simplifying and harmonising customs procedures;
sharing with each other their respective experiences in developing and maintaining their single window systems;
exchanging information, including information on best practices, relating to customs matters. Such exchanges of information shall be without prejudice to exchanges of information that may take place between the Parties pursuant to the Cooperative Arrangement between the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs of the Government of the Republic of India and the New Zealand Customs Service in Customs Matters done at Wellington on 06 August 2024; and
such other customs issues as may be mutually determined by the Parties.
Each Party shall establish or maintain a trade facilitation partnership programme for operators who meet specified criteria, hereinafter referred to as the Authorised Economic Operator (“AEO”) programme. Each Party’s Programme shall operate in accordance with internationally recognised standards which the respective Parties have accepted, such as the WCO SAFE Framework and Article 7.7 of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation.
Each Party shall publish its specified criteria to qualify as an AEO. The specified criteria shall relate to compliance, or the risk of non-compliance, in accordance with requirements specified in the Party’s customs laws and procedures.
The specified criteria to qualify as an AEO shall not be designed or applied so as to afford or create arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between operators where the same conditions prevail. The specified criteria shall be designed or applied so as to allow the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The AEO programme shall include specific benefits for operators that meet the specified criteria, taking into account the commitments of each Party under paragraph 7.3 of Article 7 of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation.
Each Party is encouraged to measure the average time required for the release of goods by its customs authority periodically, and to publish the findings thereof, using tools such as the Guide to Measure the Time Required for the Release of Goods issued by the World Customs Organization with a view to:
assessing the Party’s trade facilitation measures; and
considering opportunities for further improvement of the time required for the release of goods.
Each Party is encouraged to share with the other Party its experiences in the time release studies referred to in paragraph 1, including methodologies used and bottlenecks identified.
Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures governing the collection, protection, use, disclosure, retention, correction, and disposal of information that relates to a trader and that is collected for the purposes of administering and enforcing its customs laws.
Each Party shall maintain, in conformity with its law, the confidentiality of all information collected as part of its customs processes and shall protect that information from use or disclosure that could prejudice the competitive position of the trader to whom the confidential information relates.
Each Party shall ensure that the information collected as part of its customs processes shall be used or disclosed solely for the administration and enforcement of customs matters, including in any proceedings before courts or tribunals for failure to comply with customs laws, or as otherwise authorised or required under the Party’s law.
The Parties shall communicate to each other information on their applicable laws and regulations
Committee on Customs and Trade Facilitation
The Parties hereby establish a Committee on Customs and Trade Facilitation (“Committee”) composed of government representatives of each Party responsible for customs and trade facilitation matters to consider any matters arising under this Chapter.
The functions of the Committee shall include:
ensuring the appropriate administration, uniform interpretation and implementation of the provisions contained in this Chapter;
cooperating in an endeavour to further simplify and implement the customs procedures of this Chapter;
sharing information on best practices;
where appropriate, exchanging information on matters related to this Chapter;
consider and discuss technical issues arising from the implementation of this Agreement, without prejudice to Chapter 19 (Dispute Settlement);
considering any matters referred to it by the Committee on Trade in Goods or the Joint Commission; and
any other matter as the Committee mutually agrees.
The Committee shall meet either in person or virtually within six months of the date of entry into force of this Agreement and thereafter annually unless otherwise agreed by the representatives of the Parties or without undue delay at the request of either Party.
The Committee may decide on its own rules of procedure, in the absence of which the rules of procedure of the Joint Commission shall apply mutatis mutandis.
The Committee shall report to the Joint Commission on the results and conclusions from each of its meetings.
Chapter 5. TRADE REMEDIES
Section A. Anti-dumping, Subsidies and Countervailing Measures
Article 5.1. Anti-Dumping Measures
Nothing in this Agreement affects the rights and obligations of the Parties under Article VI of GATT 1994 and the Anti-Dumping Agreement with regard to the application of anti-dumping measures.
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures
Nothing in this Agreement affects the rights and obligations of the Parties under Article VI of GATT 1994 and the SCM Agreement with regard to the application of countervailing duty measures.
