India's first duty cuts under New Zealand trade pact take effect on Tuesday

Indian importers of New Zealand sheep meat, kiwi fruit, wine and manuka honey will pay lower duties from Tuesday, 20 October, when the first concessions under the India-New Zealand free trade agreement come into force.

A Finance Ministry notification issued on Friday sets out the revised basic customs duty and cess rates for eligible goods. The cuts are selective. They cover listed tariff lines only, come with conditions on each product, and in several cases apply only up to a fixed quantity. Duties on New Zealand goods as a whole are not being removed.

What gets cheaper

The biggest change is for sheep meat. Fresh, chilled and frozen sheep meat under the specified tariff heading will attract no basic customs duty, no Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess and no health cess.

Kiwi fruit, one of New Zealand’s best-known exports, gets a price-linked concession. Fruit imported at $2.50 a kilogram or more will pay a basic customs duty of 15%, subject to classification and conditions.

Several lines of designated fish will carry a basic customs duty of 25.71%, with no AIDC or health cess. Wine and manuka honey are also among the goods covered by preferential rates, though the duty levels vary by tariff line.

Quotas and proof of origin

For some products, India has set tariff-rate quotas. Under these, a fixed amount can be imported at the favourable rate, and anything beyond it pays the normal duty.

To claim any of the concessions, importers must prove that the goods originate in New Zealand.

What it means

The goods covered, from lamb and kiwi fruit to wine and manuka honey, sit largely at the premium end of the Indian market. Because duty rates depend on the exact tariff classification, importers and customs brokers will spend the coming days matching their consignments to the notified lines before Tuesday’s start date.