Requirements for the Korea-India CEPA preferential tariff rate
For an Indian importer to receive the Korea-India CEPA preferential tariff rate, the Korean exporter must confirm that the goods meet the criteria for determining origins and apply to customs or a chamber of commerce for a certificate of origin before shipment is completed. The Agreement requires the certificate of origin to be issued at the time of export or within 7 working days of the shipment date, so once the shipping schedule is fixed, start by preparing the bill of materials and Declaration of Origin needed for the origin determination.
For an Indian importer to receive the Korea-India CEPA preferential tariff rate, the exported goods must satisfy 3 conditions. They must meet the criteria for determining origins of the Agreement, have a certificate of origin issued by an issuing authority in Korea, and be transported directly from Korea to India. The Korea-India CEPA has no method under which the exporter prepares the certificate of origin itself. It provides only issuance by an authority, by customs or a chamber of commerce (certificate of origin service guide).
Criteria for determining origins
Goods not wholly produced in Korea are recognized as originating goods if they meet one of the following 2 criteria (Agreement, Article 3.4).
- Product-specific criteria for determining origins: Goods whose criteria are set in Annex 3-A of the Agreement must meet those criteria.
- General rule: For goods not listed in Annex 3-A, the regional value content must be at least 35% of the FOB price, and there must be a change in HS 6-digit classification between all non-originating materials used and the finished product. Enter "CTSH + RVC 35%" on the certificate of origin.
The regional value content is calculated as (FOB price - value of non-originating materials) / FOB price x 100. The value of imported materials is the CIF price, and for materials of unknown origin it is the earliest ascertainable price paid in Korea.
Goods are regarded as originating if the non-originating materials that did not undergo the change in tariff classification do not exceed 10% of the FOB price and all other requirements of the chapter are met (this 10% rule is not used for goods of Chapters 1 to 14 and Chapters 50 to 63, and for goods of Chapters 50 to 63 the non-originating basic textile materials used must not exceed 7% of the total weight of the basic textile materials). If originating materials from India are used in production in Korea, those materials are regarded as Korean-origin (cumulation).
Goods that underwent only the operations listed in Article 3.6 of the Agreement, such as change of packaging, labeling, simple assembly and simple mixing, do not become originating goods even if the tariff classification changes.
Issuing authorities and when to obtain the certificate of origin
The certificate of origin for goods of Korean origin is issued by customs, a chamber of commerce, or the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Free Trade Zone Office does not issue Korea-India CEPA certificates of origin.
The form is the form common to both countries (Certificate of Origin, Korea-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement), and it is prepared in English.
Apply for issuance before shipment of the exported goods is completed. The Agreement requires the certificate of origin to be issued at the time of export or within 7 working days of the shipment date.
If it could not be issued within this period because of an unintentional error or omission or another valid reason, it can be issued retroactively within 1 year of the shipment date, with "ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY" entered in the remarks box.
The Indian importer can claim the preferential tariff rate only by presenting the certificate of origin when filing the Bill of Entry and entering its number, issue date, criteria for determining origins, whether cumulation is applied, whether it was issued by a third country, and whether the goods were directly transported, on the Bill of Entry (CAROTAR Rule 3). So obtain the certificate of origin right after shipment and send it to the Indian importer no later than before the cargo arrives in India.
The Korea Customs Service has exchanged certificate of origin data electronically with India since December 22, 2023, and has stated that for cases where this data is exchanged, the Indian importer does not need to submit a paper certificate of origin.
The certificate of origin is valid for 12 months from the issue date, and the Indian importer claims the preferential tariff rate within that period. Several products can be entered on one certificate of origin, and each product must meet the criteria for determining origins separately.
If the commercial invoice is issued by a company in a third country other than Korea and India, enter "Third Country Invoicing" and the name, address and country of the invoicing company on the certificate of origin.
Direct transport
The preferential tariff rate applies to goods transported directly from Korea to India. Goods that pass through a third country are regarded as directly transported if they are not traded or consumed there, undergo no operation other than unloading, reloading or work needed to keep the goods in good condition, and remain under the control of the customs authority of the transit country (Agreement, Article 3.15).
Indian customs may require the importer to provide a bill of lading or waybill showing the transport route and all points of shipment and transshipment, and for goods transshipped in a third country, a copy of documents showing that they were under the control of that country's customs authority. If the route involves transshipment at a third-country port, check with the forwarder before shipment whether these documents can be obtained.
Verification by Indian customs and record keeping
If an Indian customs officer has reason to believe the criteria for determining origins are not met, the officer may require the importer, during or after clearance, to provide origin information and supporting documents. The importer submits them within 10 working days of the request, and if the customs authority confirms from the material that the criteria are met, it informs the importer in writing within 15 working days of receipt (CAROTAR Rule 5). The importer keeps this origin information organized in the Form I format (CAROTAR Rule 4).
If the material is missing or insufficient, Indian customs requests Korea to verify the origin.
Under the Korea-India CEPA, origin verification requested by India is handled by the Korean customs authority, which replies within 3 months of receiving the request (Agreement, Article 4.11). In response to the request, the Korea Customs Service or a customs office may investigate the exporter, producer or issuing authority in writing or on site. While the verification result is pending, Indian customs may suspend the preferential tariff rate, and if the importer asks, it may provisionally clear the goods upon receiving security equal to the difference between the general rate and the preferential rate.
The exporter and producer must keep a copy of the certificate of origin, the issuance application documents, the certificate of export declaration, the export sales contract, proof of raw material purchases and the origin documents prepared by the producer for 5 years from the issue date of the certificate of origin. The producer also keeps the cost statement, the raw material statement and the process specification. If the documents are not kept or the exporter or producer refuses to provide data needed for verification, India may deny the preferential tariff rate (Agreement, Article 4.14).
Source: Act on Special Cases of the Customs Act for the Implementation of Free Trade Agreements, Article 15 (Retention of origin proof documents, etc.), Article 18 (Origin investigation at the request of a partner country), Enforcement Decree of the same Act, Article 10 (Origin proof documents subject to retention), Enforcement Rule of the same Act, Article 4 (Origin determination criteria), Article 7 (Methods of issuing certificates of origin), Article 8 (Issuing authorities of certificates of origin), Article 10 (Procedure for issuing certificates of origin for exported goods), Article 15 (Forms of certificates of origin under agreements with partner countries), Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of India, Article 3.4 (Goods not wholly obtained or produced), Article 3.6 (Non-qualifying operations), Article 3.7 (Cumulation), Article 3.8 (De minimis), Article 3.15 (Direct transport), Article 4.4 (Issuance of certificates of origin), Article 4.5 (Validity of certificates of origin), Article 4.6 (Invoicing by a non-party operator), Article 4.8 (Claim for preferential tariff treatment), Article 4.10 (Record-keeping requirements), Article 4.11 (Verification by the competent authority of the exporting party), Article 4.14 (Denial of preferential tariff treatment), India's Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 (Notification No. 81/2020-Customs (N.T.), as amended by Notification No. 14/2025-Customs (N.T.) of March 18, 2025), Rule 3, Rule 5 and Rule 6, Korea Customs Service announcement in December 2023 of the official launch of the Korea-India electronic exchange system for certificates of origin. Checked on October 16, 2026.