India UAE CEPA Certification-Cost, Process & Documents Required
India UAE CEPA agreement is a bilateral free trade agreement between India and UAE. Traders may now take advantage of streamlined customs procedures and other concessions made by the CEPA when exporting products of all kinds.
The India UAE CEPA Certificate is a Certificate of Origin for preferential treatment. The Department of Commerce issues it, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs of India, and the Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates.
In this article, we will briefly learn about the India-UAE CEPA agreement and Cepa certificate of origin.
What is India UAE CEPA Certificate of Origin or CEPA Certificate?
CEPA is an acronym for Comprehensive Economic partnership agreement between the govt of India and UAE. IUCEPA registration or India UAE CEPA certification is a certificate of origin for goods exported from India to UAE. The certificate is issued by the government agencies such as DGFT, spice board, and other authorized legal entities.
The CEPA Coo (Certification of origin) is necessary for clearance from the importing country's customs. One of the most significant benefits of having IUCEPA is that exported products are duty-free under the free trade agreement between India & UAE under CEPA.
CEPA - Rules of Origin Requirements
Per the CEPA agreement between India-UAE, the products shall be deemed as originating in a party country per the following criteria.
- Wholly Obtained products
- Value-added Criteria for products.
- Change in headings & subheadings
- Change in harmonized system (HS) chapter
- Final manufacturing before export must be done in the exporting country.
- Sharing of detailed products info with authorities to comply with preferential treatment
- The Product has undergone sufficient working or production per the Product specific rules (PSR) as agreed by the parties under CEPA.
Note : The value addition is lower for the ornaments and jewelry sector only.
Proof of origin:
Can provide the proof of origin of the Product through any of the following means:
- Entirely digitized certificates issued by any of the authorized government bodies.
- A paper certificate of origin of CEPA registration in electronic or hard copy format issued by the authorized government body.
- A certificate of origin of the declaration made out by an approved exporter as per the rules.
Documents required for CEPA Registration
- Organization based Digital Signature Certificate
- DGFT Login ID
- Updated Import Export Code
- Mobile No. & Email address
- Digital Signature Certificate software
- Commercial Invoice
- Purchase Bill that has details of quantity, origin of raw materials, consumables used in product meant for export
- Manufacturer Exporter Declaration on the company’s Letterhead
- Product Description
- Purchase order from importer company
Process For IUCEPA Registration
1 - Account ID creation:- An account will be created on the DGFT portal with DSC or any other authorized government portal to apply for CEPA certification.
2 - Documentation:- An applicant must provide valid information and required documents with the application to prove the origin of their products.
3 - Verification & authorization:- The issuing authority will assess and conduct a full inspection through a risk management system to verify & authenticate the origin of the Product.
4 - Certification:- Once the approval is granted after the verification & inspection. Authorities will issue the India UAE cepa certificate or Certificate of origin to the respective applicants. As per agreed rules under the cepa agreement. The certificate of origin or Cepa registration must be in English language only. The issued certificate must have all the required details about the Product and the exporting entity.
Fee & Validity of CEPA Registration
The India UAE CEPA certification fee is 3,236 rupees only, including our professional charges. The Certification of origin I,e. CEPA certificate for India-UAE CEPA is valid up to 12 months from the date of issuance.
The fee can be breakdown into the following:-
| Particulars | Fees |
| Government Fee | 736 |
| One-time registration fee | 500 |
| Application Fee | 2000 |
| Total Fee | 3236 |
| Validity of CECA | 12 months from the date of issuance |
Eligibility of Products Under India-UAE CEPA
If the Product meets the criteria below, it will be considered to have originated in a contracting nation and be eligible for preferential treatment. Wholly Obtained Or Produced Products such as:
- Live animals
- Agri products
- Products made of animals
- Products made of Marine animals
- Products made of natural resources
- Product produced in the territory of the country exclusively
- Products have undergone sufficient working or production according to the Product Specific Rules.
Note:- The products mentioned above must be procured or manufactured in the party country, and exporters must produce a legal certificate of origin of products.
Benefits of India UAE CEPA Agreement
Reducing tariffs & trade barriers in preferred countries- Encouraging cross- border transactions between the territories of the Contracting counties.
- Promoting fair competition in the free trade states
- Ensuring equitable benefits to all Contracting countries
- Effective mechanism for joint administration & resolution of disputes
- Framework for regional cooperation and enhance mutual benefits for trade.
Obligations For Exporter Under India-UAE CEPA Agreement
- The exporter shall submit the minimum required information and supporting documents for the certificate of origin under India UAE cepa or IUCEPA registration.
- Any exporter falsely representing any material information relevant to the determination of the origin of products shall be liable to prosecution and penalties.
- Exporters are required to keep minimum information and supporting documents of their products for five years from the expiry date of the CEPA certificate of origin.
- The exporter shall keep appropriate commercial accounting records for the production supply of the products.
- The exporter shall notify the issuing authority, custom authority, and the importer of any chances that could affect the accuracy or validity.
Non-Compliance & Penalties
- If the certificate of origin establishes the Product's non-compliance, then custom duties shall be levied under the India UAE cepa agreement.
- Each Party shall also adopt or maintain measures that provide for the imposition of civil and administrative laws. Where appropriate, it shall implement criminal sanctions for violations of its customs laws.
Issuing Authorities of CEPA in India
| Agency | Product Category |
| Export inspection Council & Export inspection Agencies | All products |
| Marine Products Export Development Authority and regional offices | Marine products |
| Development Commissioner, Handicraft & regional offices | Handicraft |
| Spices Board | Spices and Cashew Nuts |
| Coir Board | Coir and Coir products |
| Textile Committee and regional offices | Textiles and Clothing |
| Central Silk Board and regional offices | Silk products |
| Falta Special Economic Zone | All products manufactured by Units in Falta SEZ and EOUs located within the respective jurisdiction |
| Directorate General of Foreign Trade and regional offices | All products |
| Tobacco Board | Tobacco and tobacco products |
| Agricultural and Processed Food Products | Agricultural Products Export Development Authority /APEDA) |
Other Free Trade Agreements
India has enhanced its market access commitments for neighbouring service providers. These commitments provide companies with an opportunity to build market expertise and grow by international expansion. Under Free or Preferential Trade Agreement there are multiple options where certificate of origin can be generated from India for import benefits to importing companies:-
ICPTA - India Chile Preferential Trade Agreement
SAFTA - South Asia Free Trade Agreement
SAPTA - SAARC Preferential Trade Agreement
IKCEPA - India Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
IJCEPA - India Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements
AIFTA - ASEAN India Free Trade Agreement
ISFTA - India Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement
APTA - Asia Pacific Trade Agreement
GSP - Generalized System of Preferences
GSTP - Global System of Trade Preferences
IMCECA - India Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement
ISCECA - India Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement