A certificate of free sale is a document required in certain countries or for certain commodities, certifying that the specified imported goods are commonly and freely sold in the exporting country’s open markets and are approved for export.
Some countries, most notably China, do not even require this document. As a rule, only certificates from independent certification agencies recognized by the exporting country are accepted. This means the certificate is issued by an independent authority that the country recognizes. If the certificate is not from an independent authority, then it is not accepted.
The certificate gives validity for a specified time. But most countries define the period of validity as the time it takes for the certificate to be rejected by the issuing authority. Thus, certificates of free sale will not be valid beyond the date of issuance.
Other countries require that the imported goods carry the certificate of free sale. This implies that the certificate is not a presentment but a physical certificate. Thus, it is necessary to keep a certificate of free sale in a box or package the goods before sending them to a foreign country.
The certificates are generally presented by customs officials when the goods are accepted for clearance and payment by customs officials. Other countries do not recognize the certificate of free sale as valid and refuse clearance and payment. Thus, the goods remain in transit.
Generally, certificates of free sale are issued following the rules of the country concerned or per guidelines issued by international organizations. The certificates of free sale are generally issued only when the import and export of the goods are permitted according to the law of the country concerned or the body’s guidelines.
For goods exported from countries that are party to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade or the General Agreement on Trade in Services, the certificate is generally recognized by the importing country. In other words, the certificate of free sale is recognized by both importing and exporting countries.
The customs authorities may take appropriate action in case of the non-acceptance of the certificate. But in case of actual non-acceptance of the goods, the importing country has to reimburse the exporting country. This has to be determined by customs authorities. The details concerning the action taken in case of non-acceptance of certificates of free sale are given in the rules of the country concerned. The details are also included in the guidelines of the body.