Glossary
477 words you meet when buying from India: what each one means, what it means for India, and where to read more.
- Acceptable quality limitalso AQL
- The defect level a sampling plan is built to protect, used to decide how many pieces to check and how many faults pass.
- Buying from India: Inspection firms usually default to 2.5 for major and 4.0 for minor defects, with critical at zero. If you don't write your own AQL and defect classes into the purchase order, you have quietly accepted the firm's defaults.
- Read moreSee also Pre-shipment inspection, Critical defect, Major defect, Minor defect
- Acceptance
- The buyer's signed promise, written on a bill of exchange, to pay it on a stated future date.
- Read moreSee also Documents against acceptance, Bill of exchange, Usance
- AD bankalso Authorised dealer bank, AD Category I bank
- An Indian bank licensed by the Reserve Bank of India to handle foreign exchange, including receiving export payments.
- Buying from India: Under India's export regulations in force from 1 October 2026, your advance and the later proceeds must route through the same bank, and a change needs both banks notified. Confirm the receiving bank before you pay a deposit.
- Read moreSee also FEMA, Export realisation period, Advance payment
- AD codealso Authorised Dealer code
- A code that registers an Indian exporter's bank account with a port, so export payments can be matched to shipments.
- Buying from India: An AD code registration shows which ports a supplier ships through. It is one of three papers we suggest asking for as proof that a supplier really exports.
- Read moreSee also e-BRC, LUT, IEC
- Ad valorem duty
- A duty charged as a percentage of the goods' customs value, rather than a fixed amount per kilo or per item.
- Buying from India: Most duty on Indian consumer goods is ad valorem, so the valuation basis matters. The same shirt is valued with freight in the UK and without it in Australia.
- Read moreSee also Customs value, Specific duty, MFN rate
- An Indian scheme letting an exporter import inputs duty-free, on condition that it exports goods made from them.
- See also EPCG, DGFT, Foreign Trade Policy
- Advance paymentalso Advance, Payment in advance, Cash in advance, CIA
- Paying the supplier some or all of the price before the goods are made or shipped.
- Buying from India: A 50% ask is common from Indian exporters but negotiable. Trade-finance voices we read in 2026 put typical advances at 10 to 30%. Pay only a corporate account in the exporter's registered legal name.
- Read moreSee also Deposit and balance, Telegraphic transfer, AD bank
- Advance payment guaranteealso APG, Advance payment bond
- A bank guarantee that repays the buyer's advance if the seller does not deliver.
- See also Bank guarantee, Advance payment
- Advance rulingalso Binding ruling, Binding tariff information, BTI, Advance tariff ruling, ATaR, Ruling letter
- A written decision from customs, made before import, on how your goods are classified, valued or originate. It binds customs for identical goods.
- Buying from India: The UK's ruling must be in place before the goods clear and HMRC replies in 30 to 120 days (read 25 September 2026). Get one when an Indian product repeats or sits between two rates.
- Read moreSee also HS code, Classification, General Interpretative Rules
- Advising bank
- The bank in the exporter's country that checks a letter of credit looks genuine and passes it to the exporter.
- See also Letter of credit, Confirmed letter of credit, Issuing bank
- AEPCalso Apparel Export Promotion Council
- India's export promotion council for ready-made garments.
- Buying from India: AEPC's member directory is public. When we counted it listed 6,728 apparel exporters, 2,094 of them (31%) in Tiruppur, with city and PIN code.
- Read moreSee also Export promotion council, RCMC, Cluster
- AGMARK
- India's government grading mark for farm produce such as spices, pulses and oils.
- Buying from India: For black pepper we found no Spices Board or AGMARK grade document online, so our grade definitions come from a trade description instead.
- Read moreSee also Spices Board, FSSAI, APEDA
- Air waybillalso AWB, Airway bill
- The transport document for air freight. It is a receipt and transport contract but, unlike a bill of lading, not a title document.
- Buying from India: Small lots and samples from India tend to fly, and buyers say suppliers often route small orders by air. The air waybill then takes the place of a bill of lading in your document set.
- Read moreSee also Bill of lading, Packing list
- amfori BSCIalso BSCI, Business Social Compliance Initiative
- A social compliance audit system run by the trade association amfori, checking labour conditions in supplier factories.
- Buying from India: "BSCI certificate" is a misdescription, because BSCI is an audit, not a certificate (amfori's own answer, read 23 September 2026). Ask for the audit report and its date instead.
- Read moreSee also Social audit, SMETA, WRAP, SA8000
- Anti-dumping dutyalso AD duty, ADD
- An extra duty on goods sold for export below their normal price, set after an investigation finds harm to the importing country's industry.
- Buying from India: US anti-dumping and countervailing duty on Indian quartz countertops follows the named exporter, not the product. Forum estimates ran from about 1% to over 300%.
- Read moreSee also Countervailing duty, Safeguard duty, Cash deposit rate
- APEDAalso Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
- The Indian government body that promotes and registers exporters of farm and processed food products.
- Buying from India: APEDA runs an agri exporter directory with a merchant or manufacturer filter, and it is one of the bodies that can issue a certificate of origin for its products.
- Read moreSee also Commodity board, Spices Board, MPEDA
- Applicant
- The party, usually the buyer, who asks its bank to open a letter of credit.
- See also Beneficiary, Letter of credit, Issuing bank
- Arbitration
- Settling a contract dispute before a private, agreed tribunal instead of a court, with a decision both sides accept as binding.
- See also Governing law, Sales contract, Force majeure
- Artisanalso Craftsperson
- A skilled maker who produces goods mostly by hand, alone or in a small workshop or cooperative.
- Buying from India: Many artisans sell through cooperatives, NGOs or merchant exporters rather than exporting themselves, which is a normal way for craft to reach foreign buyers.
- Read moreSee also Karigar, Handloom, Merchant exporter, Cluster
- A status customs gives to traders it has audited and trusts, in return for fewer checks and simpler procedures.
- See also Customs broker, Post-clearance verification
- Azo dyesalso Azo colourants, Azo-free
- A large family of dyes, some of which break down into amines linked to cancer and are restricted on textiles and leather.
- Buying from India: The EU limit on azo dyes releasing the listed amines is 30 mg/kg (Regulation (EC) No 552/2009). Sellers in Bagru market goods as "azo free", which is a claim you test on a dyed piece, not one you print unseen.
- Read moreSee also REACH, Third-party lab, Test report
- BAFalso Bunker adjustment factor, Bunker surcharge
- A surcharge carriers add to ocean freight to cover changes in the price of ship fuel, called bunker.
- See also Surcharge, GRI, PSS, Bunker
- Balance paymentalso Balance
- The remaining part of the price, paid after the deposit, usually when the goods ship or arrive.
- Buying from India: Make the balance depend on two documents arriving together, the clean on-board bill of lading copy and an inspection report from an inspector you appointed. The copy proves shipment, the report proves contents.
- Read moreSee also Deposit and balance, Payment against copy B/L
- Bandh
- A shutdown called as a protest, when shops, offices and often transport stay closed for the day.
- See also Hartal, Festival calendar
- Bank guaranteealso BG, Demand guarantee
- A bank's written promise to pay a set sum if its customer fails to meet an obligation.
- See also Standby letter of credit, Performance bond, Advance payment guarantee
- Beneficiary
- The party who receives the money, such as the exporter named in a letter of credit or the payee of a wire.
- See also Applicant, Letter of credit
- Better Cottonalso BCI, Better Cotton Initiative
- A farm-level cotton programme that sets growing practices for farmers. It is a fibre standard, not a finished-product certificate.
- Buying from India: Our cotton guide groups it with organic farm certification as a fibre certificate. It tells you how the cotton was grown, not how the garment was dyed or sewn.
- Read moreSee also GOTS, Organic in-conversion, Transaction certificate
- Bharat Mandapamalso Pragati Maidan
- The government exhibition and convention centre in New Delhi where many Indian trade fairs are held.
- Buying from India: Shows such as AAHAR and iPHEX are held at Bharat Mandapam.
- Read moreSee also Export promotion council
- BICON
- Australia's Biosecurity Import Conditions database. It sets the conditions each imported good must meet before it can enter Australia.
- Buying from India: BICON restricts cumin, coriander, fennel and chillies from India even when commercially packed, and sets conditions for each timber, cane or bamboo part of decor goods.
- Read moreSee also Biosecurity, Import health standard
- Bill of exchangealso Draft, Time draft, Sight draft
- A written order from the exporter telling the buyer or a bank to pay a sum, now or on a set date.
- See also Acceptance, Documentary collection, Usance
- Bill of ladingalso B/L, BL, BoL
- The carrier's document for sea cargo. It is a receipt, evidence of the transport contract and, in original form, a document of title.
- Buying from India: US customs records name the port where the mother vessel loaded, so Indian knitwear often shows Colombo as the port of lading. Name the Indian port in your PO, not the one on a US bill.
