The rules of origin under the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom (UK) will facilitate India’s e-commerce exports, as consignments valued below 1,000 pounds have been exempted from submitting origin documentation, an official said.
The official also noted that the trade agreement includes authentication and verification procedures to prevent the circumvention of goods from third countries, PTI reported.
The agreement was signed on Thursday in London.
“The rules will facilitate e-commerce exports to the UK since there is a waiver on the requirement of submission of origin documentation for consignments less than British Pound 1,000,” the official said.
The `Rules of Origin` provision prescribes the minimum level of processing required in the FTA partner country for a final manufactured product to be considered as originating from that country, reported PTI.
Under this provision, a country that has signed an FTA with India cannot simply relabel goods from a third country and export them to India. It must carry out a specified level of value addition before the goods can qualify for preferential treatment. These rules are aimed at preventing the dumping of foreign goods.
The official added that exporters have the option to self-certify the origin of their products, which will promote ease of doing business by reducing both time and costs, reported PTI.
UK importers may also rely on ‘importer’s knowledge’ to certify the origin of goods, further easing the compliance burden for Indian exporters.
“Historic”: Industry experts hail India-UK Free Trade Agreement
The India-UK Free Trade Agreement has expanded access to goods and services in both markets, with industry leaders describing the “historic” deal as a significant opportunity to boost exports to the United Kingdom.
Anant S Iyer, Director General of the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies, said the FTA would strengthen bilateral economic ties across a range of sectors.
“We believe that this FTA is pretty historic between India and the UK, because it will strengthen our economic ties between the two countries across a lot of sectors,” Iyer told ANI.
India stands to benefit from the elimination or reduction of tariffs on approximately 99 per cent of its exports to the UK following the agreement.
“About 99 lines of business would benefit, especially very high labour-intensive ones,” he added.
He also urged the government to consider introducing a minimum import price for alcoholic beverages or to implement anti-dumping measures to prevent the influx of low-priced products into the Indian market, reported ANI.
(With PTI and ANI inputs)