Under the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which came into effect from July 15, New Delhi has allowed the import of a total of 3.78 lakh units of conventional-engine passenger cars, including those in the mass segment, from the UK at a concessional customs duty during the first 15 years of the implementation of the trade pact between the two countries.
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Under the pact, tariffs on automotive imports will fall from about 110 per cent to 10 per cent, with quotas on both sides.
Importers seeking to import vehicles from the UK under the quota-based duty concessions (tariff rate quota – TRQ) provided under the agreement can submit their applications from July 21 to August 4, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
“New applications for TRQ under India – United Kingdom CETA for CY 2026 are invited from July 21, 2026 up to August 04, 2026,” it said.
As per the notification, the applications have been invited for allocation of quota to the importers for 9,316 units in the first phase. Only Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), dealers and channel partners duly authorised by the OEMs of vehicles originating in the UK will be eligible to apply for the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ).
To be eligible, each applicant will submit a pre-purchase agreement issued by an OEM of the vehicles originating in the UK setting out the quantity of vehicles agreed to be supplied to the applicant during the TRQ year for importation into India under each TRQ.
The quota for cars with an engine capacity of up to 1,500 cc has been kept at 2,329 units. These vehicles will attract a basic customs duty of 50 per cent instead of 66 per cent.
Similarly, for cars with engine capacity exceeding 1,500 cc but below 3,000 cc for petrol-run vehicles or exceeding 1,500 cc but not exceeding 2,500 cc for diesel-run vehicles, the quota again has been set at 2,329 units.
On these vehicles, the duties have also been reduced to 50 per cent from 66 per cent.
A quota of 4,658 units has been set for cars with an engine capacity of more than 3,000 cc for petrol-run vehicles and 2,500 cc for diesel-run vehicles.
For these categories, the import duty will come down to 30 per cent from 110 per cent.
For the import of completely-built motor vehicles for the transport of goods, a quota of 1,164 units has been fixed in the first round.
Overall, the quota for these vehicles in the first year of the CETA coming into force is 2,500 units. The vehicles imported within the quota will attract 37 per cent duty instead of 44 per cent.