- Read moreSee also Master bill of lading, House bill of lading, Original bill of lading, Telex release, Sea waybill, Clean on-board bill of lading
- Bill of materialsalso BOM
- The full list of materials, components, trims and packaging that go into one product, with quantities.
- See also Tech pack, Costing sheet, Spec sheet
- Biosecurity
- Border rules that keep pests and diseases out, applied to food, plants, timber, packaging and anything that may carry soil or insects.
- Buying from India: In Australia an Indian fumigation certificate is no longer proof on its own. Cargo treated by a provider suspended after DAFF's July 2026 audits needs re-treatment onshore.
- Read moreSee also BICON, Import health standard
- BISalso Bureau of Indian Standards
- India's national standards body, which certifies products against Indian standards for sale in India.
- Buying from India: A BIS licence is tied to a named factory address under inspection, so it is one of the few records that pins a factory to a regulator. It covers India's market, not yours. BIS IS 9873 has been mandatory for toys made or sold in India since 2023.
- Read moreSee also ISI mark, Quality Control Order
- Blank sailingalso Void sailing, Cancelled sailing
- A scheduled sailing the carrier cancels, usually to cut capacity. Cargo booked on it moves to a later ship.
- Read moreSee also Roll-over, ETD
- Bookingalso Booking confirmation
- A reservation of space on a named sailing, confirmed by the carrier or forwarder with a booking number and the cut-offs.
- Buying from India: Buyers used to China find that Indian sea bookings confirm slowly and that lines release rates only days before sailing, according to forum voices in 2026.
- Read moreSee also Cut-off, Freight forwarder, Roll-over
- Build-down method
- A way to measure local value content. Subtract imported materials from the good's value, then divide by that value.
- Buying from India: Build-down counts labour, overhead and margin as local, so for labour-heavy Indian goods it is nearly always the easier test to pass.
- Read moreSee also Build-up method, Qualifying value content, Rules of origin
- Build-up method
- A way to measure local value content that counts only the value of originating materials, divided by the value of the good.
- Buying from India: Australia's ECTA general rule asks for 35% by build-up or 45% by build-down, and the producer chooses which method to use.
- Read moreSee also Build-down method, Qualifying value content
- Bunkeralso Bunker fuel
- The fuel a ship burns. Its price feeds the bunker surcharge on your freight bill.
- See also BAF
- Buying agent
- A person or firm that buys on the importer's behalf in the supplier's country, usually paid by the buyer.
- Buying from India: Someone holding an Indian export code has to sell to you and file the export, and an Indian merchant exporter or buying agent is the usual answer for small buyers.
- Read moreSee also Sourcing agent, Buying house
- Buying house
- A firm that manages sourcing for overseas buyers, with merchandisers, a quality team and a base of vendors.
- Buying from India: For a first order, a small order or a mixed range, a merchant exporter or buying house is often the sensible choice, and nothing about it is second best. One that inspects at the real production unit is earning its keep.
- Read moreSee also Buying agent, Sourcing agent
- Capacityalso Production capacity
- How much a supplier can make in a given period, limited by machines, people and the orders already booked.
- Buying from India: Christmas orders for Western markets land on Indian lines in August and September, so capacity tightens just before the festivals (Indicative).
- Read moreSee also Lead time, Production lead time
- Cape routingalso Cape of Good Hope routing, Round the Cape
- Sending ships between Asia and Europe or the US East Coast around southern Africa instead of through the Suez Canal. It adds days.
- Buying from India: One carrier's India to US East Coast loop went back through Suez in August 2026, saving about 7 days westbound and 14 eastbound. It keeps a plan to return to the Cape if security changes.
- Read moreSee also Suez routing, Red Sea crisis, Chokepoint
- Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanismalso CBAM
- An EU charge on the carbon emitted making certain imports, such as steel and aluminium, paid by the EU importer through certificates.
- Buying from India: The definitive regime started on 1 January 2026 for declarants importing more than 50 tonnes a year. It applies to Indian steel and aluminium articles whatever the FTA does.
- Read moreSee also EUDR
- Cargo insurancealso Marine cargo insurance, Transit insurance
- Insurance that pays if goods are lost or damaged in transit. Carrier liability is limited, so this is what protects the cargo's value.
- Buying from India: When Gulf routes shut in March 2026, storage and war-risk charges on boxes dropped at Nhava Sheva fell on the cargo owner. Check what your cover and your Incoterm say about that.
- Read moreSee also General average, War-risk surcharge
- Cargo ready datealso CRD, Goods ready date
- The date the supplier says the goods will be packed and ready to collect. Forwarders plan the booking around it.
- See also Booking, ETD, Cut-off
- Cash against documentsalso CAD
- A term where the buyer pays to receive the shipping documents, often used to mean documents against payment.
- Read moreSee also Documents against payment, Documentary collection
- Cash deposit rate
- The US anti-dumping or countervailing duty an importer pays at entry for a named exporter, as an estimate until the final rate is set.
- Buying from India: Check the named Indian exporter's own cash-deposit rate before the PO, because two suppliers of the same quartz slab can carry very different rates.
- Read moreSee also Anti-dumping duty, Countervailing duty, Liquidation
- CBPalso US Customs and Border Protection
- The US federal agency that clears imports, collects duty and enforces trade rules at the US border.
- Buying from India: CBP says only the importer of record or its filing broker can claim IEEPA refunds, so refunds on courier-cleared Indian parcels went to the couriers.
- Read moreSee also Importer of record, Entry summary, IEEPA tariffs
- CE markingalso CE mark
- The mark a maker puts on products in scope of certain EU safety laws to declare they meet them.
- Buying from India: It applies only to products in scope, such as electricals, toys and PPE. Great Britain continues to recognise CE for some sectors, so check the UK rules for your product.
- See also UKCA, GPSR, Declaration of conformity
- Cent percent
- Indian English for one hundred percent, as in "cent percent quality" or "cent percent sure".
- See also Yes, no problem
- CEPCalso Carpet Export Promotion Council
- India's export promotion council for carpets and floor coverings.
- Buying from India: CEPC runs the India Carpet Expo, held at the Carpet Expo Mart in Bhadohi, inside the carpet belt itself.
- Read moreSee also Export promotion council, RCMC
- Certificate of originalso CoO, COO, Preferential certificate of origin
- A document, issued by an authority, stating where goods were made. A preferential one unlocks a trade agreement's lower duty.
- Buying from India: Since April 2026 DGFT requires the invoice number on a preferential certificate to match the shipping bill exactly. Have it issued against the final invoice, never the proforma.
- Read moreSee also Origin declaration, Non-preferential certificate of origin, e-CoO, Proof of origin
- CFRalso Cost and Freight, C&F, CNF, C and F
- Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller pays sea freight to your port but risk passes once goods are on board at origin.
- Buying from India: When the Strait of Hormuz closed in March 2026, Gulf-bound boxes discharged at Nhava Sheva were billed storage from day one. Under CFR that risk was already the buyer's.
- Read moreSee also CIF, FOB, Incoterms
- CFSalso Container freight station
- A customs-bonded warehouse where shared container loads are packed and unpacked, and where cargo is often cleared before going to the ship.
- Buying from India: LCL cargo is grouped with other shippers' goods at a CFS. Ambur in the Tamil Nadu leather belt has a customs freight station on the official list (ICEGATE, 5 Feb 2024).
- Read moreSee also ICD, LCL, Consolidation, Stuffing
- CHAalso Custom house agent, Customs broker (India)
- The licensed agent in India who files customs entries for an exporter or importer. Elsewhere the same job is done by a customs broker.
- Buying from India: The exporter or its broker files nearly every Indian export document, including the shipping bill on ICEGATE.
- Read moreSee also Customs broker, Shipping bill, Let Export Order
- Challan
- An official form or slip in South Asian English, such as a delivery note, a payment slip or a traffic fine.
- Buying from India: Goods sent out for job work travel under a job-work challan. With the e-way bill trail, it is paperwork that can show which partner unit actually made your order.
- See also Job work, E-way bill, Partner unit
- Change of chapteralso CC
- An origin rule met when every imported input sits in a different HS chapter (first two digits) from the finished good.
- Buying from India: Under the NZ-India FTA, footwear parts of heading 6406 need a change of chapter.
- Read moreSee also Change of tariff heading, Change of tariff subheading, Tariff shift
- Change of tariff headingalso CTH
- An origin rule met when every imported input sits in a different four-digit HS heading from the finished good.
- Buying from India: Imported knitted fabric (chapter 60) sewn into a T-shirt (6109) in India passes a CTH. Imported blank tees that are only printed stay at 6109 and fail.
- Read moreSee also Change of chapter, Change of tariff subheading, Tariff shift
- Change of tariff subheadingalso CTSH
- An origin rule met when every imported input sits in a different six-digit HS subheading from the finished good.
- Buying from India: Australia's ECTA general rule pairs a CTSH with a value test, and it covers about 4,578 subheadings, including T-shirts and wooden furniture.
