Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020.-

Rule 3. Preferential tariff claim

(1) To claim preferential rate of duty under a trade agreement, the importer or his agent shall, at the time of filing bill of entry,-

(a) make a declaration in the bill of entry that the goods qualify as originating goods for preferential rate of duty under that agreement;

(b) indicate in the bill of entry the respective tariff notification against each item on which preferential rate of duty is claimed;

(c) produce ¹[proof] ^[helldodold[certificate]^helldod] of origin covering each item on which preferential rate of duty is claimed; and

(d) enter details of ¹[proof] ^[helldodold[certificate]^helldod] of origin in the bill of entry, namely:

(i) ¹[proof] ^[helldodold[certificate]^helldod] of origin reference number;

(ii) date of issuance of ¹[proof] ^[helldodold[certificate]^helldod] of origin;

(iii) originating criteria;

(iv) indicate if accumulation/cumulation is applied;

(v) indicate if the ¹[proof] ^[helldodold[certificate]^helldod] of origin is issued by a third country (back-to-back); and

(vi) indicate if goods have been transported directly from country of origin.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, the claim of preferential rate of duty may be denied by the proper officer without verification if the ¹[proof] ^[helldodold[certificate]^helldod] of origin-

(a) is incomplete and not in accordance with the format as prescribed by the Rules of Origin;

(b) has any alteration not authenticated by the Issuing Authority;

(c) is produced after its validity period has expired; or

(d) is issued for an item which is not eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the trade agreement;

and in all such cases, the certificate shall be marked as “INAPPLICABLE”.

Explanation: Clause (d) of sub-rule (2) includes the cases where goods are not covered in the respective tariff notification or the product specific rule mentioned in the certificate of origin is not applicable to the goods.

1. Substituted vide:- Notification No. 14/2025-Customs (N.T.) Dated 18/03/2025