The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has issued a notice on implementation of origin procedures under India-Australia ECTA.
The notice specified the following clarifications:
- The India-Australia ECTA recognizes electronic Certificates of Origin. Hence, an e-COO, issued electronically by the Issuing bodies of Australia, is a valid document for the purpose of claiming preferential benefit under India-Australia ECTA, provided that the e-COO has been issued in the prescribed format, bears seal and signatures of the authorized Issuing body or authority and fulfills all other specified requirements.
- Affixing of QR Code on the COO/e-COO is not a necessary requirement
- Absence of Overleaf Notes on the COOs received from Australia may not be a ground for initiating verification or denial of preferential benefit.
- As long as the details on the COO and the transport documents match, putting ‘any ports in India’ in the Port of Destination field of the COO by Issuing bodies of Australia may not be a ground for initiating verification or denial of preferential benefit.
