The Indian commerce ministry has designed an online platform for issuing 'certificate of origin', a key document required for exports to those countries with which India has trade agreements. This is expected to facilitate shipments during the COVID-19 crisis. An exporter has to submit such a certificate at the landing port of the importing country.

The document is important to claim duty concessions under free trade agreements (FTAs) and preferential trade agreements (PTAs).

"The platform has been designed as a single-point access for all FTAs/PTAs, for all designated certificate of origin (CoO) issuing agencies and for all export products, and is accessible at - https://coo.dgft.gov.in," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a recent notice sent to all exporters, members of trade, designated agencies under FTAs/PTAs, and all embassies of FTA/PTAs partner countries.

Te certificate for exports from India to Chile under a PTA, exports to Nepal under the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) and the SAARC Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) and shipments to Korea under the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement are already being applied and issued through this online platform, it said.

"To further this initiative and facilitation, and in the light of current crisis, the preferential certificate of origin for exports to various other countries under following FTAs/PTAs shall also be applied and issued only from this online platform with effect from April 7, 2020," it added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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