India, Oman decide to expedite trade pact talks, ink protocol to amend tax treaty

India and Oman have decided to expedite the discussions for an early signing of a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the government said Tuesday.

The two sides have also signed the Protocol to amend the India-Oman Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), aligning it with international standards on cross-border taxation during commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to Oman this week.

Goyal co-chaired the 11th Session of the India-Oman Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion of Sultanate of Oman during his visit on January 27-28, according to a statement issued by the commerce and industry ministry.


Noting that the two ministers exchanged views on a bilateral India-Oman CEPA which is under advanced stages of negotiations, it said: “Both ministers agreed to expedite the discussions for an early signing of the CEPA which will be a new milestone in bilateral trade relations and has the potential to significantly scale-up two-way trade and investments”.

India’s exports to Oman in 2023-24 were $4.47 billion and imports were $4.5 billion.
India’s key imports are petroleum products and urea which account for over 70% of the imports. Propylene and ethylene polymers, pet coke, gypsum, chemicals, and iron and steel are the other key imports from the Gulf nation.

On the sidelines of the visit, both sides signed the Protocol to amend the India-Oman DTAA, aligning it with international standards on cross-border taxation, simplifying tax procedures, and promoting greater cooperation in tax matters.

“The minister held a productive bilateral meeting with Minister Qais during which he undertook a detailed review of the bilateral trade and economic relations between India and Oman and identified concrete steps to further strengthen the mutually beneficial business ties,” the ministry said.

Goyal also held bilateral meetings with Sultan bin Salem Al Habsi, Minister of Finance, and Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, Chairman of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones to deepen economic ties.