This is with reference to the recent amendment in the Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements.

In this regard, presently, Certificate of Origin is the only document which satisfies the condition for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). CBIC vide Notification No. 81/2020-Customs (N.T.) and Circular No. 38/2020-Customs dated 21^st August 2020 has provided the new regulations in respect of rules of Origin under Trade agreements.

We have decoded the notification with detailed guidance to be followed from 21 September 2020 which your company should follow before the consignment to be imported whether the checking of the said certificate of origin shall be done or not. Request you to kindly note the details which are required to be furnished in the bill of entry from 21 September 2020 should be available with the company. Refer Para C of the document (‘Decoding Rules of Origin Under Trade Agreements’).

Given below are the suggested steps which should be followed

Suggested SOP for determining the Origin Criteria before the import of the Goods

• Evaluate the countries from which the preferential rate of duty is being claimed under trade agreements. If the answer to above is affirmative, then follow the below steps before the shipment is imported into India. 
• In case the import of the items which shall be done are wholly obtained, then you need to prepare the following details in respect of the manufacturing process and its material content and its origin source . The said details has to be furnished in Annexure B.
• In case contents of the originating criteria are ‘not wholly obtained’ as per the FTA. Then in such circumstances, we have to furnish the details of the said SKUs and its HSN and its Originating conditions as per the respective FTA as per the Annexure A. Please note that the FTA agreement we have referred is ASEAN & Singapore for illustration purpose only, although specific FTA rules should be followed to check the condition of FTA to claim the exemption.
• Apart from the above,questionnaire is required to be prepared in respect of each SKU in advance along with the backup documentation as per the Annexure-B.

Please feel free to discuss the same in detail to avoid the delays in shipment and to claim the benefit of FTA.