India-UAE CEPA Spice Duty Explained
Under the India-UAE CEPA, spices enter at 0% duty with a DGFT preferential certificate of origin, else 5%; 5% VAT applies regardless.
Duty scenarios under CEPA (verified)
The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has been in force since 1 May 2022. The table shows what a spice consignment pays depending on whether it carries a preferential certificate of origin.
| Scenario | Import duty | VAT |
|---|---|---|
| With DGFT preferential certificate of origin | 0% | 5% |
| Without preferential certificate of origin | 5% | 5% |
How to secure the 0% rate
- Obtain a preferential certificate of origin through DGFT; without it the consignment defaults to 5% duty.
- VAT of 5% applies either way, so the certificate saves duty, not VAT.
- Dubai is a re-export hub, so goods often clear the UAE and move onward; the UAE is 9% of India's spice export value in FY2025-26.
Documents that travel with the goods
Alongside the preferential certificate of origin, a compliant shipment carries the CRES and IEC, commercial invoice and packing list, phytosanitary certificate and the destination test dossier. YouPals, as a sourcing desk, coordinates this documentation; it does not issue certifications itself.
Frequently asked
What duty do Indian spices pay entering the UAE?
0% with a DGFT preferential certificate of origin under the India-UAE CEPA, otherwise 5%. A 5% VAT applies regardless of the certificate.
When did the India-UAE CEPA take effect?
It has been in force since 1 May 2022.
Sourcing this? Tell us the spice, grade and destination and we return a documented offer — vetted supply, QC oversight, and the test dossier your market needs.
Start a sourcing enquiry →What this page does not tell you
- Line-level tariff staging
- CEPA tariff staging beyond the headline spice duty position is not detailed in our sourced summary.
- VAT recovery rules
- UAE VAT recovery and input-credit mechanics for re-exporters are outside our sourced dataset.
Reviewed 16 July 2026.
Sources
- India–UAE CEPA — text and tariff schedules· Tier 1, retrieved 2026-07-16
- DGFT — Notifications· Tier 1, retrieved 2026-07-16
- Spices Board of India — Export statistics· Tier 1, retrieved 2026-07-16