Mixed lines with no marking. If one invoice carries originating and non-originating goods, say which lines the statement does not cover.
5. The statement on the wrong route. It applies to shipments between the EU and the UK. On an invoice to Switzerland or the US it means nothing under the TCA, and other agreements have their own wording.

Keep the records that show your products qualify: supplier declarations, production records or bills of materials. Customs can ask for them after the import.

What Shopify does today

Shopify stores a country of origin per variant, which is the starting point for deciding which lines can be covered (Shopify Help Center: Adding HS codes). There is no setting in Shopify admin that prints an EU–UK statement on origin on an invoice. Shops add it by editing an order printer template, typing it into the carrier’s commercial invoice field, or pasting it into a document by hand.

The weak point of a fixed text in a template is that it prints on every invoice, including lines of non-EU origin and shipments to countries where it does not apply.

Where Tarifo: Commercial Invoices fits

Tarifo: Commercial Invoices creates commercial invoices, proforma invoices and CN23 forms from your Shopify orders, and can print the EU–UK statement on origin on them.

• Turn it on once. Under Settings › Statement on origin (EU–UK), switch it on and enter your Exporter reference, your EORI or REX number, plus the place to print with the date.
• Only on the right route. It is printed only on shipments between the EU and the UK, with Northern Ireland counted on the EU side.
• Only for the right lines. The statement covers lines whose variant country of origin is on the exporting side. Other lines are listed as “Not covered by the statement on origin” with their line numbers.
• In the document’s language. The statement is printed in English, German or French, with the Annex 7 wording.

The app does not check whether a product meets the rules of origin. Turn the statement on only for goods that qualify. See the app’s page, and our guide to HS codes and country of origin in Shopify for filling in origin data.

FAQ

Do I need a REX number to ship from the EU to the UK? Only for consignments above €6,000 that you want to cover with a statement on origin. Below that, an EU exporter can make out the statement without REX registration.

Can I use the statement for products made in China? No. The statement declares EU or UK preferential origin. Goods made elsewhere do not become originating because you ship them from the EU or the UK.

Does the statement on origin need a signature? The Annex 7 text asks for the place, the date and the name of the exporter. It has no signature field.

Does it have to be on the commercial invoice? It can be on an invoice or on any other document that describes the products in enough detail to identify them, such as a delivery note.