Over the past four years, India has significantly expanded its network of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs). The most recent additions include agreements with New Zealand (2025) and Oman (2025), taking the total number of new trade pacts signed since 2021 to seven.
For Indian businesses, professionals, and investors, these agreements are not merely diplomatic milestones. They have direct implications for market access, tariffs, mobility of professionals, investment structuring, and compliance planning. Understanding what has changed, and what remains subject to implementation, is essential before taking commercial or strategic decisions.
What Has Changed
India has concluded or operationalised the following major trade agreements in recent years:
- India–New Zealand FTA (2025)
- India–Oman CEPA (2025)
- India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (2025)
- India–EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (2024, effective October 2025)
- India–UAE CEPA (2022)
- India–Australia ECTA (2022)
- India–Mauritius CECPA (2021)
These agreements broadly aim to reduce tariffs on goods, improve access for services, enable professional mobility, and encourage cross-border investment.
Key Features Across the Agreements
1. Goods and Tariffs
Most agreements provide near duty-free or preferential access for Indian exports across sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, leather, agriculture, and processed foods. In several cases, over 95 percent of tariff lines are covered, subject to rules of origin and product-specific exclusions.
2. Services and Professional Mobility
A consistent feature across newer FTAs is enhanced access for Indian service providers. Sectors benefiting include IT, engineering, healthcare, education, finance, and construction. Certain agreements also include specific quotas or mobility provisions for professionals such as chefs, yoga instructors, educators, healthcare workers, and technical specialists.
3. Investment Access
Agreements such as the India–EFTA pact place strong emphasis on long-term investment inflows into India, with commitments linked to manufacturing, services, and employment generation. Gulf-focused agreements, particularly with the UAE and Oman, allow higher or full foreign ownership in select sectors, subject to domestic laws.
Why This Matters Now
These agreements reflect a clear policy shift towards integrating India more deeply into global value chains while protecting sensitive domestic sectors. For exporters and service providers, they lower entry barriers into developed and high-income markets. For employers and investors, they signal medium-term policy stability, which is critical for capacity expansion and cross-border structuring.
However, benefits under FTAs are not automatic. They depend on compliance with documentation, origin criteria, sectoral caps, and regulatory conditions under Indian law and the partner country’s framework.
Implications for Clients
Businesses and Exporters
Companies should assess whether their products qualify for preferential tariffs under the relevant rules of origin. Incorrect classification or documentation can lead to denial of benefits and retrospective duties. Supply-chain structuring may need review to ensure eligibility.
Service Providers and Professionals
While access has improved, professional mobility remains subject to visa regimes, qualification recognition, and contractual limits. Clients should not assume unrestricted access and must evaluate country-specific conditions carefully.
NRIs and Investors
For cross-border investments, FTAs do not override FEMA, tax residency rules, or domestic sectoral regulations. Investment structuring must still comply with Indian exchange control laws, transfer pricing norms, and applicable tax treaties.
Employers
Companies deploying personnel overseas or hiring under mobility provisions should examine payroll, social security, and withholding tax obligations in both jurisdictions.
What Is Still Pending or Unclear
- Implementation timelines for certain provisions, particularly in the India–New Zealand and India–Oman agreements
- Detailed rules of origin notifications and operational guidelines
- Clarity on mutual recognition of professional qualifications in some service sectors
- Alignment with domestic regulatory approvals and licensing requirements
Until these are formally notified, businesses should proceed with caution and avoid assuming immediate eligibility.
What Clients Should Do Next
- Review existing and planned exports or services to identify FTA-linked opportunities
- Conduct a compliance check on origin rules, contracts, and pricing structures
- Monitor notifications issued by the commerce ministry, customs authorities, and sector regulators
- Seek professional advice before restructuring supply chains or entering new markets
These trade agreements create meaningful opportunities, but their benefits depend on informed planning and disciplined compliance rather than assumptions.