Appendix 2A List of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) / Preferential

Appendix 2A

List of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) / Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) signed

by India

(i) FTAs already signed and operational

S.

No.

Name of the

Agreement and the

participating

countries

Date of Signing Date of

Implementation

Details

1. India - Bhutan

Agreement on

Trade, Commerce

and Transit

17.01.1972

(revised on

28.07.2006)

29.07.2006

Under this Agreement,

India also provides

transit facilities to

landlocked Bhutan to

facilitate its trade with

third countries. It is valid

for a period of 10 years.

2. Revised Indo-Nepal

Treaty of Trade

06.12.1991

(Revised on

27.10.2009)

(The present Treaty

is valid till

26.10.2016)

27.10.2009 The Treaty aims at

improving bilateral trade

between the two

countries by increasing

the mutually agreed

points of trade,

expansion in the list of

items included for

preferential trade,

simplification of trade

procedures, improving

Nepalese supply

capacities, provision of

two level institutional

mechanisms for problem

resolution etc.

3. India- Sri Lanka FTA

(ISLFTA)

28.12.1998 01.03.2000 Free Trade Agreement

(FTA) between India and

Sri Lanka was signed on

20.12.1998 and was

operationalised in

March, 2000 following

notification of required

Customs tariff

concessions by

Government of Sri

Lanka and India.

Procedure for import of

certain listed items

under ISLFTA is at

Annexure-I

4. Agreement on South

Asian Free Trade

Area (SAFTA)

(India, Pakistan,

Nepal, Sri Lanka,

Bangladesh, Bhutan

Maldives and

Afghanistan)

04.01. 2004 01.01.2006

Afghanistan became

Eighth Member of

SAARC from April, 2007

and the provisions of

Trade Liberalization

Programme (TLP) are

applicable to

Afghanistan w.e.f.

07.08.2011).

5. India - Thailand FTA

- Early Harvest

Scheme (EHS)

9.10.2003 01.09.2004 India and Thailand have

signed protocol to

implement Early Harvest

Scheme under India-

Thailand Free Trade

Agreement on

01.09.2004.Tariff

preferences for imports

on items of Early

Harvest Scheme would

be available only to

those products, which

satisfy Rules of Origin

Criteria, notified by

Department of Revenue,

Ministry of Finance, vide

notification

No.101/2004-Customs

dated 31.08.2004.

6. India - Singapore

Comprehensive

Economic

Cooperation

Agreement (CECA)

29.06.2005 01.08.2005 India-Singapore CECA

was the first

comprehensive FTA

India signed with any

country.

7. India - South Korea

Comprehensive

Economic

Partnership

Agreement (CEPA)

07.08. 2009 01.01.2010

8. India – ASEAN

Trade in Goods

Agreement (Brunei,

Cambodia,

Indonesia, Laos,

Malaysia, Myanmar,

Philippines,

Singapore, Thailand

and Vietnam)

13.08.2009 1st January 2010

in respect of

India and

Malaysia,

Singapore,

Thailand.

1

st

June 2010 in

respect of India

and Vietnam.

1

st

September

2010 in respect

of India and

Myanmar.

1

st

October 2010

in respect of

India and

Indonesia.

1

st

November in

respect of India

and Brunei.

24 January 2011

in respect of

India and Laos.

1

st

June 2011 in

respect of India

and the

Philippines.

1

st

August, 2011

in respect of

India and

Cambodia.

9. India - Japan

Comprehensive

Economic

Partnership

Agreement

16.02.2011 01.08.2011

10. India - Malaysia

Comprehensive

Economic

Cooperation

Agreement

18.02.2011 01.07. 2011 Under the CECA, India

and Malaysia have

offered commitments

over and above the

commitments offered by

them under ASEAN -

India Trade in Goods

Agreement. Key items

on which Malaysia has

offered market access to

India are basmati rice,

mangoes, eggs, trucks,

motorcycles and cotton

garments which are all

items of considerable

export interest to India.

