Proof of origin: what changed, and what you now issue

The word moved. Where Indian customs practice spoke of a certificate of origin, the rules of origin framework now speaks of proof of origin, and the shift is not cosmetic: a certificate is one kind of proof among several, and naming it that way admits what section 28DA of the Customs Act has said since it was inserted. The obligation was never to hold a piece of paper. It was to hold enough information to show how the goods qualified.

What actually changed, and what did not?

The reported change is a substitution of terms in the rules of origin framework, replacing certificate of origin with proof of origin so that a declaration made in conformity with a trade agreement counts alongside a certificate issued by a designated authority. It is attributed to the Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Amendment Rules, 2025, notified as Notification No. 14/2025-Customs (N.T.) dated 18-03-2025, and to a Board circular of the same year. We name both without a link and without treating either as confirmed, because the CBIC sites did not serve either document to an automated request at the time of writing. Check the version in force on your own import dates.

What has not changed is the part that costs money

The obligation underneath the vocabulary is unmoved, and it is stated in the primary instruments rather than in the amendment. Chapter VAA and section 28DA of the Customs Act were inserted by clause 110 of the Finance Act, 2020, and the Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 were notified as Notification No. 81/2020-Customs (N.T.) dated 21-08-2020, coming into force on 21-09-2020, as recorded in JNCH Standing Order No. 25/2020 dated 10-09-2020 and Board Circular No. 38/2020-Customs dated 21-08-2020. Nothing in a change of noun alters what those require.

What must an importer hold at the moment of the claim?

Two things, and they are separate. The first is the declaration in the bill of entry: the same standing order records that the bill of entry format was modified to allow the declarations required by rule 3(a) and rule 3(d) of the 2020 rules. The second is the information behind it. Section 28DA makes it incumbent on an importer to possess sufficient information as regards the manner in which the country of origin criteria, including regional value content and product specific criteria, are satisfied, and the rules provide a form carrying the basic minimum information an importer is required to obtain while importing goods under a claim of preferential rate of duty.

Why is the certificate the start of the evidence and not the end?

Because the instrument says so in terms. Section 28DA further states that mere submission of a certificate of origin shall not absolve the importer of the responsibility to exercise reasonable care as to the accuracy and truthfulness of the information supplied. That single sentence is the whole difference between the way preference is usually described and the way it is actually assessed. The question asked on verification is how the goods qualified, and a certificate answers only that somebody asserted they did. The supporting facts sit with the producer, and the moment to get them is while the purchase order is still live.

How is a preferential claim actually verified?

In a defined order, and the first step lands on the importer rather than on the exporting country. Where a doubt arises, information is first called from the importer under rule 5 read with rule 4 of the 2020 rules, before any verification request is raised with the partner country under rule 6. The standing order sets out three grounds: doubt about the genuineness of the document, such as a deficiency in its format or a mismatch of signature or seal against the specimens on record; doubt about the accuracy of the origin information itself; and verification on a random basis as due diligence, weighing factors such as the quantum of duty foregone, the nature of the goods against the claimed country, and the importer's own compliance record.

What happens when the information is not produced?

The consequence is structural rather than a one off charge, which is why it is worth more attention than a penalty schedule. Where an importer fails to provide information in terms of section 28DA(1)(iii) or does not exercise reasonable care as to accuracy and truthfulness, the standing order directs that the Risk Management Centre of Customs be informed in writing to enable compulsory verification of assessment of all subsequent import consignments under rule 8(1), and that the compulsory verification be discontinued only once the importer demonstrates an adequate system of controls. One unsupported claim can therefore slow every consignment that follows it.

How long does the evidence have to survive?

Longer than most document retention habits assume. The standing order records that the Act provides that information may be sought within a period of five years from the date of the claim of preferential rate of duty by the importer, subject to any other time limit specified for the purpose under the trade agreement itself. It also notes that information may be sought during customs clearance or afterwards, in a later investigation or in post clearance audit. So the file has to be assembled at the time of import and kept in a form somebody else can read half a decade later, when the supplier has no commercial reason left to help.

Which details decide whether a claim survives?

Three, and none of them is the certificate. The origin criterion claimed has to be the one the agreement actually provides for that line, and where the criterion is a product specific rule, the standing order notes that the version of the harmonised nomenclature prescribed in the trade agreement applies, not the version in the current tariff. The document has to be acceptable in form, with the signature and seal matching the specimens held in the customs repository. And the route matters: back to back documents are not universally available, and the standing order records that the provision for issuing a back to back certificate was at that time available only under the ASEAN India agreement.

Where to go from here

A preferential claim is a purchase order decision that gets tested at the port and again years later. These pick up the same decision from the other three sides.

• The survey of everything decided before you order. What stops a container at the port covers eligibility, trade remedy and origin together, and this guide goes deeper on the evidence behind the third.
• What the preference is worth. Landed cost at your gate prices the duty fold in order, which is where a preference either shows up or does not.
• What an unsupported claim does downstream. Half of India's bills of entry get amended, and an origin defect is one an amendment does not really rescue.
• The other gate on the same line. Quality control orders and the transition route covers the certification that decides whether the goods can land at all.
• Where this sits on the calendar. The EXIM compliance calendar lists the origin evidence file among the obligations with a validity rather than a date.

Purser Inbound keeps the origin evidence attached to the purchase order that created it, so the file behind a preferential claim is assembled while the supplier still has a commercial reason to help, and is still readable by somebody else years later. Purser never submits to a government portal, and it never sends an outbound message without a recorded human approval event. The customs broker still files the bill of entry and keeps the filing, the relationship and the fee.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a certificate of origin and proof of origin?

A certificate of origin is one form of proof of origin: a document issued by a designated authority in the exporting country. Proof of origin is the wider term, covering a declaration made in conformity with a trade agreement as well as a certificate. The reported substitution of the wider term in the Indian rules of origin framework in 2025 could not be confirmed against an official host at the time of writing, so check the version in force on your own import dates.

Does a certificate of origin protect the importer?

No. Section 28DA of the Customs Act states that mere submission of a certificate of origin shall not absolve the importer of the responsibility to exercise reasonable care as to the accuracy and truthfulness of the information supplied. The importer must possess sufficient information about how the country of origin criteria, including regional value content and product specific criteria, are satisfied, and a document from the supplier does not by itself supply that.

How is a preferential origin claim verified in India?

Information is first sought from the importer under rule 5 read with rule 4 of the Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020, before any verification request goes to the partner country under rule 6. Verification can be triggered by doubt about the genuineness of the document, by doubt about the accuracy of the origin information, or on a random basis weighing the duty foregone, the goods against the claimed origin and the importer's compliance record.

How long must origin records be kept in India?

Information may be sought within five years from the date of the claim of preferential rate of duty by the importer, subject to any shorter time limit specified in the trade agreement itself, as recorded in JNCH Standing Order No. 25/2020 dated 10-09-2020. Information can be sought during customs clearance or afterwards, including in a later investigation or in post clearance audit, so the file has to be readable by a third party years after the consignment cleared.

What happens if an importer cannot support an origin claim?

Where an importer fails to provide the information required under section 28DA(1)(iii) or does not exercise reasonable care as to its accuracy, the fact is communicated to the Risk Management Centre of Customs so that all subsequent import consignments are subject to compulsory verification of assessment under rule 8(1) of the 2020 rules. That compulsory verification is discontinued only when the importer demonstrates an adequate system of controls.