If a Party takes a decision to impose anti-dumping or countervailing duty, it may consider applying a duty less than the margin of dumping or the amount of the subsidy, as relevant, where such lesser duty would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry in accordance with the Party’s laws and regulations.
Section B: Global Safeguard Measures
Article Article 5.4
Global Safeguard Measures
Nothing in this Agreement affects the rights and obligations of the Parties under Article XIX of GATT 1994, and the Safeguards Agreement.
Section C
Bilateral Safeguard Measures
Article Article 5.5 Definitions
For the purposes of this Section:
“bilateral safeguard measure” means a measure referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 5.6 (Application of a Bilateral Safeguard Measure);
“domestic industry” means, with respect to an imported good, the producers as a whole of a like or directly competitive good operating within the territory of a Party, or those producers whose collective output of the like or directly competitive good constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of the good;
“elimination or reduction of a customs duty” means any elimination or reduction of customs duty in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 2.3 (Elimination or Reduction of Customs Duties);
“serious injury” means a significant overall impairment in the position of a domestic industry;
“threat of serious injury” means a serious injury that is clearly imminent. A determination of the existence of a threat of serious injury shall be based on facts and not merely on allegation, conjecture or remote possibility; and
“transition period” means, in relation to a good, the period from the date of entry into force of this Agreement until 14 years after the date on which the elimination or reduction of the customs duty on that good is completed.
Application of a Bilateral Safeguard Measure
If, as a result of the elimination or reduction of a customs duty under this Agreement, an originating good from a Party is being imported into the territory of the other Party in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause serious injury to a domestic industry producing a like or directly competitive good, the other Party may during the transition period, apply either of the bilateral measures provided for in paragraph 2.
If the conditions in paragraph 1 are met, the importing Party may apply one of the following bilateral safeguard measures:
suspension of the further reduction of the rate of customs duty on the good concerned provided for under this Agreement; or
increase in the rate of customs duty on the good concerned to a level which does not exceed the lesser of:
the most-favoured-nation applied rate of customs duty on the good in effect at the time the bilateral safeguard measure is applied; and
the most-favoured-nation applied rate of customs duty on the good in effect on the day immediately preceding the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
Neither Party shall apply or maintain a bilateral safeguard measure or provisional bilateral safeguard measure under this Chapter to any good imported under a tariff rate quota established by the Party under this Agreement.
A Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure only following an investigation by the Party’s competent authorities in accordance with the procedures and requirements provided for in Articles 3 and 4.2 of the Safeguards Agreement, and to this end, Articles 3 and 4.2 of the Safeguards Agreement are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
A Party shall notify the other Party immediately in writing upon it initiating an investigation described in paragraph 1 and shall provide adequate opportunity for prior consultations with the other Party in advance of applying a bilateral safeguard measure, with a view to reviewing the information arising from the investigation and exchanging views on the bilateral safeguard measure.
Each Party shall ensure that its competent authorities complete any such investigation within one year of the date of its initiation.
Neither Party shall apply or maintain a bilateral safeguard measure:
except to the extent, and for such time, as may be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment of the domestic industry;
for a period exceeding two years, except that the period may be extended by up to one year if the competent authorities of
the applying Party determine, in conformity with the procedures specified in this Article, that the bilateral safeguard measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment of the domestic industry and that there is evidence that the industry is adjusting.
Regardless of its duration, any bilateral safeguard measure or provisional bilateral safeguard measure shall terminate at the end of the transition period.
No bilateral safeguard measure shall be applied again to the import of a good which has been previously subject to such a measure, for a period of time equal to that during which such measure was applied, or one year since the expiry of such measure, whichever is longer.
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 6, a bilateral safeguard measure with a duration of 180 days or less may be applied again to the import of a good if:
at least one year has elapsed since the date of introduction of a bilateral safeguard measure on the import of that good; and
a bilateral safeguard measure has not been applied on the same good more than twice in the five-year period immediately preceding the date of the first imposition of the bilateral safeguard measure.