11. India - Mauritius

Comprehensive

Economic

Cooperation and

Partnership

Agreement

22.02.2021 01.04.2021 Under the CECPA, India

and Mauritius provide for

an institutional

mechanism to

encourage and improve

trade between the two

countries. Export items

(CECPA)

for India, include food

stuff and beverages,

agricultural products,

textile and textile

articles, base metals and

articles thereof, electrical

and electronic item,

plastics and chemicals,

wood and articles

thereof, and others while

Mauritius gets

preferential market

access into India for

frozen fish, speciality

sugar, biscuits, fresh

fruits, juices, mineral

water, beer, alcoholic

drinks, soaps, bags,

medical and surgical

equipment, and apparel.

(ii) Preferential Trade Agreements(PTAs) already signed and operational

S.

No.

Name of the

Agreement and the

participating countries

Date of

Signing

Date of

Implementation

Details

1

Asia Pacific Trade

Agreement (APTA)

(Bangladesh, China,

India, Lao PDR,

Republic of Korea, and

Sri Lanka)

July, 1975

(revised

Agreement

signed on

02.11.2005)

01.11.1976

APTA is a preferential

trading arrangement

designed to liberalise

and expand trade in

goods progressively in

Economic and Social

Commission for Asia

and Pacific (ESCAP)

region through

liberalization of tariff

and nontariff barriers. At

present, Bangladesh,

Sri Lanka, South Korea,

India and China are

exchanging tariff

concessions under

APTA. The 43

rd

Standing Session in

May, 2014 saw the

accession of Mongolia

into APTA.

2

Global System of Trade

Preferences (G S T P)

(Algeria, Argentina,

Bangladesh, Benin,

Bolivia, Brazil,

Cameroon, Chile,

Colombia, Cuba,

Democratic People's

Republic of Korea,

Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana,

Guinea, Guyana, India,

Indonesia, Iran, Iraq,

Libya, Malaysia, Mexico,

Morocco, Mozambique,

Myanmar, Nicaragua,

Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru,

Philippines, Republic of

Korea, Romania,

Singapore, Sri Lanka,

Sudan, Thailand,

Trinidad and Tobago,

Tunisia, Tanzania,

Venezuela, Viet Nam,

Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe)

April, 1988 April,1989

Under agreement

establishing GSTP,

tariff concessions are

exchanged among

developing countries,

who have signed

agreement. Presently,

46 countries are

members of GSTP and

India has exchanged

tariff concessions with

12 countries on a

limited number of

products. EIC is sole

agency authorised to

issue CoO under

GSTP. The Sao Paulo

Round of the GSTP

was concluded among

8 countries but only

Cuba, India and

Malaysia have ratified

the Protocol as of

October, 2014.

3

India - Afghanistan 06.03.2003 May, 2003

A Preferential Trade

Agreement between

Transitional Islamic

State of Afghanistan

and Republic of India

was signed on 6.3.2003

and was

operationalised with

issuance of Customs

Notification No 76/2003

dated 13.5.2003. EIC is

sole agency to issue

CoO under India

Afghanistan Preferential

Trade Agreement.

4

India - MERCOSUR 25.01.2004 01.06.2009 Through this PTA, India

and MERCOSUR have

agreed to give tariff

concessions, ranging

from 10% to 100% to

each other on 450 and

452 tariff lines

respectively.

5

India - Chile 08.03. 2006 August, 2007 Under this PTA , India

has offered tariff

preferences on 202

tariff lines (as per 2007

HS ) at the 8 digit level

to Chile with the margin

of preference (MoP)

ranging from 10%- 50%

and Chile has offered

tariff preferences on

296 tariff lines to India

at the 8 digit level with

MoP ranging from 10%-

100%.

6

SAARC Preferential

Trading Arrangement or

SAPTA (India, Pakistan,

Nepal, Sri Lanka,

Bangladesh, Bhutan and

the Maldives)

1993 1995 SAPTA was signed by

seven SAARC members

namely India, Pakistan,

Nepal, Bhutan,

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka

and Maldives in 1993

and came into operation

in 1995. Four rounds of

trade negotiations have

been completed and

more than 3000 tariff

lines are under tariff

concessions among

SAARC countries.

