India, Brazil-led bloc Mercosur ink pact to accept electronic Certificates of Origin
India and Mercosur have agreed to accept electronic Certificates of Origin. This move facilitates paperless trade and modernizes customs procedures between the two sides. The agreement allows electronic certificates to hold the same legal validity as paper documents. It is expected to reduce transaction costs and processing times significantly. The protocol will become effective after internal…
New Delhi: India and Mercosur, a trade bloc consisting of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay, have reached an agreement to accept electronic Certificates of Origin instead of traditional paper documents. This development, outlined in a government statement, aims to streamline paperless trade between the two regions.
To qualify for duty concessions under existing trade pacts, importers must provide proof of a product's origin from an FTA partner. The new protocol, signed by India's Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal and Uruguay's Ambassador to India Alberto Guani, along with Paraguay's Ambassador to India Fleming Raul Duarte Ramos, will be effective once internal procedures are completed in both countries.
The move is expected to reduce transaction costs and processing time in the issuance and verification of Certificates of Origin, thereby enhancing the efficiency of preferential trade under the existing India-Mercosur Preferential Trade Agreement.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times - Economy's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
