---
id: KB-NO-010
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/regulation/proving-where-a-raw-material-came-from
idioma: en
categoria: normativa
subcategoria: cadena
audiencia: usuario
nivel: avanzado
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-NO-004, KB-NO-005]
citadoPor: [KB-IU-010, KB-NO-016, KB-NO-022]
---

# Proving where a raw material came from

_What you must be able to show when origin stops being data and becomes an obligation._

**Responde a:** prove where timber came from · raw material traceability · due diligence declaration · documenting raw material origin

For several raw materials — timber, paper and board, palm oil, soy, cocoa, coffee, rubber, and cattle linked to them — origin has moved from commercial information to a documentary obligation. With one uncomfortable detail: the country is not enough, you must be able to point to the plot.

## What you must be able to show

| Element | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- |
| Where it was produced | Plot coordinates, not the region |
| When | Production date or period |
| Who sold it | The full chain down to you, with no gaps |
| What you checked | Your risk assessment and what you did about it |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The fourth is the one almost everyone forgets and the only one that depends solely on you. The first three must be given to you; the fourth you produce, and its absence is what turns an incomplete file into a breach.

## Where to start if you have nothing yet

1. **List what you buy that is affected** — Usually fewer items than expected: three or four references.
2. **Look at who sells it to you** — A large importer will already hold the file; a small intermediary probably will not.
3. **Ask everyone the same thing, in writing** — An identical request is what makes the answers comparable.
4. **And keep the refusals too** — A supplier who cannot provide origin is a decision you have to take, and it helps to record when you knew.

> [!WARNING]
> The usual blind spot is the processed product. If you buy ready-made packaging, the obligation does not vanish because you never saw the tree: it travels with the product.

## How it holds up over time

**En corto**

- Every incoming batch, with its origin documentation linked.
- A periodic review of affected suppliers, not a one-off campaign.
- And a warning when a declaration expires or the supplier changes origin.

> [!NOTE]
> This fits what you already do for other things: per-supplier documentation, with expiry and reminders. What is specific is what you ask for and how precisely, not the mechanism.

**Is a signed supplier declaration enough?**

It is the starting point, not the end: you must be able to back it up.

**What if the supplier is outside the EU?**

The obligation falls on whoever places the product on the market; usually you.

**How long must it be kept?**

Years, not months. Keep it where it can be found, not in an inbox.

## Ejemplos

**A packaging firm finds its board is affected and its supplier cannot give coordinates.**

- Sends the same written request to all three suppliers
- Records the refusal with a date and assesses the risk

→ Switches supplier with a documented reason, instead of finding out during an inspection.

**The origin is asserted by the supplier and nothing more.**

- Requests the document that backs it

→ The claim stops being only a claim.

**Consignments of different origins get mixed.**

- Records which consignment went into which production

→ You can say what came from where.

**A client asks about the origin of a specific shipment.**

- Checks that delivery's file

→ You answer per delivery rather than per catalogue.

**The supplier changes origin and does not say so.**

- Asks them to report any change

→ The change arrives before the question.

**The origin document is filed by supplier.**

- Also files it against the consignment

→ You answer for a specific shipment.