DGFT allows self-declaration under India–EFTA pact

| Photo Credit:
SODIQ ADELAKUN/Reuters

The commerce ministry’s arm DGFT on Tuesday said it has amended a provision to facilitate domestic exporters to obtain the Certificate of Origin (CoO) under the India-EFTA free trade agreement, through self-declaration.

The pact was implemented on October 1.

A certificate of origin is a key document required for exports to those countries with which India has trade agreements.

An exporter has to submit the certificate at the landing port of the importing country. The document is important to claim duty concessions under free trade agreements. This certificate is essential to prove where the goods come from.

A paragraph of the Handbook of Procedures 2023 “has been amended to facilitate exporters to obtain the CoO under the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) through self-declaration, in addition to the existing system of issuance of CoO by the authorised agencies,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a public notice.

Published on October 28, 2025