A Party shall not apply a bilateral safeguard measure or provisional bilateral safeguard measure on a good that is subject to a global safeguard measure under Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement. A Party shall not continue to maintain a bilateral safeguard measure or provisional bilateral safeguard measure on a good that becomes subject to a global safeguard measure.
In order to facilitate adjustment in a situation where the expected duration of a bilateral safeguard measure is more than one year, the Party that applies the measure shall progressively liberalise it at regular intervals during its period of application.
When a Party ceases to apply a bilateral safeguard measure, the rate of customs duty shall be the rate that would have been in effect in accordance with the Party’s Schedule to Annex 2A (Schedules of Tariff Commitments for Goods) but for the bilateral safeguard measure.
Provisional Bilateral Safeguard Measures
In critical circumstances where delay would cause damage that would be difficult to repair, a Party may apply a provisional bilateral safeguard measure pursuant to a preliminary determination by its competent
authorities that there is clear evidence that imports of an originating good from the other Party have increased as the result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement, and have caused serious injury, or threat of serious injury, to its domestic industry.
Before applying a provisional bilateral safeguard measure the applying Party shall notify the other Party of the preliminary determination and shall immediately initiate consultations after applying the provisional bilateral safeguard measure.
A provisional bilateral safeguard measure shall not be maintained for more than 200 days, during which time the applying Party shall comply with Article 5.6 (Application of a Bilateral Safeguard Measure) and Article 5.7 (Conditions and Limitations).
The applying Party shall refund promptly any increase in customs duty paid as a result of the adoption of the provisional bilateral safeguard measure if the applying Party’s investigating authority determines that the requirements of paragraph 1 of Article 5.6 (Application of a Bilateral Safeguard Measure) are not met.
The duration of any provisional bilateral safeguard measure shall be counted as part of the period described in subparagraph 4(b) of Article 5.7 (Conditions and Limitations).
A Party applying a bilateral safeguard shall consult with the other Party in order to mutually agree on appropriate trade liberalising compensation in the form of concessions having substantially equivalent trade effect or equivalent to the value of the additional duties expected to result from the application of the bilateral safeguard measure. The Party shall provide an opportunity for those consultations no later than 30 days after the application or the extension of the bilateral safeguard.
If the consultations under paragraph 1 do not result in the Parties agreeing on trade liberalising compensation no later than 30 days after consultations begin, the Party whose goods are subject to the bilateral safeguard measure may suspend substantially equivalent concessions to the trade of the Party applying the bilateral safeguard. This action shall be applied only for the minimum period necessary to achieve the substantially equivalent effects.
The right to take action referred to in paragraph 2 shall not be exercised for the first two years that the measure is in effect, which includes the
period of time that any provisional bilateral safeguard measure has been in effect.
Originating agricultural goods from a Party shall not be subject to any duties applied by a Party pursuant to a special safeguard taken under the Agreement on Agriculture.
Non-Application of Dispute Settlement
Neither Party shall have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 19 (Dispute Settlement) for any matter arising under Section A or B of this Chapter.
Chapter 6. SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
Article 6.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
the definitions set out in Annex A to the SPS Agreement shall apply;
“competent authorities” mean those national government authorities within each Party recognised by the national government as responsible for developing and administering sanitary and phytosanitary (“SPS”) measures within that Party;
“emergency measure” means a sanitary or phytosanitary measure that is applied by the importing Party to the products of the exporting Party to address an urgent problem of human, animal or plant life or health protection that arises or threatens to arise in the Party applying the measure; and
“SPS Agreement” means the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.
The Parties shall take into consideration the terms and definitions of relevant international organisations, such as the Codex Alimentarius Commission (“Codex”), the World Organisation for Animal Health (“WOAH”) and the International Plant Protection Convention (“IPPC”). In the event of an inconsistency between those terms and definitions and the definitions set out in the SPS Agreement, the definitions set out in the SPS Agreement shall prevail.
The objectives of this Chapter are to:
reaffirm the rights and obligations of both Parties under the SPS Agreement, while supporting its enhanced implementation;
provide a framework and mechanisms to facilitate bilateral trade between the Parties, while protecting human, animal or plant life or health;
enhance transparency and deepen mutual understanding of each Party’s regulations and procedures relating to SPS measures, and ensure that such measures do not create unjustified barriers to trade; and
strengthen cooperation, communication and consultation between the Parties.
