A letter of free sale is sometimes required for registering non-prescribed goods with an importing country authority prior to export.
If the importing country does not state that a letter of free sale is to be from Australia’s competent authority (that is, the department) one can instead be issued by a Chamber of Commerce.
If your product is a medicine or supplement that is registered or listed with the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), then please contact the TGA Exports team at tga.exports@health.gov.au. TGA goods are subject to certain regulatory requirements set out in Australia's therapeutic goods legislation. The TGA is responsible for issuing certificates for the export of all therapeutic goods and additional information on applications for export from the TGA can be found at: https://www.tga.gov.au/how-we-regulate/import-and-export/export
Requesting a letter of free sale from the department
When requesting a letter of free sale from the department, please provide the following information to NPGExports@aff.gov.au:
- Importing country official requirement stating that a letter of free sale is required from the competent authority of Australia (including translation when not in English)
- Copy of the product label
- A manufacturer’s declaration with:
- product name (as written on the product label)
- product description
- manufacturing establishment name
- manufacturing establishment address
- if available, department establishment number
- a statement that the product(s) is freely available for sale in the Australian domestic market and eligible for export OR if the product(s) is not yet available for sale in Australia and is in development for launch, when the product will be available in Australia and the destination market
- Evidence that supports the statement on the manufacturer’s declaration that the product(s) is freely available for sale in the Australian domestic market:
- an invoice showing the sale from the manufacturing company to a buyer (such as a wholesaler) or a retail website link.
- If evidence of availability for sale in Australia cannot be provided, a statutory declaration is required from the manufacturer instead of a manufacturer’s declaration and must include the information as above
- Postal address for sending the original letter
Exporters and establishments should also note the following:
- The letter of free sale is issued for product registration and is not a consignment specific export certificate.
- An export certificate may still be required to accompany each consignment if it is an official requirement of the importing country. Exporters should refer to the Manual of importing country requirements for further information.