- Read moreSee also Change of tariff heading, Change of chapter, Tariff shift
- Chapter 99
- The part of the US tariff that holds temporary and additional duties, such as Section 301 and Section 232, declared alongside the normal line.
- Buying from India: Indian goods carry a chapter 99 heading (9903.05.44 for Section 301 since 24 July 2026), so a US parcel of them over US$250 needs formal entry.
- Read moreSee also Section 301, Section 232, Formal entry, HTS
- Chargeback
- Reversing a card or platform payment after a dispute, which takes the money back from the seller.
- Buying from India: A wire to an Indian supplier cannot be pulled back once it lands. Buyers in disputes over Indian goods report PayPal requiring a return at their own cost before a refund.
- Read moreSee also Telegraphic transfer, Escrow
- Charges registeralso Registered charge, Charge
- The public list of loans secured against an Indian company's assets, kept on the company register.
- Buying from India: Indian makers usually borrow against their plant, so years of charges suggest a business that owns machines. A big factory with no charges may be self-funded, leased or held by another group company. None of these is bad.
- Read moreSee also MCA, CIN, Private limited company
- Chhath
- A major Hindu festival in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, held about six days after Diwali.
- Buying from India: Chhath brings a second wave of travel in the east and north after Diwali, so weaving in the carpet belt slows for weeks after the October fair. The 2027 central holiday order puts it on 4 November.
- Read moreSee also Diwali, Festival calendar
- Child labour due diligencealso Child labour checks
- The steps a buyer takes to find, prevent and fix any use of child labour in its supply chain.
- Buying from India: The US Department of Labor lists Indian carpets under both child labour and forced labour on its September 2024 list. That is a listing about the product category, not a finding about any one maker, so ask where each loom is and keep a right to visit.
- Read moreSee also Social audit, Due diligence, SA8000
- Children's Product Certificatealso CPC
- The US certificate, based on third-party lab tests, that a children's product meets the safety rules that apply to it.
- Buying from India: US buyers need CPSIA lead limits and third-party testing for a Children's Product Certificate, which matters for babywear, wooden toys and anything with small metal parts.
- See also CPSIA, Third-party lab, Lead content
- China plus onealso China+1, China + 1
- A strategy of keeping China as a source while adding a second country for some products, to spread risk.
- Buying from India: The pattern in our guide is some products to India, some to Vietnam, and China kept for the rest. If you buy sports sneakers, India isn't your China plus one yet.
- Read moreSee also Dual sourcing, Nearshoring
- Chokepointalso Maritime chokepoint
- A narrow sea passage many trade routes depend on, such as the Suez Canal, Bab el-Mandeb or the Strait of Hormuz.
- Buying from India: As of 25 Sep 2026 the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed to routine traffic. Jebel Ali bookings from India discharged at Khor Fakkan, Sohar, Fujairah or Jeddah and finished by truck.
- Read moreSee also Suez routing, Cape routing, Red Sea crisis
- CIFalso Cost Insurance and Freight
- Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller pays freight and minimum insurance to your port, but your risk starts at the origin port.
- Buying from India: CIF is often offered when an Indian supplier's delivered prices look high. The cover is the minimum allowed, and your risk starts at the Indian port.
- Read moreSee also CIP, CFR, Incoterms
- CIF valuationalso CIF basis
- Valuing goods for duty with the cost of freight and insurance to the importing country's border included.
- Buying from India: The UK, the EU and the UAE add freight in. The UAE charges its 5% duty on the CIF value of Indian goods.
- Read moreSee also FOB valuation, Customs value
- CINalso Corporate Identification Number, LLPIN
- The registration number of an Indian company on the company register. LLPs have a similar number, the LLPIN.
- Buying from India: Ask for the CIN in the same message as the GSTIN, IEC, RCMC and Udyam number. Proprietorships and partnerships have none, and that is normal.
- Read moreSee also MCA, Private limited company, LLP
- CIPalso Carriage and Insurance Paid To
- Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller pays carriage to a named place and must buy all-risks insurance in the buyer's favour.
- Buying from India: For a container of finished goods from India this is the C term we would pick over CIF. All-risks still excludes problems like timber finished before it was dry.
- Read moreSee also CIF, CPT, Incoterms
- Circumventionalso Origin circumvention, Transshipment fraud
- Routing, relabelling or lightly working goods so they appear to come from a country with lower duty than their true origin.
- Buying from India: Both India and the UAE have flagged transshipment and origin misuse under CEPA as an enforcement priority. A hub route confers no origin.
- Read moreSee also Non-alteration rule, Minimal operations, Rules of origin
- CITES permit
- A permit to trade species listed under the treaty on endangered wildlife and plants, needed at export and often at import.
- Buying from India: Sheesham (Dalbergia sissoo) is CITES-listed. For handicrafts India issues the VRIKSH shipment certificate in lieu of the CITES permit, only to EPCH members holding VRIKSH.
- Read moreSee also Timber legality, Lacey Act, EUDR
- Classificationalso Tariff classification
- Choosing the correct tariff code for a product, following the legal rules of the Harmonized System and the national tariff.
- Buying from India: The importer, not the Indian supplier, answers for the code. A 60/40 poly-cotton tee entered as cotton underpays US duty by 15.5 points (USITC, read 25 September 2026).
- Read moreSee also HS code, General Interpretative Rules, Advance ruling
- CLEalso Council for Leather Exports
- India's export promotion council for leather, leather goods and footwear.
- Buying from India: CLE lists India's leather production centres state by state. It says it separates makers from merchants but offers no public member search.
- Read moreSee also Export promotion council, RCMC
- Clean on-board bill of ladingalso Clean B/L, Shipped on board bill of lading
- A bill of lading confirming the goods were loaded on the ship with no notes about damage or shortage. Banks usually require it.
- Buying from India: A common split on Indian orders pays the balance through the banks against the clean on-board bill of lading, the inspection report, the packing list and the certificate of origin.
- Read moreSee also Bill of lading, Original bill of lading
- Clusteralso Industrial cluster, Manufacturing cluster
- A town or district where many firms make the same kind of product and share suppliers, skills and services.
- Buying from India: Indian clusters often run as networks of separate units doing job work for each other. Tiruppur, for example, splits knitting, dyeing and printing across many units, which is a big part of why it is fast.
- Read moreSee also Job work, Towns of Export Excellence, ODOP, Industrial estate
- CN codealso Combined Nomenclature, CN8
- The EU's eight-digit tariff code, built on the six-digit HS code, with extra EU measures layered on top in TARIC.
- Buying from India: The Indian supplier's eight-digit ITC(HS) code shares only the first six digits with the EU's CN code. Take your CN code from the EU tariff.
- Read moreSee also HS code, TARIC, ITC(HS)
- Colourfastnessalso Colour fastness, Colorfastness
- How well a dyed material keeps its colour through washing, rubbing, light and sweat, graded by a lab.
- Buying from India: Our pages advise setting colourfastness grades in the purchase order and lab-testing any azo-free or natural-dye claim on the bulk, not just the sample.
- Read moreSee also Shrinkage, Lab dip, Test report
- Commercial invoice
- The seller's final bill for the goods, used for payment and by customs to value the shipment.
- Buying from India: A genuine Indian export invoice shows no Indian GST. Most exporters ship under a Letter of Undertaking without charging it, so a tax line is a question to ask.
- Read moreSee also Proforma invoice, Packing list, Purchase order, Letter of Undertaking
- Commission agent
- A middleman in a wholesale market who buys from the traders for you and takes a commission on the deal.
- Buying from India: In Surat's Ring Road textile markets, fabric and sarees are bought through commission agents, and buyers advise staying while the order is packed.
- Read moreSee also Dalal, Mandi, Sourcing agent
- Commodity board
- A statutory Indian body that regulates and promotes one product group, such as tea, coffee or spices.
- Buying from India: Commodity boards such as the Spices Board can issue certificates of origin for their own products, alongside DGFT and the Export Inspection Council.
- Read moreSee also Spices Board, Tea Board, APEDA, MPEDA
- Commodity code
- The UK's name for its ten-digit tariff line, which sets the duty and the measures for a product.
- Buying from India: Cotton T-shirts on commodity code 6109100010 show two Indian preferences on the same line, DCTS at 9.6% and the UK-India agreement at 0% (read 25 September 2026).
- Read moreSee also HS code, Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, DCTS
- Common Health Entry Documentalso CHED
- The pre-notification an importer files for food and other goods under border health controls in Great Britain and the EU.
- Buying from India: Turmeric from India has needed a CHED in the UK since 3 June 2026, and ground ginger since 17 May 2025. Book the port health check into your lead time.
- Read moreSee also Biosecurity, RASFF
- Compliance
- Meeting the legal, safety, labour and buyer rules that apply to a product or a factory.
- Buying from India: Product compliance (tests, labels) and factory compliance (social audits) are separate checks. Buyers often ask Indian textile makers for both.