Annexure-I

Procedure for import of items as in the Para 2.107 of the Handbook of Procedure

(2015-20).

Sl.

No.

ITC (HS) Code Description of goods Country Total aggregate

quantity that is

available for import

during 2015-16

1. 1516,1517 or 1518

(other than 15161000,

15171010, 15179030

& 15180040 which are

prohibited for import)

Vanaspati, bakery

shortening and margarine

Sri Lanka 2,50,000MT

2. 0904 Pepper Sri Lanka 2500MT

3. 08011100 Desiccated Coconut Sri Lanka 500MT

4. 1507 10 00 Crude Soya oil from

Paraguay

Paraguay 30,000 MT

The imports procedure for the items will be permitted subject to the following arrangements/

procedure:-

(a) The import would be subject to Government of India, Ministry of Finance (Department of

Revenue) Notification No. 29/2007-Customs dated 30

th

May 2009 (as amended form time to

time) relating to Indo- Mercosur Trade Agreement.

(b) All applications must accompany a pre-purchase agreement from one of the eligible exporter

of Crude Soya Oil in Paraguay. The pre-purchase agreement must indicate the quantity and

the duration of fulfillment of the contract. The list of eligible exporting entities of the item from

Paraguay shall be decided by the Govt. of Paraguay

(c) At the time of clearance of the import consignment, the importer in India must produce a

Certificate of Origin issued by concerned authorities in Paraguay.

(d) The year in respect of these imports will be the period from 1

st

April to 31

st

March, i.e. financial

year in India.

(e) All applications for grant of import authorisation shall be sent only through e-mail at import-

[email protected] in the prescribed format as given below:

Sl.

No.

Name and

Registered

office

address of

the

applicant

IEC No. Item

sought

to be

imported

ITC

(HS)

Code

Qty.

applied

for

(MTs)

CIF

value

(Rs.) &

Fee

Date of

submission

of the

application

Name of

Regional

Authority

through

which

license

would be

obtained

(f) Allocation will be made equally among the eligible applicant subject to quantity applied. The

application in ANF 2M and ANF1 along with the requisite fee is required to be filed online as

per the procedure laid down in Trade Notice No. 49 dated 15.03.2019. The application should

be sent by 28

th

February of the financial year.

Annexure-II

Procedure for import of Crude Soya Oil (HS Code: 15071000) under India-Mercosur

Trade Agreement.

i. The total quantum of import of Crude Soya Oil that can be imported under India-

Mercosur Preferential Trade Agreement shall be as under:

Sl. No. ITC (HS) Code Description of goods Total aggregate

quantity that is

available for import

under India-Mercosur

Preferential Trade

Agreement

1. 1507 10 00 Crude Soy Oil from

Paraguay

30,000 MT

ii. Theses imports will be permitted subject to the following arrangements/procedure:-

a. Import would be subject to Government of India, Ministry of Finance (department of

Revenue) Notification No. 29/2007-Customs dated 30

th

May 2009 (as amended from

time to time) relating to India-Mercosur Preferential Trade Agreement.

b. All applications must accompany a pre-purchase agreement from one of the eligible

exporters of crude Soya Oil in Paraguay. The pre-purchase agreement must indicate

the quantity and the duration of fulfilment of the contract. The list of eligible exporting

entities of the item from Paraguay shall be decided by the Government of Paraguay

c. At the time of clearance of the import consignment, the importer in India must produce

a Certificate of Origin issued by concerned authorities in Paraguay.

d. The year in respect of these imports will be the period from 1

st

April to 31

st

March, i.e.

financial year in India.

e. All applications for grant of import authorization shall be sent only through e-mail at

[email protected]

in the prescribed format as given below:

Sl. No. Name and

Registered

office

address of

the

applicant

IEC

No.