This Chapter applies to all SPS measures of a Party that may, directly or indirectly, affect trade between the Parties.
Affirmation of the SPS Agreement
The Parties reaffirm their rights and obligations with respect to each other under the SPS Agreement.
Nothing in this Chapter shall affect the rights and obligations of each Party under the SPS Agreement.
Each Party shall base its sanitary and phytosanitary measures with respect to trade with the other Party on relevant international standards, guidelines or recommendations, where they exist, except as otherwise provided in the SPS Agreement.
The Parties shall strengthen their cooperation on risk assessment in accordance with the SPS Agreement while taking into account the relevant decisions of the WTO SPS Committee and international standards, guidelines and recommendations.
When conducting a risk assessment specific to trade between them, the importing Party shall:
on request, inform the exporting Party of the progress, including the reason for any delays;
consider options that are not more trade-restrictive than required to achieve its appropriate level of protection, taking into account technical and economic feasibility; and
provide an opportunity for the exporting Party to comment.
Based on mutually agreed priorities, each Party shall endeavour to progress requested risk assessments for products and, once completed, endeavour to ensure trade is facilitated without undue delay.
Without prejudice to emergency measures, the importing Party shall not stop the importation of a product of the other Party solely for the reason that the importing Party is undertaking a review of a sanitary or phytosanitary measure, if the importing Party permitted importation of the product of the other Party at the time of the initiation of the review.
Adaptation to Regional Conditions
The Parties recognise the concepts of regional conditions, including pest- or disease-free areas and areas of low pest or disease prevalence, as set out in Article 6 of the SPS Agreement and that the adaptation of SPS measures to recognise regional conditions is an important means of facilitating trade. In developing SPS measures based on regionalisation, the Parties shall take into account the relevant decisions of the WTO SPS Committee and relevant international standards, guidelines and recommendations.
The Parties may cooperate on the recognition of regional conditions with the objective of acquiring confidence in the procedures followed by each other for such recognition. In doing so, the Parties may promote information sharing in this area and on related matters. The Parties may agree to recognise regionalisation decisions, including official control programmes, zones and compartments, and the associated certification variations, including for WOAH or IPPC recognised treatments, ahead of changes to their regional animal or plant health status.
If the importing Party adopts or maintains an SPS measure applicable to the exporting Party, and the exporting Party establishes officially controlled regional conditions, the exporting Party may request the importing Party recognise its regional conditions for any relevant pest or disease.
When the importing Party has received such a request for recognition of regional conditions from the exporting Party and has determined that the information provided by the exporting Party is sufficient, it shall initiate an assessment within a reasonable period of time. If the
exporting Party so requests, the importing Party shall also explain the process it undertakes for recognising regional conditions.
Reasonable access shall be given, upon request, to the importing Party for inspection, testing and other relevant procedures for the assessment.
On request of the exporting Party, the importing Party shall inform the exporting Party of the status of the assessment.
If the importing Party adopts a measure that recognises specific regional conditions of the exporting Party, the importing Party shall communicate that decision to the exporting Party in writing and implement the measure within a reasonable period of time.
If the evaluation of the evidence provided by the exporting Party does not result in a decision by the importing Party to recognise the regional conditions of the exporting Party, the importing Party shall provide the exporting Party the rationale for its decision in writing within a reasonable period of time.
If there are circumstances that result in the importing Party modifying or revoking a determination recognising regional conditions of the exporting Party, the importing Party shall notify the exporting Party as soon as possible. On request of the exporting Party, the Parties shall cooperate to assess whether the determination can be reinstated.
The Parties shall strengthen cooperation on equivalence in accordance with the SPS Agreement, taking into account relevant decisions of the WTO SPS Committee and relevant international standards, guidelines and recommendations, in order to facilitate trade between them.
