India and MERCOSUR have signed the First Additional Protocol to their Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), introducing electronic Certificates of Origin as a legally recognized alternative to paper documents.
The protocol was signed by India’s Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal, Uruguay’s Ambassador to India Alberto Guani and Paraguay’s Ambassador to India Fleming Raul Duarte Ramos. Uruguay’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Lubetkin and representatives from the Argentine and Brazilian embassies were also present.
The agreement updates Article 16 of Annex III on Rules of Origin. Under the revised provision, electronically issued and signed Certificates of Origin will carry the same legal validity and value as their paper counterparts. Authorized entities and officials will issue the documents in accordance with the domestic laws of the participating countries.
The move is expected to simplify the documentation involved in preferential trade by reducing processing time and transaction costs associated with issuing and verifying Certificates of Origin. It also supports the broader shift toward digital customs procedures and paperless international trade.
The India-MERCOSUR PTA was signed on January 25, 2004, and came into force on June 1, 2009. It currently provides preferential tariff concessions on 450 tariff lines from India and 452 tariff lines from the MERCOSUR side.
The adoption of electronic Certificates of Origin follows discussions under the agreement’s Joint Administrative Committee. At its fourth meeting in November 2025, both sides backed the transition to digital certificates. The proposal was subsequently approved by mutual consent during the committee’s fifth meeting in April 2026.
The new protocol will take effect once India and the MERCOSUR member countries complete their respective internal procedures and formally notify one another.
The initiative is expected to strengthen trade facilitation, modernize customs practices and deepen economic cooperation between India and the MERCOSUR bloc.
