UK–India CETA: what machinery exporters need to know

How the UK–India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement changes duties on machinery, and what it means for selling into India.

6 min read · updated 2026-09-19

What CETA covers

For goods, CETA works through tariff schedules: each side publishes a line-by-line list of HS codes with a "staging category" that says how the duty on that line falls away (Annex 2A and its appendices, published on GOV.UK — s1). For machinery (chapters 84–90), India's schedule sets a base rate of 7.5% basic customs duty on the main machine-tool lines, with many lines eliminated from day one and others reduced in stages. The full text — including the Trade in Goods chapter and both countries' schedules — is on the GOV.UK CETA collection (s1).

Phase-in timelines

Each tariff line carries one of several staging categories (Annex 2A, Section C — s1). Lines marked "EIF" are eliminated on the date the agreement enters into force. Lines marked "E5" or "E10" fall in five or ten equal annual instalments: the first cut applies from entry into force and further cuts land each 1 January, reaching zero from 1 January of year five or year ten respectively. So the preferential duty on a staged line depends on the year you ship — check the current-year rate in India's schedule rather than assuming day-one zero. The UK Global Tariff lookup (s2) is for confirming the commodity code: it shows the UK's own tariff and does not show the duty India charges, so for the India-side rate use India's schedule in Annex 2A (s1).

Rules of origin

The preferential rate applies only to goods that qualify as "originating" under the agreement — being shipped from the UK is not enough on its own. CETA's Rules of Origin chapter (Chapter 3, published with the agreement text on GOV.UK — s1) sets the product-specific origin requirements per HS code, typically a change-of-tariff-heading or value-added test. Before quoting a customer the CETA rate, confirm your machine meets the origin rule for its HS code and that you can document it (a certificate or declaration of origin as the chapter requires).

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