The importing Party shall accept the sanitary or phytosanitary measures of the other Party as equivalent even if these measures differ from their own or from those used by other countries, if the exporting Party objectively demonstrates to the importing Party that its measures achieve the importing Party’s appropriate level of protection or that its measures have the same effect in achieving the objective as the importing Party’s measures. The Parties recognise that equivalence can be accepted for a specific measure or measures related to certain product or categories of products or on a system-wide basis.
In determining equivalence, the importing Party shall take into account available information and experience as well as the knowledge of the regulatory competence of the exporting Party.
A Party shall, upon request, enter into consultations with the aim of achieving bilateral recognition agreements or arrangements of equivalence on the specified SPS measures.
As part of consultations, on request by the exporting Party, the importing Party shall explain and provide:
the rationale and objective of its measures; and
the specific risks its measures are intended to address.
The exporting Party shall provide necessary information in order for the importing Party to commence an equivalence assessment. Once the assessment commences, the importing Party shall, upon request, without undue delay explain the process and plan for making an equivalence determination.
The consideration by the importing Party of a request from the exporting Party for recognition of equivalence of its measures with regard to a specific product, or group of products, shall not be in itself a reason to disrupt or suspend ongoing imports from the exporting Party.
When the importing Party has concluded its assessment, it shall notify the equivalence determination to the exporting Party in writing. If an equivalence determination does not result in recognition by the exporting Party, the importing Party shall provide the exporting Party with the rationale for its decision.
If a Party proposes to adopt, modify, amend, repeal or remove an SPS measure which it considers may have a significant impact on trade in products that are the subject of an equivalence agreement or arrangement between the Parties, it shall notify the other Party and indicate its likely effect on recognition of equivalence.
Following such a notification from the exporting Party, the importing Party shall continue to apply its determination of equivalence unless it considers that the equivalence agreement or arrangement is no longer sufficient to meet its appropriate level of protection. If the importing Party considers that equivalence can be maintained under new or revised conditions it shall consult with the exporting Party on their development.
If the importing Party considers that equivalence cannot be maintained and it can no longer apply its determination of equivalence, the exporting Party may request consultations with the aim of once again
achieving a bilateral recognition arrangement of equivalence, consistent with the provisions of this Article.
Certification, Import Permits and Approval Procedures
Each Party shall ensure measures related to certification, import permit and approval procedures are in accordance with relevant provisions of Annex C of the SPS Agreement and take into account the relevant decisions of the WTO SPS Committee, and international standards, guidelines or recommendations.
The Parties may strengthen cooperation with respect to paragraph 1, including on import permit requirements, with a view to reduce duplication between the Parties.
The Parties shall work cooperatively to promote the implementation of paperless trade through electronic SPS certification.
Where certification is required for trade in a product, the importing Party shall ensure that such certification is applied, in meeting its SPS objectives, only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health.
Where import permits are required for trade in a product, the importing Party shall endeavour to ensure that such permits reflect those requirements that are necessary to meet its appropriate level of protection and are issued without undue delay and on a non-discriminatory basis.
The Parties may develop simplified certificate models and attestations where equivalence, regionalisation or other recognitions have been agreed under this Chapter.
The Parties may also develop simplified establishment and product approval processes based on the recognition of control, inspection and approval processes already applied in the territory of the other Party.
Each Party shall undertake audits in accordance with the relevant provisions of Annex C of the SPS Agreement and take into account the relevant decisions of the WTO SPS Committee, and international standards, guidelines or recommendations.
An audit shall be systems-based and conducted to assess the effectiveness of the official regulatory controls of the competent
authorities of the exporting Party, or apply to individual establishments or facilities where necessary, to provide the required assurances and meet the SPS measures of the importing Party.
Prior to the commencement of an audit, the importing Party and the exporting Party shall exchange information and endeavour to agree on the objectives and scope of the audit and other matters related specifically to the commencement of an audit.
The importing Party shall set forth its findings, preliminary conclusion and, if applicable, its recommendation in a draft audit report to the exporting Party with an opportunity to comment on it and take any such comments into account before making its conclusions and taking any action. The importing Party shall provide a detailed report and its summary, setting out its conclusions in writing, to the exporting Party within a reasonable period of time.