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DGFT has opened an Application Programming Interface facility for the issue and verification of Certificates of Origin through the Trade Connect e-Platform, notified in Trade Notice No. 25/2026-27 dated 7 September 2026.
Exporters can now link their ERP or accounting software directly to the DGFT system instead of re-keying the same data on the portal.
The facility covers both preferential Certificates of Origin, which unlock tariff concessions under trade agreements, and non-preferential ones used for customs clearance and trade remedy purposes.
It spans the major Indian trade agreements, from India-Japan CEPA and ASEAN-India FTA to India-UAE CEPA, India-EFTA TEPA and India-UK CETA, plus the Generalized System of Preferences.
Rules of origin decide which country a good economically belongs to - typically through a change in tariff heading or a minimum share of local value addition. A preferential Certificate of Origin proves that a good qualifies under a trade agreement and so earns a concessional tariff; a non-preferential one merely states origin for customs, labelling or trade-remedy purposes and carries no tariff benefit.
Simple Analogy: A preferential certificate is a discount coupon; a non-preferential one is only an address label.
The Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 were notified on 21 August 2020 by CBIC and came into force on 21 September 2020. They shift the burden onto the importer: a preferential claim now needs a specific origin declaration in the bill of entry and documented due diligence, not merely a certificate of origin. Suppression or wilful misstatement invites penal action besides denial of the preferential rate.
The statute under which DGFT operates, formulates the Foreign Trade Policy and issues the Importer-Exporter Code.
Notified on 31 March 2023 and in force from 1 April 2023, it is the first Indian FTP with no end date, to be amended as needed. Its four pillars are incentive to remission; export promotion through collaboration with exporters, States, districts and Indian Missions; ease of doing business and e-initiatives; and emerging areas including e-commerce and districts as export hubs. This API facility sits squarely in the third pillar.
Attached office of the Department of Commerce that formulates and implements the Foreign Trade Policy, issues the Importer-Exporter Code and runs the eCoO platform.
DGFT's single-window portal for exporters, launched in September 2024, linking exporters with the Department of Commerce, Indian Missions abroad, Export Promotion Councils, EXIM Bank and trade experts, and carrying information on regulations, FTAs, tariffs and overseas buyers. It hosts the CoO module and this API.
The forum at which the Generalized System of Preferences was adopted in 1968 and instituted in 1971 - a voluntary, non-reciprocal, non-discriminatory tariff preference given by developed to developing countries. The United States withdrew India's GSP benefits with effect from June 2019.
GS Paper 3 > Economy > External Sector and Trade Facilitation
General Awareness > Trade and Commerce
Criteria - change of tariff heading or minimum value addition - that fix the economic nationality of a good and decide whether it qualifies for concessional tariffs.
Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020, in force from 21 September 2020, placing a due-diligence duty on importers claiming preferential duty.
Non-reciprocal tariff preferences extended by developed to developing countries, adopted at UNCTAD in 1968 and instituted in 1971.