The EximLabh Brief

India-Oman CEPA: DGFT Adds CEPA to CoO List, What Exporters Must Recheck Before Claiming Preference

DGFT Public Notice No. 16/2026-27 amends Paragraph 2.88(a) of HBP 2023, adding India-Oman CEPA to the list of agreements for preferential Certificates of Origin. Exporters must verify product-specific rules before claiming benefits.

What actually changed

DGFT has added the India-Oman CEPA to the list of agreements for which preferential Certificates of Origin can be issued, through Public Notice No. 16/2026-27 dated 2 June 2026 amending Paragraph 2.88(a) of the Handbook of Procedures 2023.

The customs side moved on a separate track: Notification No. 48/2026-Customs (N.T.) dated 29 May 2026 notified the origin rules effective 1 June 2026, and Trade Notice No. 06/2026-2027 mandated electronic CoO filing through the Trade Connect ePlatform from the same date.

The practical trigger is not the amendment itself. It is that exporters who have been shipping to Oman on MFN terms, or who assumed their existing origin paperwork would carry over, now face a product-by-product verification exercise before the first preferential shipment.

Why it matters

The CEPA is now operational for preferential trade, but the origin framework is specific to this agreement. A product that qualifies as originating under the India-UAE CEPA may fail under the India-Oman CEPA, or the reverse. The product-specific rules, value-addition methodology, and cumulation provisions are not interchangeable across FTAs.

The compliance burden sits with the Indian exporter even though the duty benefit is claimed at the Omani border. Under CAROTAR 2020, importers face origin verification obligations. Omani customs will scrutinise the Indian-issued CoO, and any defect in the underlying origin determination will surface after the goods have left India. The CoO is not a DGFT formality. It is a document that must withstand foreign customs examination.

There is also a timing gap worth noting. The CBIC origin rules and the electronic platform were effective 1 June 2026, but the HBP amendment was published on 2 June 2026. Exporters with shipments in that window should confirm the validity of any CoO issued before the HBP amendment was formally in place. Do not assume harmonisation between DGFT and CBIC. Confirm the specific DGFT notification.

What this does not change

RoDTEP and FTA preferential duty remain independent benefits and can both be claimed on the same shipment. RoDTEP and Duty Drawback remain mutually exclusive. Exporters shifting from Drawback to RoDTEP to accommodate CEPA documentation must ensure they do not claim both on the same export.

The amendment also does not change the underlying origin criteria. Goods are originating if they are wholly obtained or produced in a Party, or if they satisfy the product-specific rules in Annexure-B to the notified Rules. The specific value-addition percentage is not stated in the corpus and must be confirmed against the primary instrument. Do not assume it mirrors other Indian FTAs.

What to do this week

Primary sources

Confidence

Verified: The HBP amendment, CBIC origin rules, and electronic CoO mandate are all sourced from the brief with specific instrument numbers and dates.

Interpretation: The operational reading that exporters must run a product-by-product origin audit before the first preferential shipment is my synthesis of the compliance traps named in the brief.

Needs confirmation: The value-addition threshold, cumulation provisions, authorised agency list, and tariff concession rates all require confirmation against the primary instruments.

DGFT, India-Oman CEPA, rules of origin, preferential certificate of origin, CAROTAR 2020, Trade Connect ePlatform.