- Read moreSee also Social audit, Test report, Supplier audit
- Composition scheme
- A simplified GST option for small Indian businesses that pay tax at a flat rate on turnover.
- Buying from India: A composition taxpayer cannot sell across state lines, and exports count as inter-state, so it cannot export. If one quotes you FOB, someone else will be the exporter. Ask whose IEC and shipping bill it will be.
- Read moreSee also GST, GSTIN, Merchant exporter
- Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreementalso CETA, UK-India CETA, UK-India FTA
- The UK-India trade agreement, in force since 15 July 2026, which removes UK tariffs on 99% of Indian goods.
- Buying from India: Proof can be the exporter's origin declaration, an agency certificate or your own importer's knowledge. No proof is needed at £1,000 or below.
- Read moreSee also Origin declaration, Importer's knowledge, DCTS, Free trade agreement
- Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreementalso CEPA, India-UAE CEPA
- The India-UAE trade agreement, in force since 2022, which cuts UAE duty on qualifying Indian goods.
- Buying from India: The general origin rule is reported as wholly obtained or 40% value addition. UAE customs reviews claims after clearance and has denied the rate months later.
- Read moreSee also Free trade agreement, Rules of origin, Post-clearance verification
- Confirmed letter of creditalso Confirmed LC, Confirmation
- A letter of credit where a second bank, usually in the exporter's country, adds its own promise to pay.
- See also Letter of credit, Advising bank, Irrevocable
- Consignee
- The party named on the transport document to receive the goods at destination. Usually the buyer or the buyer's agent.
- See also Shipper, Notify party, Bill of lading
- Consolidationalso Groupage, Consol
- Combining cargo from several shippers or suppliers into one container so each pays only for the space used.
- Buying from India: Buying from several Indian suppliers into one shipment multiplies the paperwork, since each supplier files its own shipping bill and charges its own handling.
- Read moreSee also LCL, CFS, NVOCC
- Container loading checkalso CLC, Loading supervision, Container loading inspection
- An inspection while the container is packed, checking quantity, cartons, packing and the container's condition.
- See also Pre-shipment inspection, During production inspection
- Container sealalso Seal, Bolt seal, Seal number
- A numbered, tamper-evident lock fixed to the container doors after loading. The number goes on the bill of lading.
- Buying from India: A full container stays sealed from the supplier's gate to yours, one reason it makes fewer stops than a shared load.
- Read moreSee also FCL, Stuffing, Bill of lading
- Costing sheetalso Cost breakdown, Costing
- A breakdown of a product's price into materials, labour, overheads, packaging and margin.
- See also Bill of materials, Landed cost
- Counter sample
- A sample the maker produces to match the buyer's original, sent back for the buyer to approve.
- See also Golden sample, PP sample
- Countervailing dutyalso CVD, Anti-subsidy duty
- An extra duty that offsets a subsidy the exporting country's government gave the producer, set after an investigation.
- Buying from India: In the US, AD/CVD sits on top of the base rate and Section 301 for Indian goods where an order exists.
- Read moreSee also Anti-dumping duty, Cash deposit rate, Safeguard duty
- Country of origin markingalso Origin marking, Made in marking
- The legal requirement to mark goods or their packaging with the country where they were made.
- Buying from India: The US requires "Made in India" marked legibly and permanently on Indian goods (19 CFR 134.11).
- Read moreSee also Rules of origin
- CPSIAalso Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
- The US law setting lead, phthalate and testing rules for children's products.
- Buying from India: US buyers face CPSIA lead limits for children's products, which reach brass and metal parts as well as paints and prints.
- See also Children's Product Certificate, Lead content, Proposition 65
- CPTalso Carriage Paid To, Freight prepaid
- Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller pays carriage to a named place, but risk passes when the first carrier takes the goods.
- Buying from India: CPT hides inside most "freight prepaid" air quotes from India. One US seller's goods were not collected from the Indian maker until day 40, so put a handover date in the contract.
- Read moreSee also CIP, FCA, Incoterms
- Credit insurancealso Export credit insurance, Trade credit insurance
- Insurance that pays a seller if its buyer fails to pay, usually up to a limit set per buyer.
- Buying from India: When an Indian exporter says "our insurer won't cover you", it usually means the insurer holds no credit limit on your company yet. Audited accounts and trade references help.
- Read moreSee also ECGC, Open account, Credit limit
- Credit limit
- The most a seller or its insurer will let one buyer owe at any time.
- Buying from India: ECGC, India's export credit insurer, sets limits per overseas buyer, and a small exporter's insurer may hold no limit for you at all.
- Read moreSee also ECGC, Credit insurance, Open account
- Critical defect
- A defect that makes the product unsafe or illegal to sell.
- Buying from India: Inspection firms commonly set the AQL for critical defects to zero, so one critical defect in the sample fails the lot. On a first order from a new supplier, keep it at zero.
- Read moreSee also Acceptable quality limit, Major defect, Minor defect
- Crore
- An Indian number word for ten million (1,00,00,000), equal to 100 lakh.
- Buying from India: Indian figures group digits in twos after the thousands, so ₹2,00,000 crore is two trillion rupees. Udyam's Micro class caps plant and machinery investment at ₹2.5 crore.
- See also Lakh, Udyam
- Cumulationalso Accumulation
- An origin rule letting materials from a partner country count as local when they go into the finished good.
- Buying from India: Australian buttons on a shirt sewn in India count as Indian for Australia. Fabric from China, Bangladesh or Vietnam never counts under India's agreements.
- Read moreSee also Rules of origin, Qualifying value content
- Currency hedgingalso Hedging, Forward contract, FX forward
- Fixing an exchange rate in advance, often with a bank forward contract, so currency moves do not change what you pay.
- See also Foreign exchange, Indian rupee, Invoice currency
- Customs bondalso Import bond, Continuous bond, Single-entry bond
- A US guarantee, bought from a surety, that the importer will pay duties and follow customs rules. Needed for formal entry.
- Buying from India: With de minimis suspended, a modest restock from India over US$250 now needs a bond and a broker, not just a tracking number.
- Read moreSee also Formal entry, Importer of record, Customs broker
- Customs brokeralso Customs agent, Clearing agent
- A licensed professional who prepares and files import declarations and pays duty on the importer's behalf.
- Buying from India: US distributors of Indian goods report courier-filed entries carrying wrong codes. Using your own broker keeps classification and refunds in your control.
- Read moreSee also Importer of record, Customs bond, Entry summary
- Customs valuealso Dutiable value, Value for duty
- The value customs puts on imported goods to work out ad valorem duty, usually the price paid plus set adjustments.
- Buying from India: Inland freight inside India, from factory to port, is part of the value everywhere. Ask for freight and insurance split out on every invoice.
- Read moreSee also Transaction value, FOB valuation, CIF valuation
- Customs warehousealso Bonded warehouse
- A licensed store where imported goods wait without duty being paid until they are entered for home use or re-exported.
- Buying from India: A container of Indian goods that lands before an FTA start date can wait in bond and be entered on the day, where your broker confirms it works.
- Read moreSee also Entry for home use, Entry into force
- Cut-offalso Cargo cut-off, CY cut-off, Port cut-off
- The last date and time cargo, documents or declarations can reach the terminal or carrier to make a sailing.
- Buying from India: Forwarders at Indian ports say most last-minute rolls come from paperwork, a late VGM or a wrong export manifest. Write the cut-offs into your PO as a supplier obligation.
- Read moreSee also SI cut-off, VGM, Roll-over
- DAFalso Delivered at Frontier
- Retired Incoterms rule for delivery at a land border, dropped in the 2010 edition.
- Buying from India: DAF survives in India through old public-sector purchase templates, not exporter quotes. Only land-border trade with Nepal, Bhutan or Bangladesh could still use the habit.
- Read moreSee also DAP, Incoterms
- Dalal
- A Hindi word, also used in Indian English, for a broker or middleman who earns by bringing buyer and seller together.
- Buying from India: Export surplus from Tiruppur is sold through brokers around the Khaderpet market. Some of that stock still carries brand logos, which can be seized at your border as counterfeit.
- Read moreSee also Commission agent, Export surplus, Stock lot
- DAPalso Delivered at Place
- Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller carries the goods and risk to your named place, and you unload and clear import.
- Buying from India: Indian suppliers quote DAP less often than they should, and often price it high. It is the usual answer when an old quote says DDU or DAT.
- Read moreSee also DDP, DPU, DDU, Incoterms
- DATalso Delivered at Terminal
- Retired Incoterms 2010 rule for delivery unloaded at a named terminal, replaced by DPU in 2020.
- Buying from India: A DAT line on an Indian template is often a DAP price with the wrong letters. Ask which they mean before you build a landed cost on it.
- Read moreSee also DPU, DAP, Incoterms
- DCTSalso Developing Countries Trading Scheme
- The UK's preference scheme that cuts duty on goods from developing countries, replacing the UK's version of GSP.
