Non-alteration
Modernised direct transport condition requiring that goods have not been modified or processed between the exporting and importing countries, regardless of the route.
Definition and principle
Non-alteration (or non-manipulation) is the modernised version of the direct transport rule, adopted in the EU's new-generation free trade agreements. It focuses on product integrity rather than on the transport route: goods must not have been modified, processed, or subjected to operations other than preservation in good condition.
Legal framework
The non-alteration/non-manipulation rule is present in recent agreements such as the TCA (EU-UK, article ORIG.18), CETA (EU-Canada, article 5.10), and JEFTA (EU-Japan, article 3.17). It progressively replaces the direct transport rule in the revised PEM convention. These provisions explicitly allow transit, warehousing, and splitting in third countries.
Conditions to meet
- Goods must not have undergone operations other than unloading, reloading, splitting, storage, affixing marks or labels required by the importing country
- They must remain under customs supervision in the transit country(ies)
- The importer must be able to provide, upon request from customs authorities, evidence of compliance with this condition (continuous transport documents, non-manipulation attestations)
Advantages over direct transport
- Allows the use of logistics hubs in third countries without loss of preferential benefit
- Authorises extended storage in a transit country (customs-bonded warehouses)
- Facilitates splitting of consignments: a shipment can be divided in a third country for dispatch to different destinations
- Better adapted to the realities of modern international trade and e-commerce