UK–India trade deal (CETA), three months in: a practical checklist for UK businesses

Where things stand

CETA was signed on 24 July 2025 and entered into force on 15 July 2026, once both governments had completed their internal approvals. The DCC was signed on 10 February 2026 and entered into force alongside it. Both are now operating, and India's customs authority has issued its implementing rules and circulars, including further clarification in September 2026 on how the agreement's origin rules interact with India's general customs procedures.

Tariffs: check your own product lines

India has agreed to remove or reduce tariffs on about 90% of its tariff lines for UK goods, with 85% becoming duty-free over roughly ten years. Around 64% of UK products became duty-free on day one. The UK government estimates the duty saving at about £400 million a year at entry into force, rising to around £900 million once the reductions are fully phased in.

The averages matter less than your own HS codes, because the timetables differ product by product:

• Whisky: duty fell from 150% to 75% on day one, reducing gradually to 40% over ten years
• Salmon and cod: duty of 33% removed at entry into force
• Chocolate, biscuits and soft drinks: current duties of 33–55% removed within ten years
• Cars: quota-based reductions, with petrol and diesel cars falling to 30–50% initially and 10% from year five, and electric and hybrid cars gaining quota access only from year six
• Medical devices: duties of roughly 8–14% removed after ten years
• Many industrial goods: phased cuts in equal annual steps, for example gearboxes falling from 16.5% to zero by 2035

In the other direction, the UK has liberalised about 99% of its tariff lines for Indian goods, which is relevant if your supply chain sources from India.

Claiming the lower rate: the steps that matter

Preferential duty is not applied automatically. For UK goods entering India, it rests on a self-certified origin declaration made by the UK exporter or producer, not a certificate issued by an authority. The process, as published by the UK government, runs as follows:

1. Register once with HMRC to complete origin declarations under the UK–India agreement, using your EORI number and the email addresses you will send declarations from.
2. Confirm that each product meets the agreement's rules of origin, either wholly obtained, made from originating materials, or meeting the product-specific rule for its HS code.
3. Complete the origin declaration on the official template and convert it to PDF.
4. Email it to Indian customs with your Indian importer in copy, one email per shipment, with no other attachments.
5. Wait for the Unique Reference Number issued by Indian customs. The importer quotes it in the Bill of Entry, and each number supports a single claim.
6. Keep the declaration, invoices, supplier and production records and costing workings for at least five years, because HMRC may verify claims.

The most common reasons for rejection listed in UK guidance are format issues: the wrong file type, extra attachments, a subject line in the wrong form or an unregistered email address. If preference is denied, the Indian importer pays full duty and may face penalties, which quickly becomes a commercial problem for the exporter too.

Posting staff to India: the social-security convention

Under the DCC, an employee sent by a UK employer to work temporarily in India can remain in UK National Insurance, and be exempt from Indian provident-fund contributions, for a posting expected to last up to 60 months. The figure announced in 2025 was 36 months; the final convention allows 60. The same applies in reverse for staff sent from India to the UK.

The relief depends on paperwork and timing:

• UK staff going to India need a certificate of coverage from HMRC, applied for on form CA9107, which serves as evidence that Indian contributions are not due
• Staff coming from India to the UK need a certificate of coverage from India's Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, applied for through the employer
• Postings already running on 15 July 2026 are not covered as detached-worker postings; such staff became liable in the host country from that date, and retrospective coverage is not available
• The convention has no provisions for the self-employed
• It coordinates contributions only; it does not create benefit entitlements in the other country, and it does not change visas or immigration fees

A secondment also has income-tax consequences that the DCC does not address, including the employee's residence position under Section 6 of the Income-tax Act 2025 and whether the secondee's work in India creates a taxable presence for the UK employer under the double taxation treaty. These are worth settling before the posting starts.

Services, procurement and business travel

CETA includes commitments on services and on temporary business entry for defined categories of business people, without otherwise changing either country's immigration rules. On government procurement, UK suppliers can now bid for tenders run by the Indian central-government bodies covered by the agreement, a market the UK government values at about £38 billion a year. A UK supplier can be treated as a Class 2 local supplier where at least 20% of the goods or services are from the UK. State and local government procurement is not covered, and minimum contract values apply.

What CETA does not change in India

The agreement lowers the tariff wall; it does not change what happens once you are inside. There is no stand-alone UK–India investment treaty in place, and setting up in India still runs through the full domestic framework:

• FDI policy and the FEMA rules on entry route, sector conditions and pricing of shares
• Reporting to the Reserve Bank through the authorised dealer bank, including Form FC-GPR when an Indian company allots shares to a foreign investor
• GST registration and returns; CETA reduces basic customs duty only, so IGST on imports and domestic GST obligations continue as before
• Company law filings, statutory audit and the annual compliance calendar
• Withholding tax on payments to non-residents under Section 393 of the Income-tax Act 2025 (formerly Section 195), with the remittance forms now numbered Form 145 and Form 146 (formerly 15CA and 15CB)
• Transfer pricing on dealings with the UK parent, including the accountant's report in Form 48 (formerly Form 3CEB)

Taxation: the treaty still decides

CETA does not change how income is taxed. The India–UK double taxation treaty continues to govern withholding rates, permanent establishment and relief for tax paid in the other country. In India, treaty relief is claimed under Section 159 of the Income-tax Act 2025 (formerly Section 90), and a UK company claiming treaty rates generally needs a UK tax residency certificate together with Form 41 (formerly Form 10F).

A checklist for the next quarter

1. Map your top export lines to HS codes and confirm the current and scheduled CETA duty for each.
2. Complete the HMRC registration and test a first origin declaration well before the shipment it is needed for.
3. Agree with your Indian importer who checks the reference number and how a rejected claim will be handled commercially.
4. For staff postings, apply for certificates of coverage before departure and review any postings that were running on 15 July 2026.
5. Before investing, choose the entry vehicle and plan the FEMA, RBI, GST and company-law registrations as one sequence.
6. Put treaty documentation and a transfer-pricing policy in place before the first intercompany invoice or remittance.

Planning an India entry

The period between a board decision and the first invoice is the right time to settle structure, registrations and transfer-pricing policy. Our Doing Business in India page sets out the entry routes and the Indian compliance calendar in more detail, for UK businesses that would like to look further into these questions.