- Buying from India: India gets no DCTS preference on chapters 42, 50 to 58, 62 and 63 from 2026 to 2028, and leaves the scheme on 15 July 2028.
- Read moreSee also GSP, Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Preferential rate
- DDPalso Delivered Duty Paid
- Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller delivers to your place and also clears import and pays duty and taxes.
- Buying from India: Under DDP a company in India becomes the importer in your country. That can cost you the import VAT, the FTA claim and any refund.
- Read moreSee also DAP, DDU, Incoterms
- DDUalso Delivered Duty Unpaid
- Retired Incoterms rule for delivery to the buyer's place with duty unpaid, dropped in 2010 and replaced by DAP.
- Buying from India: Delhi forwarders still list "DDU DDP DAP" as a service menu. Ask for a requote as DAP with your address and Incoterms 2020.
- Read moreSee also DAP, DDP, Incoterms
- De minimisalso Low-value threshold, Duty-free threshold
- The value below which a consignment skips duty, tax or the full entry process. Each country sets its own line.
- Buying from India: US de minimis is suspended for every origin and is repealed on 1 July 2027, so every parcel from India pays the normal rate plus 10%.
- Read moreSee also Low-value imports, Formal entry, IOSS
- De-stuffingalso Devanning, Unstuffing, Stripping
- Unloading goods from a container, at a warehouse, a container freight station or the buyer's premises.
- Read moreSee also Stuffing, CFS
- Declaration of conformityalso DoC, Declaration of compliance
- A signed statement from the maker or importer that a product meets the rules that apply to it.
- Buying from India: For tableware and cookware, ask for a declaration of compliance for food contact written for your product and your market.
- See also CE marking, UKCA, Food contact
- Dedicated freight corridoralso DFC, Western DFC
- A rail line for freight trains only, separate from passenger tracks, so container trains run faster and double-stacked.
- Buying from India: The Western Dedicated Freight Corridor was completed on 31 March 2026, and JNPA ran its first long-haul double-stack train on 21 August 2026. That month only about 11.7% of Nhava Sheva's containers came by rail.
- Read moreSee also ICD, Inland haul, JNPA
- Defect classesalso Defect classification
- The sorting of faults into critical, major and minor, each with its own acceptance limit in an inspection plan.
- Buying from India: Write your defect list and classes into the purchase order, or the inspection firm's defaults apply.
- Read moreSee also Critical defect, Major defect, Minor defect, Acceptable quality limit
- Demurrage
- A daily charge for leaving a full container in the port or terminal after the free time ends.
- Buying from India: When Gulf routes shut in March 2026, a forwarder reported boxes dropped at Nhava Sheva billed from the first day, with no free time.
- Read moreSee also Detention, Free time
- Denied Entity Listalso DEL
- DGFT's list of firms barred from export benefits, shown on the IEC record.
- Buying from India: It sounds worse than it is. A listing mostly means an unmet export-scheme obligation or an unpaid demand, not fraud, and a firm comes off once it pays. Treat it as one question.
- Read moreSee also IEC, DGFT
- Denier
- A unit of yarn thickness: the weight in grams of 9,000 metres of a filament. Higher means thicker.
- See also GSM, Ply
- Deposit and balancealso 30/70, 50/50, Deposit
- A split where the buyer pays part of the price on order and the rest later, often against shipping documents.
- Buying from India: The most common middle ground with Indian suppliers. Size the deposit to what it buys, materials and set-up, not the whole order.
- Read moreSee also Advance payment, Balance payment, Payment against copy B/L
- DEQalso Delivered Ex Quay
- Retired Incoterms rule for delivery on the quay at the destination port, dropped in the 2010 edition.
- Buying from India: One Indian template labelled Incoterms 2000 teaches the older version, where the seller paid import duty. Check who the other side thinks pays.
- Read moreSee also DAP, DPU, Incoterms
- DESalso Delivered Ex Ship
- Retired Incoterms rule for delivery on board the ship at the destination port, used for bulk cargo and dropped in 2010.
- Buying from India: You may meet DES from Indian bulk traders or public-sector-trained teams selling stone, castings or commodities by the shipload. A container never travels DES.
- Read moreSee also DAP, Incoterms
- Detentionalso Container detention
- A daily charge for keeping the carrier's container outside the port, such as at your warehouse, beyond the free time.
- Buying from India: When a border holds a box over non-compliant pallets, the importer pays storage and container detention while it waits.
- Read moreSee also Demurrage, Free time
- Detention without physical examinationalso DWPE
- A US FDA power to hold shipments from a listed firm or product at the border without testing them first.
- Buying from India: DWPE applies to Indian black pepper, shrimp and papad under named alerts. The pesticide alert 99-19 listed 295 Indian firms (read September 2026).
- Read moreSee also FDA import alert, Import refusal
- Development chargealso Development fee, Sampling charge
- A charge a maker asks to cover pattern making, sampling and set-up for a new product.
- Buying from India: Samples are paid for and usually credited against the bulk order (Indicative). As one production agent put it, "you are paying for setup not just the garment".
- Read moreSee also Tooling, Sampling lead time
- DGCI&Salso Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics
- The Indian government office that compiles India's official foreign trade statistics.
- Buying from India: DGCI&S data, published through the Department of Commerce's TradeStat, is the official record of what India exports. District-of-origin export data is a paid product.
- Read moreSee also DGFT
- DGFTalso Directorate General of Foreign Trade
- The Indian government body that runs export and import policy and issues export codes and scheme licences.
- Buying from India: DGFT's free "View Any IEC" lookup returns an exporter's IEC status, category and denied-list status from the code and the first three letters of the firm's name.
- Read moreSee also IEC, Foreign Trade Policy, RCMC, Star Export House
- Direct servicealso Direct call, Direct sailing
- One ship carries the container from the port of loading to the port of discharge with no change of vessel.
- Buying from India: On one carrier's schedule read 23 Sep 2026, Nhava Sheva to Rotterdam was a single service at a 33-day median and Mundra to New York 30 days. India to Australia had no direct option.
- Read moreSee also Transhipment, Mother vessel
- Discrepancy
- A mismatch between documents presented under a letter of credit and its terms, which lets the bank refuse to pay.
- Buying from India: Under UCP 600 the bank pays against paper, not goods. Compliant documents get paid even if the goods are wrong.
- Read moreSee also Letter of credit, UCP 600, LC amendment
- Diwalialso Deepavali
- India's biggest festival, in October or November, when most factories close for several days.
- Buying from India: Diwali falls on 8 November 2026 and 29 October 2027. The slowdown runs from Dussehra to Diwali, so sampling and dispatch slip in those weeks.
- Read moreSee also Festival calendar, Chhath, Dussehra
- Do the needful
- A polite phrase meaning "please do what is necessary". Old British English that lives on in Indian business email.
- See also Kindly revert, Intimate
- Documentary collectionalso Collection, DC
- A method where banks pass shipping documents to the buyer only against payment or a signed promise to pay.
- Buying from India: Under URC 522 the banks check that documents are present, not that they are right. Add your inspection report to the document list.
- Read moreSee also Documents against payment, Documents against acceptance, URC 522
- Documents against acceptancealso D/A, DA
- A collection where the buyer gets the shipping documents by signing a promise to pay on a set future date.
- Buying from India: D/A leaves the exporter carrying your credit, which is why a small Indian exporter will rarely offer it to a new buyer.
- Read moreSee also Documents against payment, Acceptance, Documentary collection
- Documents against paymentalso D/P, DP
- A collection where the buyer's bank releases the shipping documents, and so the goods, only when the buyer pays.
- Buying from India: D/P is the floor most small Indian exporters accept. Exporters in 2026 ranked terms as advance, then letter of credit, then D/P, then open account.
- Read moreSee also Documents against acceptance, Cash against documents, Documentary collection
- Door deliveryalso Godown delivery
- Indian transport wording for delivery to the buyer's store, as against godown delivery, where the buyer collects from the transporter's depot.
- Buying from India: It is domestic transport language, not an Incoterms rule. If a quote says door delivery, ask which Incoterm and which named place it means for export.
- Read moreSee also Godown, Transporter, DAP
- Door to door
- A shipment or quote that covers every leg from the supplier's premises to the buyer's, not just the sea or air part.
- Read moreSee also Port to port, Inland haul
- DPUalso Delivered at Place Unloaded
- Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller delivers to a named place and also unloads the goods, the only rule that requires unloading.
- Buying from India: Useful for floor-loaded containers from India, where unloading by hand is the real work. From India the situations that call for it are rare.
- Read moreSee also DAP, DAT, Incoterms
- Dual sourcingalso Multi-sourcing
- Buying the same product from two suppliers, often in two countries, so one problem doesn't stop supply.
- Buying from India: Our China plus one guide suggests running the same RFQ in two or three countries and letting the samples decide.
- Read moreSee also China plus one, Supplier scorecard
- Due diligence
- The checks a buyer makes on a supplier and its supply chain before and during trade.
