India clears 642-car import quota from UK under India-UK trade agreement

The commerce ministry’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has approved applications from seven companies to import 642 cars from Britain for the remainder of 2026 under the tariff rate quota provisions of the India-UK free trade agreement, an official said on Wednesday.

The approval comes after the DGFT invited applications in July for the allocation of import quotas for fully built passenger cars and goods vehicles from the UK under the duty concession provisions of the trade pact. The government had sought applications for a quota of around 5,000 vehicles for 2026.

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“The directorate had received applications from eight companies. We have approved applications of seven. Quota has been approved for 642 cars,” the official said.

The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which came into effect on July 15, provides for concessional customs duty on vehicle imports from Britain subject to specified quotas.

Under the agreement, India has allowed the import of a total of 3.78 lakh conventional-engine passenger cars, including vehicles in the mass segment, from the UK at concessional customs duty over the first 15 years of the pact.

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As part of the agreement, tariffs on automotive imports are set to fall from around 110% to 10%, with quotas applying to vehicle trade between the two countries.

The tariff rate quota (TRQ) mechanism allows imports of specified quantities of goods at a lower or preferential duty rate. For the 2026 allocation, only original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), dealers and channel partners duly authorised by UK-origin vehicle makers were eligible to apply.

The approval of 642 cars marks the first allocation under the 2026 quota following the DGFT’s call for applications in July.