The Press Information Bureau (PIB) reported that the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Agreement on Social Security Contributions were set to enter into force on 15 July 2026. For New Zealand, PIB reported that the FTA comes into force on 20 October 2026 (Vijay Dashmi). Negotiations began on 16 March 2025 and ended on 22 December 2025, and the agreement was signed on 27 April 2026.

The release calls it zero-duty access on about 99 per cent of India's exports to the UK, covering nearly 100 per cent of trade value. It lists UK tariffs reduced to zero of up to 70 per cent on processed food, up to 21.5 per cent on marine products, up to 18 per cent on engineering goods and auto components, up to 16 per cent on leather and footwear, up to 12 per cent on textiles and clothing, and up to 8 per cent on chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

No. The CETA has 30 chapters. It also covers services (the release mentions 137 sub-sectors), digital trade, telecommunications, financial services, intellectual property and government procurement. The Social Security agreement raises the exemption from double social security contributions for temporary assignments from 3 to 5 years.

According to PIB, New Zealand has eliminated customs duties on all tariff lines covering Indian exports, removing peak tariffs of up to 10 per cent. Sectors expected to benefit include textiles, apparel, leather, footwear, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, automobiles and components, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agricultural products and processed foods.

• UK: India has protected sensitive sectors such as dairy, cereals, millets, edible oils, oilseeds, apples and several vegetable products.
• New Zealand: dairy, sugar, edible oils and key agricultural commodities remain outside the concessions.

No release explains the claim procedure. The New Zealand release speaks of strict rules of origin, a bilateral safeguard mechanism and anti-circumvention provisions, to ensure benefits go only to genuine Indian exporters. The UK release points to the Department of Commerce website for full details. You will need proof that your goods meet the origin rules, so read the agreement's rules of origin for your product.

The release does not say. Read our post on the digital Certificate of Origin, which explains how DGFT issues them, and check the text of each agreement for the origin document it requires.

• Find the tariff code of your product, using our Product Guide and the HS Code Finder.
• Check whether your product is in the agreement's duty-free list or among the excluded products.
• Check the rules of origin for your product, and your supplier records for the inputs.
• Tell your buyer, and agree who gets the benefit of the lower duty.
• Ask us before you quote on new terms.

The releases we read speak of benefits to Indian exporters. We did not find import duty details for Indian importers in them. Check the Indian Customs notifications on cbic.gov.in for the preferential rates that apply to imports.

Yes. Send us the product, the code and the buyer's country. We will check the agreement and tell you what to prepare. We are just a call and a message away.