- Buying from India: Our pages suggest five free checks on official Indian registries before any RFQ, and keeping a dated file of every lookup, reply, test and inspection.
- Read moreSee also Verification, Supplier audit, Child labour due diligence
- During production inspectionalso DUPRO, DPI, Inline inspection
- An inspection while goods are being made, usually when part of the order is finished, so faults are found while still cheap to fix.
- Buying from India: Delivery dates slip by months, not weeks, and "next week" repeats. An inspection during production makes bad news surface early.
- Read moreSee also Pre-shipment inspection, Initial production check
- Dussehraalso Dasara, Vijayadashami
- A Hindu festival about three weeks before Diwali that opens India's main festival season.
- Buying from India: Dussehra on 20 October 2026 opens the festival slowdown that peaks at Diwali. In 2027 it falls on 9 October.
- Read moreSee also Diwali, Festival calendar
- Duty drawbackalso Drawback
- A refund of import duty paid on goods or materials that are later exported, or used to make exported goods.
- See also Duty refund
- Duty refundalso Post-importation claim, Retrospective claim, Repayment
- Getting back duty you overpaid, for example when the proof of origin arrived after the goods cleared.
- Buying from India: Australia allows four years, but India issues an ECTA certificate retrospectively only up to 12 months after export, so the Indian deadline comes first.
- Read moreSee also Certificate of origin, Importer of record, Preferential rate
- Dwell time
- How long a container sits at a port or terminal between arriving and leaving.
- Buying from India: JNPA does not publish export dwell time by terminal. One Indian forwarder said congestion at Nhava Sheva in mid-2026 added 3 to 9 days between port and freight station.
- Read moreSee also Port congestion, Gate-in
- Dyeablesalso Stock yarns
- Mill talk for the yarns or fabrics a mill already keeps in stock, ready to dye to your colour.
- Buying from India: Small custom-fabric orders really only work in the yarns the mill already stocks. Ask for the dyeables list before you design around a fabric.
- Read moreSee also Minimum order quantity, Lab dip
- e-BRCalso Electronic Bank Realisation Certificate
- A bank's electronic certificate that payment for an Indian export has arrived.
- Buying from India: Since 13 January 2026 an e-BRC carries the GST invoice number, so even a redacted one ties to a real sale. Ask for two as proof a supplier exports.
- Read moreSee also AD code, LUT, IEC
- e-CoOalso eCoO, Electronic certificate of origin
- India's online platform, run by DGFT, through which exporters apply for and receive certificates of origin.
- Buying from India: About 7,000 preferential certificates are issued a day, and non-preferential certificates now issue only electronically through eCoO 2.0.
- Read moreSee also Certificate of origin, Non-preferential certificate of origin
- E-way bill
- An electronic document required under India's GST to move goods by road above a set value.
- Buying from India: A real maker moves goods under e-way bills every week, so the history is the closest thing to a production log. Only an Indian GST-registered user can see it.
- Read moreSee also GST, GSTIN
- ECASalso Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme
- The UAE's conformity certificate for regulated products, issued through MoIAT and checked by customs before release.
- Buying from India: Some cosmetics, supplements and chemicals from India need an ECAS certificate at entry. Start registration one to two months before the first shipment.
- Read moreSee also Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
- ECGCalso Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India
- India's state export credit insurer, which covers exporters against overseas buyers not paying.
- Buying from India: ECGC sets a credit limit per overseas buyer (ECGC brochure, July 2026). Offering audited accounts and trade references helps a limit come faster.
- Read moreSee also Credit insurance, Credit limit, Open account
- ECTAalso Australia-India ECTA, Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement
- The Australia-India trade agreement, in force since 29 December 2022, which cuts Australian duty on Indian-origin goods.
- Buying from India: Every tariff line reached 0% on 1 January 2026, but only with an agency certificate. No certificate, no preference.
- Read moreSee also Certificate of origin, Free trade agreement, Duty refund
- EFTA TEPAalso TEPA, India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement
- India's trade agreement with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, in force since 1 October 2025.
- Buying from India: TEPA lets the Indian exporter self-declare origin. Leather, footwear and jewellery were already duty free in EFTA, and TEPA locks that in.
- Read moreSee also Free trade agreement, Origin declaration
- Entry for home usealso Release for free circulation, Entry for consumption, Home consumption
- Clearing imported goods into the domestic market with duty and tax paid, as opposed to holding them in bond or transit.
- Buying from India: The rate is fixed on this date, not the sailing date. A container entered in New Zealand on 19 October 2026 pays, one entered on 20 October does not.
- Read moreSee also Entry into force, Customs warehouse
- Entry into forcealso EIF, In force
- The date a trade agreement starts to apply. Before it, "signed" or "concluded" deals give no lower duty.
- Buying from India: The EU-India agreement was concluded on 27 January 2026 but is not signed or in force, so EU importers pay MFN or GSP today.
- Read moreSee also Free trade agreement, Staging category, Entry for home use
- Entry summaryalso CBP Form 7501
- The US filing that declares classification, value, origin and duty for imported goods after or at release.
- Buying from India: Before liquidation your filer can correct an entry summary within 300 days of entry, which is how wrong codes on Indian goods get fixed.
- Read moreSee also Liquidation, Post-summary correction, Customs broker
- EORIalso EORI number, Economic Operators Registration and Identification
- An identification number every business needs to import into or export from the UK or the EU.
- Buying from India: Give the courier your GB EORI and a postponed VAT instruction before the parcel leaves India, or import VAT may be billed at the door.
- Read moreSee also Postponed VAT accounting, Importer of record
- EOUalso 100% Export Oriented Unit, Export Oriented Unit
- An Indian factory registered to export its entire production in return for duty and tax benefits.
- Buying from India: The scheme says "trading units are not covered" and needs at least ₹1 crore in plant and machinery outside a few sectors like handicrafts. So an EOU is a maker with a legal commitment to export. It is not a quality certificate.
- Read moreSee also SEZ, Manufacturer exporter, Foreign Trade Policy
- EPCGalso Export Promotion Capital Goods scheme
- An Indian scheme letting a manufacturer import machinery duty-free if it meets an export obligation over later years.
- See also Advance Authorisation, Foreign Trade Policy, Towns of Export Excellence
- EPCHalso Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts
- India's export promotion council for handicrafts, home decor and gifts.
- Buying from India: EPCH runs the IHGF Delhi Fair twice a year, and exhibitors must be paid-up members with an export performance certificate. It also runs a wood testing lab that can test a species claim inside India.
- Read moreSee also Export promotion council, RCMC, Artisan
- Escrow
- An arrangement where a neutral third party holds the payment until agreed conditions are met.
- Buying from India: No platform escrow protects a foreign buyer in India. IndiaMART's protection plan excludes foreign buyer transactions and its payment gateway closed on 31 March 2024.
- Read moreSee also Advance payment, Chargeback
- ETAalso Estimated time of arrival
- The date the carrier expects the ship to reach a port. It is an estimate, not a promise.
- Read moreSee also ETD, Transit time
- ETDalso Estimated time of departure
- The date the carrier expects the ship to leave the port of loading.
- Buying from India: The carrier schedule we read calls its dates estimates "subject to change without prior notice" (read 23 Sep 2026).
- Read moreSee also ETA, Cut-off
- EUDRalso EU Deforestation Regulation
- The EU rule requiring importers to prove certain goods, including wood, leather and coffee, did not come from recently deforested land.
- Buying from India: India is classed low risk, so due diligence is simplified, not skipped. You still need harvest-plot geolocation, from 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators.
- Read moreSee also Timber legality, Lacey Act, CITES permit
- Ex-godown
- A price for goods collected from the seller's warehouse, with nothing else included.
- Buying from India: You'll see it from wholesale-market traders. It is EXW by another name and carries the same problem, because the buyer is left with export clearance and loading.
- Read moreSee also EXW, Godown, FCA
- Exclusivityalso Exclusive design, Exclusivity clause
- An agreement that a supplier won't sell a design, product or material to anyone else.
- Buying from India: Our pages suggest naming the subject matter in a schedule (designs, formulas, tooling, artwork files), because a vague "all confidential information" is far harder to enforce.
- Read moreSee also Private label, Tooling
- Explanatory Notes
- The World Customs Organization's official commentary on the HS, used to interpret headings. National notes help but do not bind.
- Read moreSee also HS code, General Interpretative Rules, Classification
- Export Inspection Councilalso EIC
- India's official export certification body, which inspects and certifies goods for quality and issues certificates of origin.
- Buying from India: The EIC is one of the bodies that can issue certificates of origin under India's trade agreements, alongside DGFT and the commodity boards.
- Read moreSee also DGFT, Commodity board
- Export promotion councilalso EPC
- An Indian industry body, one per product group, that registers exporters and promotes their trade abroad.
- Buying from India: Exporters join to get the RCMC they need for most export incentives, so the councils hold India's best supplier lists. Many also run the main trade fairs for their product.
