The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), under the Ministry of Finance, has operationalised the India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the Customs Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) System with effect from 20 October 2026, introducing specific compliance requirements for importers and exporters regarding Certificates of Origin (CoO) and electronic customs declarations. The agreement, signed on 27 April 2026, has been operationalised through CBIC Notification No. 32/2026-Customs dated 16 October 2026 and Notification No. 82/2026-Customs (N.T.) dated 12 October 2026.
According to an advisory issued by the Directorate General of Systems and Data Management through ICEGATE on 19 October 2026, the relevant notifications have been implemented in the Customs EDI System. A dedicated Agreement Code ‘FTANZD’ has been assigned to the India–New Zealand FTA, effective from 20 October 2026, for identifying transactions covered under the agreement.
Under the revised procedures, importers seeking preferential tariff benefits under the India–New Zealand FTA are required to upload the prescribed Certificate of Origin on the e-Sanchit platform using the newly introduced Supporting Document Code ‘861021’. The Image Reference Number (IRN) generated upon uploading the certificate must be declared in the Supporting Document table of the Bill of Entry at the item level.
The advisory further specifies that importers or their Customs Brokers must furnish Certificate of Origin particulars in the Single Window table (BE_SW_INFO_TYPE) of the Bill of Entry. The mandatory declaration includes Info Type ‘ORC’, Info Qualifier ‘COO’, Info Code ‘NZ’, and the Certificate of Origin number and issuance date in the prescribed format. These details must correspond to the Certificate of Origin uploaded on e-Sanchit.
For exports covered under the India–New Zealand FTA, exporters are required to make mandatory declarations in the Single Window table of the Shipping Bill using INFO_TYPE ‘ORC’, INFO_QFR ‘EPT’ and INFO_CD ‘FTANZD’. The declaration is mandatory for all items. Where exports are not covered under any Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), the INFO_CD must be declared as ‘NCTPI’. The advisory clarifies that failure to provide the prescribed declaration will prevent the filing of the Shipping Bill.
In addition, importers are required to furnish the prescribed declaration in the Statement table of the Bill of Entry using Statement Type ‘DEC’ and Statement Code ‘CUF02’. The Statement Text field must remain blank, as the applicable statement will be automatically populated through the designated statement code.
The CBIC advisory has also prescribed specific conditions governing the use and validity of Certificates of Origin under the agreement. A Certificate of Origin issued under the India–New Zealand FTA will be valid for 12 months from the date of issuance and can be utilised for only one import, although it may cover one or more goods. Once a certificate has been used in a Bill of Entry, it cannot be used again for another import. Importers must ensure that the certificate remains valid on the date of filing the Bill of Entry to claim preferential benefits.
The new electronic declaration requirements have come into effect from 20 October 2026 for Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills filed through the Customs EDI System. Importers, exporters, Customs Brokers, software vendors and other trade stakeholders are advised to comply with the prescribed procedures while undertaking transactions under the India–New Zealand FTA.
For technical difficulties or issues relating to the implementation of these requirements, trade stakeholders may contact the ICEGATE Helpdesk at icegatehelpdesk@icegate.gov.in.
The Advisory can be accessed at: https://a2ztaxcorp.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Advisory-for-India-New-Zealand-Free-Trade-Agreement-for-Certificate-of-Origin.pdf
