CBIC Instructs Regarding The Acceptance Of E-CoO Issued Under India-UAE CEPA

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued instructions on acceptance of an Electronic Certificate of Origin (e-CoO) issued under the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

The Board has received representations regarding the India-UAE CEPA, stating that importers are having difficulty obtaining preferential tariff treatment based on e-CoO issued by the UAE Issuing Authority, despite the fact that the agreement expressly provides for it.

It has been clarified that an e-CoO, issued electronically by the Issuing Authority of the UAE, is a valid document for the purpose of claiming preferential benefit under the India-UAE CEPA. The e-CoO issued must be in the prescribed format, bear the electronically printed seal and signatures of the authorised signatory of the Issuing Authority, and fulfil all other requirements stated in notification No. 39/2022-Customs (N.T.) dated April 30, 2022.

The previously circulated specimen seals and signatures will continue to be used to verify the genuineness and authenticity of e-CoO. In the event of doubt, the matter shall be referred to the FTA Cell (under the Directorate of International Customs) for initiating the verification process with the issuing authority of the exporting country.

To receive preferential treatment, the importer/customs broker must upload the e-CoO to e-Sanchit, and the e-CoO particulars, such as unique reference number and date, originating criteria, and so on, must be carefully entered while filing the bill of entry.

A printed copy of the e-CoO shall be presented to the Customs officer for defacement of the CoO during Out of Charge, who shall cross-check the unique reference number and other particulars entered in the bill of entry with the printed copy of the e-CoO. It will be used instead of defacing the original hard copy of an origin certificate. In this regard, it should be noted that a check has already been implemented in the system to prevent the use of the same CoO reference number in multiple bills of entry.

Instruction No. 28/2022- Customs

Date: October 27, 2022

Click Here To Read the Instructions