- Read moreSee also RCMC, AEPC, EPCH, CEPC, CLE, GJEPC, Texprocil, FIEO
- Export quality
- A seller's phrase for goods said to be good enough for export. It is a claim, not a standard or a certificate.
- Buying from India: Spice refusals differ by market. Salmonella accounts for 77 of 88 failing spice records in Australia, while US refusals cite Salmonella and filth, so one "export quality" report can't cover every destination.
- Read moreSee also Test report, Third-party lab
- Export realisation periodalso Realisation period
- The time an Indian exporter has, by law, to receive the full payment for goods it has shipped.
- Buying from India: From 1 October 2026 it is 15 months from shipment, or 18 if invoiced in rupees, up from 9 months before a November 2025 amendment. Any credit term must fit inside it.
- Read moreSee also FEMA, Open account, e-BRC
- Export surplus
- Goods made for an export order that were left over, cancelled or rejected, and are then sold off as stock.
- Buying from India: In Tiruppur, surplus and rejects move through brokers around the Khaderpet market. Don't buy surplus that still carries brand marks, because it can be seized as counterfeit.
- Read moreSee also Stock lot, Seconds, Ready stock, Dalal
- EXWalso Ex Works
- Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller only makes goods available at its premises and the buyer does everything else.
- Buying from India: The one term we tell foreign buyers not to sign in India. A foreign buyer cannot clear export there, so ask for FOB or FCA at a named place.
- Read moreSee also FCA, FOB, Incoterms
- Fabricator
- In Indian garment and metal trades, a contractor unit that does stitching or fabrication on job work for another firm.
- See also Job work, Cluster
- Factory auditalso Factory assessment
- An on-site check of a factory's capability, systems and conditions, done before or during a supplier relationship.
- Buying from India: One India-based buying agent said many larger suppliers keep "1 big shiny beautiful factory for the audits and inspections". Name the production unit in the order and audit that one.
- Read moreSee also Supplier audit, Social audit
- Fairtrade
- A certification for producer organisations and traders covering fair prices, a premium and working standards, mostly for farm goods.
- Buying from India: Certificates can be checked on the FLOCERT search and run on a four-year cycle.
- See also Social audit
- FASalso Free Alongside Ship
- Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller places the goods beside the ship at the named port, for bulk and break-bulk cargo.
- Buying from India: In hundreds of forum posts on shipping from India we found no buyer using FAS. For containers use FOB or FCA.
- Read moreSee also FOB, FCA, Incoterms
- FCAalso Free Carrier
- Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller clears export and hands goods to the buyer's carrier at a named place.
- Buying from India: The ICC's preferred term for containers, and useful in India because much is made far from the sea. You can name an inland container depot.
- Read moreSee also FOB, EXW, Incoterms
- FCLalso Full container load
- A container booked for one shipper's goods only. You pay per box, whatever is inside.
- Buying from India: A full container from an inland Indian cluster can be stuffed and cleared at the ICD and railed to port. Name the depot in an FCA term for FCL only.
- Read moreSee also LCL, TEU, Container seal
- FDA import alertalso Import alert
- A US FDA notice telling inspectors which firms or products to hold at the border until proven safe.
- Buying from India: Alerts cover Indian black pepper (28-02), shrimp (16-35) and papad (03-05). A supplier's lab report did not stop 149 Indian spice lines being refused.
- Read moreSee also Detention without physical examination, Import refusal
- Feeder vesselalso Feeder
- A smaller ship that carries containers between a local port and a hub, where they join a larger ship for the long voyage.
- Buying from India: From south Indian ports the first ship is very often a feeder. Chennai boxes to America usually feeder to Colombo, so Chennai cargo shows as Colombo in US records.
- Read moreSee also Mother vessel, Transhipment, Hub port
- FEMAalso Foreign Exchange Management Act
- India's 1999 law governing foreign exchange, under which the RBI sets rules for how exporters are paid.
- Buying from India: The RBI's export regulations FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB took effect on 1 October 2026. They bind the exporter and its bank, not you, but set the edges of what your supplier can agree.
- Read moreSee also Export realisation period, AD bank, Third-party payment
- Festival calendar
- The run of Indian public and regional festivals that close factories and slow sampling and dispatch.
- Buying from India: Holi costs one to three days in the north, Pongal matters in Tamil Nadu in mid-January, and the window from Dussehra to Diwali is the big one. Build sample and production dates around them.
- Read moreSee also Diwali, Holi, Pongal, Dussehra, Chhath, Monsoon
- FEUalso Forty-foot equivalent unit, 40-foot container
- A unit equal to one 40-foot container, or two TEU.
- See also TEU, High cube
- FIEOalso Federation of Indian Export Organisations
- India's umbrella export body, which issues RCMCs to exporters across product groups.
- Buying from India: A general FIEO membership, rather than a product council's, suggests a multi-product business. FIEO's Indian Trade Portal shows trade queries to members only.
- Read moreSee also RCMC, Export promotion council
- Financial yearalso FY, Fiscal year
- India's tax and accounting year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March.
- Buying from India: Indian figures are often given as FY2025-26, meaning April 2025 to March 2026. An exporter's letter of undertaking runs one financial year and renews each 1 April.
- See also LUT, GST
- FIRCalso Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate
- A certificate from an Indian bank confirming foreign currency was received into an account.
- See also e-BRC, AD bank, Purpose code
- FOBalso Free on Board
- Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller clears export and loads goods on the ship at the named port, where risk passes.
- Buying from India: The term most Indian exporters reach for first. "FOB India" does not cap what you pay in India, so list each origin charge by name in the PO.
- Read moreSee also FCA, CFR, Incoterms, Named place
- FOB valuationalso FOB basis
- Valuing goods for duty at their price at the place of export, leaving out international freight and insurance.
- Buying from India: The US, Australia and New Zealand value Indian goods this way. A CIF invoice with no freight split pushes your duty base up for nothing.
- Read moreSee also CIF valuation, Customs value, Transaction value
- Food contactalso Food contact materials, FCM
- Rules for materials that touch food, limiting what can migrate from them into the food.
- Buying from India: US cookware refusals from India are recent and about food contact. Tell your lab a piece is food contact before testing, and tell the maker whether the inside is lined or tinned.
- Read moreSee also Lead content, Declaration of conformity, Third-party lab
- FORalso Free on rail, Free on road, FOR dispatching station, FOR destination
- An Indian domestic delivery term. The seller hands goods to a carrier at a named station or depot, or pays carriage to one.
- Buying from India: FOR is not an Incoterms rule and says nothing about export clearance or the ship. FOR dispatching station is closest to FCA at the seller's premises.
- Read moreSee also FCA, CPT, Transporter
- Force majeure
- A contract clause that excuses a party from performing when events beyond its control, such as war or disaster, prevent it.
- See also Sales contract, Liquidated damages
- Foreign exchangealso FX, Forex
- Buying one currency with another, and the rate at which that happens.
- See also Currency hedging, Indian rupee, Invoice currency
- Foreign Trade Policyalso FTP
- India's rulebook for exports and imports, issued by DGFT with a companion Handbook of Procedures.
- Buying from India: The current policy dates from 2023. It defines the IEC, the RCMC, Star Export House status and the EOU scheme that appear on supplier records.
- Read moreSee also DGFT, IEC, Star Export House, EOU
- Formal entry
- The full US import declaration, needing a customs bond, used above value limits or for goods with special duties.
- Buying from India: Informal entry covers goods up to US$2,500, but Indian goods with chapter 99 duty need formal entry above US$250 (19 CFR 143.21).
- Read moreSee also Informal entry, Customs bond, Chapter 99
- Free time
- The days a carrier or terminal lets a container stay without charge before demurrage or detention starts.
- Buying from India: Ask your forwarder in writing for the free time at destination. In March 2026 some boxes dropped at Nhava Sheva got none.
- Read moreSee also Demurrage, Detention
- Free trade agreementalso FTA, Trade agreement
- A treaty between countries that removes or cuts duty on goods meeting its rules of origin.
- Buying from India: For our readers, six Indian agreements matter: UAE, Australia, EFTA, Oman, UK and New Zealand. The US has none with India (as of 28 September 2026).
- Read moreSee also Entry into force, Rules of origin, Preferential rate
- Freight forwarderalso Forwarder
- A company that arranges transport for shippers, booking space with carriers and handling the documents and the legs in between.
- Buying from India: When the supplier's forwarder holds the booking, you are a stranger to the agent at your end, and an unpaid balance between two agents can hold your container.
- Read moreSee also NVOCC, Booking, Customs broker
- FSCalso Forest Stewardship Council
- A forest certification scheme with chain-of-custody certificates showing wood came from certified or controlled forests.
- Buying from India: An FSC, PEFC or VRIKSH legality certificate is good evidence in your timber risk assessment, but it doesn't replace the assessment.
- Read moreSee also PEFC
- FSSAIalso Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
- India's food regulator, which licenses food businesses to operate in India.