Item

sought

to be

imported

ITC

(HS)

Code

Qty.

applied

for

(MTs)

CIF

value

(Rs.) &

Fee

Date of

submission

of the

application

Name of

Regional

Authority

through

which

license

would

be

obtained

f. Allocation will be made equally among the eligible applicant subject to quantity

applied. The application in ANF 2M and ANF1 along with the requisite fee is required

to be filed online as per the procedure laid down in Trade Notice No. 49 dated

15.03.2019. the application should be sent by 28

th

February of the financial year, for

allocation in the next financial year.

Annexure-III

Imports of Items under the TRQ of the India- Mauritius CECPA

(i)The total quantum of items that can be imported under India- Mauritius CECPA shall be as

follows:

S.No

ITC(HS) Code

Description

Tariff Rate

Quota Quantity

(1) (2) (3) (4)

1. 06031900 Fresh : -- Other 15 tons

2. 08043000 Pineapples 1000 tons

3. 08109060 Lichi 250 tons

4. 09051000 Vanilla : Neither crushed

nor ground

15 tons

5. 09052000 Vanilla : Crushed or ground 1 ton

6. 16041410 Tunas

7000 tons

combined for all

goods

7. 16041490 Other

8. 16042000 Other prepared or

preserved fish

9. 17011490 Specialty Sugar 15000 tons

10. 22030000 Beer made from malt. 2,000,000 litres

11. 22060000 Fruit Wine: Other fermented

beverages (for example,

cider, perry, mead, sake);

mixtures of fermented

beverages and mixtures of

fermented beverages and

non-alcoholic beverages,

not elsewhere specified or

included.

5000 litres

12. 22084011 In containers holding 2 l or

less: ----Rum

1.50 million litres

combined for all

goods

13. 22084012 In containers holding 2 l or

less: ----Other

14. 22084091 Other: ---- Rum

15. 22084092 Other: ---- other

16 6102; 6103; 6104;

6105; 6106;

6109;6110; 6111;

6112 and

6203; 6304

Articles of Apparel and

Clothing Accessories.*

7.5 million

pieces**

*Details of the HS Codes as in Table 3 of the Customs Notification mentioned above

** Out of total quota of 7.5 million pieces, at least 5 million pieces of aggregate of all

such items should have been manufactured from yarn/fabric sourced from India.

ii. These imports will be permitted subject to the following arrangements/ procedure:-

a. Import would be subject to Government of India, Ministry of Finance (Department of

Revenue) Notification No. 25/2021-Customs dated the 31

st

March, 2021 (as amended

form time to time) relating to India-Mauritius CECPA.

b. All applications must accompany a pre-purchase agreement from one of the eligible

exporters of specified items in Mauritius. The pre-purchase agreement must indicate

the quantity and the duration of fulfilment of the contract. The list of eligible exporting

entities of the item from Mauritius shall be decided by the Government of Mauritius.

c. At the time of clearance of the import consignment, the importer in India must produce

a Certificate of Origin issued by concerned authorities in Mauritius.

d. The year in respect of these imports will be the period from 1

st

April to 31

st

March, i.e.

financial year in India.

e. All applications for grant of TRQ authorizations shall be submitted online through the

DGFT website (www.dgft.gov.in). No physical copies of the application are required to

be submitted.

f. Allocation will be made equally among the eligible applicant subject to quantity

applied. The application in ANF 2M and ANF1 along with the requisite fee is required

to be filed online. The application should be sent by 28

th

February of the financial year,

for allocation in the next financial year. However, for the current FY 2021-22,

applications are invited by 31

st

December 2021 vide Public Notice no. 31/2015-

2020 dated 28.10.2021 with other modalities remaining the same.

g. The TRQ authorisation shall contain the name and address of the importer, Importer -

Exporter Code (IEC), Customs notification number, tariff item as applicable, quantity

and validity period of the certificate.

h. The TRQ authorisation shall be issued electronically by the Directorate General of

Foreign Trade and transmitted to Indian Customs EDI System (ICES).

i. Imports made against the TRQ shall be allowed only upon debiting electronically in the

ICES system.

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