Starting 2026, all applications for certificates of origin submitted by exporters and importers in Azerbaijan will be processed through a special digital sub-module, Elmaddin Guliyev, Head of the Certification Department at the State Agency for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control under the President of Azerbaijan, said at the Customs-Business Forum 2025: Dialogue and Trust held in Baku, Report informs.
Guliyev noted that in the first 11 months of 2025, the agency issued 87,600 certificates of origin: "Of these, 76.9% - that is, 63,349 - were CT-1 certificates of origin. Our main trade partners in the non-oil sector are CIS countries, and exporters are particularly interested in obtaining this certificate. Experience shows that importing countries sometimes send inquiries to the agency regarding the authenticity of certificates of origin. This creates time losses and additional costs for exporters, especially since the acceptance and verification of these documents are carried out by customs authorities in importing countries, which prolongs the process."
Guliyev stated that a protocol has been approved between the governments of Azerbaijan and Russia on the digital certification of goods" origin based on mutual recognition:
"Within the framework of the protocol's implementation, technical conditions have been agreed upon, and tests for transferring certificates issued by the agency to Russia's Federal Customs Service have been successfully completed."
He added that starting next year, all CT-1 certificates of origin issued by the agency will be automatically transmitted to Russia's Federal Customs Service.
Guliyev also noted that a protocol on digital certification of goods" origin has been approved between Azerbaijan and Belarus:
"This process was carried out more quickly, based on the experience gained with Russia. Technical conditions have already been agreed upon among four parties - Belarus's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, its customs authorities, as well as Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee and the agency - and the document is now at the signing stage."
He further emphasized that similar electronic integration initiatives with Türkiye and Ukraine are also on the agenda: "Relevant proposals have been submitted to the appropriate parties, taking priorities into account."