On 2026年4月19日， the ASEAN Secretariat, together with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, officially launched the RCEP ‘Digital Certificate of Origin Verification’ system (DCOVH). Through standardized API interfaces, the system enables direct connection between corporate websites and customs databases, generating and verifying electronic certificates of origin in real time. In its first pilot week, it already covered ports in 7 countries including Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, reducing average customs clearance time by 48 hours. For sub-sectors engaged in import and export trade within the RCEP region, such as manufacturing, cross-border e-commerce, supply chain services, and foreign trade agencies, this system constitutes a substantive adjustment to customs clearance rules and is worth close attention.

Event Overview

On 2026年4月19日， the ASEAN Secretariat, together with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, officially launched the RCEP ‘Digital Certificate of Origin Verification Hub’ (DCOVH), namely the ‘Digital Certificate of Origin Verification’ system. The system supports direct connection from corporate websites to customs databases through standardized APIs, enabling real-time generation and automatic verification of electronic certificates of origin. It has now been confirmed that: in the first pilot week, it covered ports in 7 countries including Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia; for Chinese exporters, if their official websites have not integrated this API, they will by default be classified into the ‘low-priority channel’; for overseas importers, Chinese suppliers capable of calling this API are regarded as having stronger delivery certainty and compliance responsiveness.

Which Sub-sectors Will Be Affected

Direct Trading Enterprises

Reason for impact: the compliance of their export documents and customs clearance efficiency are directly affected by their DCOVH access status. Enterprises that have not integrated the API will enter the ‘low-priority channel’ at ports in RCEP member countries, losing their customs clearance time advantage. The impact is mainly reflected in three aspects: delays in customs clearance rhythm, fluctuations in order fulfillment, and declining customer trust.

Processing and Manufacturing Enterprises

Reason for impact: most manufacturing enterprises export under their own brands or in OEM form and need to issue certificates of origin independently. The system requires official websites to have API integration capability, which means IT systems must adapt to customs data interaction standards. The impact is mainly reflected in increased pressure for digital transformation of export documentation processes, while some small and medium-sized manufacturers face technical integration barriers.

Channel Distribution Enterprises

Reason for impact: including foreign trade companies and cross-border distributors, which often serve as the export declaration entities. Their customers (overseas buyers) are incorporating ‘whether DCOVH calls are supported’ into supplier evaluation criteria. The impact is mainly reflected in stricter customer inquiry screening, implicitly higher cooperation thresholds, and the accelerated obsolescence of the original paper/email verification model.

Supply Chain Service Enterprises

Reason for impact: customs brokers, freight forwarders, and single-window service providers need to provide clients with DCOVH integration support. After the system went live, the focus of customer inquiries has been shifting from ‘how to fill out certificates’ to ‘how to complete API integration and joint debugging.’ The impact is mainly reflected in the urgent need for service content upgrades, with technical coordination capability becoming a new competitive factor.

What Key Points Should Relevant Enterprises or Practitioners Watch, and How Should They Respond at Present

Pay Attention to the Release Timeline of Follow-up Implementation Rules by Customs Authorities in RCEP Member Countries

DCOVH is now live, but customs authorities in various countries have not yet fully disclosed API access certification procedures, error response mechanisms, and handling rules for abnormal certificates. Enterprises need to continuously track announcements on the official websites of customs authorities in each country, especially updates to operating guidelines issued by the General Administration of Customs of China, the Thai Customs Department, and Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Differentiate the Rollout Pace Between Key Markets and Non-key Markets

The first batch of pilot coverage includes 7 countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, but the progress of customs system integration in Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand has not been disclosed. Enterprises should prioritize completing official website API integration for ports in covered countries where they have actual shipments. For markets not yet covered, existing processes may be maintained to avoid prematurely investing generalized development resources.

Clarify the Technical Responsibility Boundary of ‘Official Website Integration’

DCOVH requires the enterprise’s ‘official website’ to complete API integration, rather than relying solely on customs brokers or third-party platforms to make the calls on its behalf. This means IT systems must be capable of securely calling customs interfaces, storing encrypted receipts, and generating verifiable certificate PDFs. Enterprises should confirm as soon as possible whether their own website technical architecture supports this, or assess the feasibility of cooperating with compliant SaaS service providers.

Sort Out the Origin Determination Logic for High-frequency Export Product Categories in Advance

Although API calls simplify the process, certificate validity still depends on the accuracy of the application of origin rules. Enterprises need to review whether the ‘regional value content’ or ‘change in tariff classification’ of their core products under RCEP continues to meet the standards, so as to avoid certificate rejection caused by misapplication of rules, which would in turn affect the credibility of API verification results.

Editorial Viewpoint / Industry Observation

From an observational perspective, the launch of DCOVH currently looks more like a ‘technical upgrade at the rule execution layer’ rather than the release of new rules at the policy-making level. It does not change the RCEP rules of origin themselves, but it significantly raises the requirements for execution precision and response speed in putting the rules into practice. From an analytical perspective, this system marks a critical step for RCEP from ‘paper-based preferential treatment’ toward ‘system-level collaboration.’ Its significance lies not in adding new tariff reductions, but in shifting origin compliance from ‘post-event review’ to ‘in-process verification.’ From an industry perspective, this is not a short-term IT project, but a force driving enterprises to embed compliance capabilities into the business front end—official websites are no longer just display windows, but are gradually becoming infrastructure nodes for cross-border trade. What the industry needs to continue watching is whether customs authorities in various member countries will link DCOVH verification results with regulatory measures such as AEO certification and credit rating assessments; and whether it will expand in the future to intelligent verification of other certificate types (such as health certificates and inspection reports).

Conclusion: the launch of the RCEP ‘Digital Certificate of Origin Verification’ system is a concrete implementation in the process of regional trade facilitation. It does not change the degree of tariff preferences, but it reconstructs the time distribution and technical thresholds of compliance costs. At present, it is more appropriately understood as follows: an infrastructure adaptation process for customs clearance aimed at exporting enterprises has begun, and the pace of response will directly affect enterprises’ delivery certainty and long-term bargaining power for cooperation in the RCEP market.

Source note:
Main sources: ASEAN Secretariat joint statement (2026年4月19日), RCEP Joint Technical Working Group DCOVH system launch notice.
Parts requiring continued observation: the specific access timelines and localized implementation details of customs authorities in Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.