The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on May 03, 2023, issued a notification regarding the acceptance of an Electronic Certificate of Origin (e-CoO) issued under the India-Sri Lanka FTA (ISFTA).
It is hereby clarified that an electronic certificate of origin or e-Coo, issued by the Issuing Authority of Sri Lanka, is a valid document for the purpose of claiming preferential benefit under the India-Sri Lanka FTA subject to it having been issued in the prescribed format, bearing seal and signatures of the authorized signatory of the Issuing Authority, and fulfilling all other requirements.
The specimen seals and signatures circulated in advance, should be used to verify the genuineness/authenticity of e-Coo. The integrity of the e-CoO can be further verified using the unique QR code printed on the certificateIn case of any doubt, the matter shall be referred to the FTA Cell (under the Directorate of International Customs) for initiating the verification process with the Issuing Authority of the exporting country.
Trade may be advised to ensure that the e-CoO is mandatorily uploaded on e-Sanchit by the importer/Customs Broker for claiming preferential benefit, and the e-CoO particulars such as unique reference number and date, originating criteria etc. are carefully entered while filing the bill of entry.
[Notification N. CBIC-15021/48/2020-ICD-CBEC]
