India Notifies Import Quotas for UK Vehicles Under CETA

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has notified the application procedures for importers to access quota-based duty concessions on passenger cars and goods vehicles from the United Kingdom. These measures support the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which becomes effective on July 15.

Under the agreement, India will phase down import duties from approximately 110 percent to 10 percent over 15 years. The pact allows for the import of 378,000 conventional-engine passenger cars at concessional rates over the first 15 years. In the first year, 20,000 units are permitted across three engine categories, with duties dropping to 30 percent for large-engine vehicles and 50 percent for mid-sized and mass-market cars. Annual quotas will eventually peak at 37,000 units in the fifth year.

To qualify for these Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQ), applicants must be original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or authorized dealers. They are required to provide a certificate of origin from the UK and a pre-purchase agreement from a UK OEM. The DGFT will monitor cumulative quantities through TRQ certificates and will stop issuing them once the stated quantity limit is reached.

India continues to protect its domestic electric vehicle segment by excluding vehicles priced below GBP 40,000 (CIF) from these concessions. Duty reductions for electric, hybrid, and hydrogen cars are delayed until the sixth year of the agreement. These protections ensure that the immediate influx of UK imports does not undercut India's growing domestic EV infrastructure, while the phased reductions provide a predictable timeline for UK automotive exporters to penetrate the Indian market.