Government of India
Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Department of Commerce
Directorate General of Foreign Trade
28th March, 2020
Trade Notice No. 59/2019-2020
To
1. Regional Authorities of DGFT
2. Customs Commissionerates
3. Members of Trade
4. Joint Secretary (Customs), CBIC, Department of
5. Ministry of Trade and Commerce / other administrative Ministries of trading partners
Subject: Retrospective issuance of Certificates of Origin under India’s Trade Agreements.
On account of the lockdown/curfew in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian agencies authorised, in accordance with Para 2.103 of Handbook of Procedure, 2015-2020, to issue the certificate of origin under India’s free trade agreements (FTAs), comprehensive economic cooperation agreements (CECA), comprehensive economic partnership agreements (CEPA) and preferential trade agreements (PTAs) are temporarily closed and unable to issue the certificate of origin.
2. in view of these exceptional circumstances, the certificates would be issued retrospectively by the concerned Indian agencies after they open their Therefore, in the interim period, the customs authorities and other competent authorities in the trading partners with whom India has a trade agreement may kindly allow the eligible imports under preferences on a retrospective basis subject to the subsequent production of the certificates of origin by the Indian exporters.
3. India would also stand ready to honour its preferential trade agreement imports subject to the respective governments also making a formal request or putting up a notice in this regard.
This issues with the approval of the competent authority.
[S.K. Mohapatra]
Deputy Director General of Foreign Trade
E-Mail: mohapatra.sk@nic.in
