India FTA for Exporters: How to Check Duty Preference

How Indian exporters check free-trade duty preference: find the agreement, match your HS code, then confirm rules of origin. Steps. Checked: 2026-09-24.

Checked: 2026-09-24

Preferential customs duty under a free trade agreement is regulated. This page is educational, not legal or customs advice. Confirm the live agreement schedule and rules of origin with your CHA or counsel before you claim preference on a shipment.

Indian exporters can sometimes pay less destination duty when India has an FTA (or CEPA/CECA/CETA) with the buyer's market. Preference is never automatic. You need the right HS line in that agreement's tariff schedule, plus origin proof.

This guide shows a practical check path. Preferential rates are product- and schedule-specific. Do not assume a flat duty cut.

How many Indian FTAs are in force?

As of a Lok Sabha answer dated 11 August 2026, India has signed 17 FTAs (CEPA/CECA/CETA and similar), of which 16 are in force, with the New Zealand FTA signed on 27 April 2026 and under ratification at that date. Re-open the Commerce Ministry list and the latest Lok Sabha/PIB annex on the day you publish.

Recent agreements named in official answers include Mauritius CECPA, UAE CEPA, Australia ECTA, EFTA TEPA, UK CETA, Oman CEPA, and New Zealand FTA. Treat signing, ratification, and implementation as separate milestones.

India-EU FTA negotiations were announced as concluded on 27 January 2026 in the same official materials. That is not the same as "in force" or "duty free now." An India-US framework for an Interim Agreement was announced on 7 February 2026 with negotiations ongoing. Do not treat that as an implemented FTA.

Practical path: check preference in four steps

1. Confirm the partner appears on an official list. Start with the Commerce trade-agreements hub and DGFT Appendix 2A-C FTA materials%20updated.pdf).
2. Find your product's HS code in that agreement's preferential schedule. Some lines are excluded or staged.
3. Read Rules of Origin for that product (wholly obtained, value addition, change in tariff classification, and so on).
4. Obtain the required proof (Certificate of Origin or self-certification where the agreement allows) through authorised agencies / DGFT processes as applicable.

Marketplace listing alone does not confer FTA preference.

Worked method (no invented duty %)

Price two landed-cost scenarios for the same SKU:

• MFN (most-favoured-nation) duty from the destination tariff for your HS code
• Preferential duty only if you can prove origin and hold documents

If you cannot prove origin, quote at MFN. Preferential claims without documents create clearance delays.

Checklist before you claim preference

• ☐ Agreement is in force for your shipment date (not merely signed)
• ☐ HS line appears in the preferential schedule
• ☐ Origin criteria documented for this SKU
• ☐ CoO / self-cert form ready as required
• ☐ CHA briefed on the claim path

Next step

When marketplace fees sit alongside duty in your margin model, run fee scenarios on the ExportDuniya fee calculator. Duty still needs the official tariff and FTA schedule.