- Buying from India: An FSSAI licence is an Indian licence only. It is checkable on FoSCoS but covers India's market, not yours. Spice buyers still ask for one alongside Spices Board registration.
- Read moreSee also Spices Board, APEDA, AGMARK
- FTA utilisationalso Preference utilisation, Utilisation rate
- The share of eligible imports that actually claim a trade agreement's lower rate.
- Buying from India: India's share of Australia's non-fuel imports moved only from 1.93% in 2022 to 1.97% in 2025 under ECTA. We suspect many eligible shipments still clear at full duty.
- Read moreSee also Free trade agreement, Preferential rate, Certificate of origin
- Gate-in
- The moment a container enters the port terminal gate and is recorded as received, ahead of loading.
- Buying from India: UAE forwarders described a gate-in backlog at Jebel Ali of 4 to 7 days in March 2026.
- Read moreSee also Cut-off, Dwell time
- General averagealso GA
- A maritime rule that makes every cargo owner on a ship share the cost of a sacrifice made to save the voyage.
- See also Cargo insurance
- General Interpretative Rulesalso GIRs, General Rules for the Interpretation of the Harmonized System
- Six legal rules, applied in order, that decide which HS heading and subheading a product falls into.
- Buying from India: For Indian textiles one note does more than all six. A mixed-fibre garment is classified by the fibre that predominates by weight.
- Read moreSee also Classification, HS code, Explanatory Notes
- GI tagalso Geographical Indication
- A legal label reserving a product name for goods made in a named region by its makers.
- Buying from India: A Srinagar maker told a US buyer in 2025 that genuine Kashmir rugs carry a scannable GI tag, while many showroom rugs are woven in Jaipur or Bhadohi. Moradabad's metal craft also carries a GI tag.
- Read moreSee also ODOP, Cluster, Handloom
- GIDCalso Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation
- The Gujarat state agency that builds and runs industrial estates. Addresses often read "GIDC" plus the estate's town.
- See also Industrial estate, MIDC
- GJEPCalso Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council
- India's export promotion council for gems, diamonds and jewellery.
- Buying from India: GJEPC runs the IIJS shows, which are for its members only. Its member directory needs a login.
- Read moreSee also Export promotion council, RCMC
- Godown
- A warehouse or store room. The word is used across India and parts of South-East Asia.
- Buying from India: Anything you can buy as stock, the next seller can buy too, often from the same godown. On a marketplace that ends in a price war.
- Read moreSee also Ex-godown, Door delivery, Ready stock
- Golden samplealso Sealed sample, Approved sample, Reference sample
- The approved, signed and sealed sample that bulk production and inspections are judged against.
- Buying from India: Seal and sign it, keep one, send one, and name it in the purchase order. In one case on our site there was no golden sample for a T-shirt, so there was nothing to settle the dispute with.
- Read moreSee also PP sample, Pre-shipment inspection
- GOTSalso Global Organic Textile Standard
- A standard for textiles made from organic fibre, covering processing, chemicals and social criteria through the chain.
- Buying from India: India holds the largest share of GOTS-certified facilities in the world. On the ban list updated 5 June 2026, 40 of the 52 banned companies had Indian addresses, nearly all gins, traders, fibre firms or spinners.
- Read moreSee also Transaction certificate, Scope certificate, Organic in-conversion
- Governing lawalso Choice of law
- The contract clause naming which country's law decides disputes about the contract.
- See also Arbitration, Sales contract
- GPSRalso General Product Safety Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/988
- The EU law on general consumer product safety, which requires an EU-based responsible operator for products sold there.
- Buying from India: Every product needs an EU operator, with name and contact on the product, packaging, parcel or accompanying document. Buyer forums report that EU warehouses won't act as that operator. Northern Ireland applies the EU GPSR.
- Read moreSee also CE marking, REACH
- Grade Aalso A grade, Grading
- A seller's label for its best quality. It has no shared meaning unless defined in writing.
- Buying from India: One Indian leather seller defined Grade A as allowing "1 to 2 small defects in the prime, most visible areas of the hide". Get it defined in writing with a defect map.
- Read moreSee also Seconds, Golden sample
- GRIalso General rate increase
- An across-the-board increase in base ocean freight that a carrier announces for a trade lane from a set date.
- See also BAF, PSS, Surcharge
- GSMalso Grams per square metre, Fabric weight
- The weight of a fabric or paper in grams per square metre, a basic spec for textiles.
- Buying from India: Starch in the finish can make a lighter fabric hit the quoted GSM, and it washes out. Our pages suggest a video of the GSM cutter test on unwashed raw fabric, because an AQL inspection won't catch a lighter fabric.
- Read moreSee also Shrinkage, Thread count
- GSPalso Generalised Scheme of Preferences
- A scheme where rich countries cut duty on goods from developing countries without asking for cuts in return.
- Buying from India: The EU suspended India's GSP in 12 product sections from 2026 to 2028. India keeps it on apparel, leather goods and footwear, not home textiles.
- Read moreSee also REX, DCTS, Preferential rate
- GSTalso Goods and Services Tax
- India's national tax on the supply of goods and services, introduced in July 2017.
- Buying from India: The public GST record is the richest free record India has. It shows legal and trade names, status, premises, goods dealt in and every return filed. Many old firms show a 2017 date only because GST began then.
- Read moreSee also GSTIN, Composition scheme, E-way bill, LUT
- GSTINalso GST number, GST Identification Number
- The 15-character registration number of a business under India's GST.
- Buying from India: Characters 3 to 12 are the business's PAN, and the IEC is the PAN, so the GST number also gives you the export code. The first two digits are the state, for example 33 for Tamil Nadu.
- Read moreSee also GST, PAN, IEC
- Handloom
- Cloth woven on a loom worked by hand and foot rather than by electric power.
- Buying from India: HEPC is the export council for handlooms, and its handloom fairs are the export shows that fit clusters such as Karur.
- Read moreSee also Powerloom, HEPC, Khadi, Artisan
- Hartal
- A closure of shops and offices called as a strike or protest. Close in meaning to a bandh.
- See also Bandh
- Hawalaalso Hundi
- An informal money-transfer system outside the banks, run through trusted agents in South Asia and the Middle East.
- Buying from India: Payment through hawala agents is a walk-away signal. Goods paid that way can't be exported legally.
- Read moreSee also With or without bill, Telegraphic transfer
- HEPCalso Handloom Export Promotion Council
- India's export promotion council for handloom products and home textiles.
- Read moreSee also Handloom, Export promotion council
- High cubealso HC, HQ, 40HC
- A container about one foot taller than standard, used for light, bulky goods that fill space before weight.
- See also FEU, TEU
- HMRCalso His Majesty's Revenue and Customs
- The UK tax and customs authority that collects import duty and VAT and issues advance tariff rulings.
- Buying from India: HMRC allows three years to reclaim overpaid duty, but the UK-India agreement lets it require late preference claims within a year. File inside 12 months.
- Read moreSee also Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Advance ruling, EORI
- Holi
- The Hindu spring festival of colours, in March.
- Buying from India: Holi costs one to three days of work in the north. It fell on 4 March 2026 and falls on 23 March 2027.
- Read moreSee also Festival calendar, Diwali
- House bill of ladingalso HBL, House B/L
- A bill of lading a freight forwarder or NVOCC issues to its own customer. The carrier issues a master bill to the forwarder.
- See also Master bill of lading, NVOCC, Bill of lading
- HS codealso Harmonized System code, HS, Tariff code
- The international product code used by customs worldwide. The first six digits are shared by every member country.
- Buying from India: Use your Indian supplier's code only as a hint for the first six digits. The national digits must come from your own tariff.
- Read moreSee also HS6, Tariff line, Classification, ITC(HS)
- HS6also Six-digit subheading, HS subheading
- The six-digit level of the HS code, the last level that is the same in every country using the same HS edition.
- Buying from India: One Indian cotton tee is 6109.10 everywhere, then splits by colour and gender in the US, chest size in New Zealand and T-shirt versus singlet in the UK.
- Read moreSee also HS code, Tariff line
- HTSalso HTSUS, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, HTS code
- The US national tariff, with eight-digit rate lines and two statistical digits built on the HS code.
- Buying from India: On HTS 6109.10.00 cotton tees pay 16.5%, plus 10% Section 301 for Indian goods since 24 July 2026.
- Read moreSee also HS code, Chapter 99, Tariff line
- Hub portalso Transhipment hub
- A large port where containers change ships between feeder and long-haul services.
- Buying from India: In the India schedules we read, the hubs were Colombo, Singapore, Port Klang, Tanjung Pelepas, Salalah, Jeddah, Tanger Med and Algeciras, plus Indian ports relaying for each other.
- Read moreSee also Transhipment, Feeder vessel
- ICDalso Inland container depot, Dry port
- A customs-enabled inland terminal where containers are loaded, cleared and sent by rail or road to the seaport.
- Buying from India: For an inland cluster, FCA at the ICD puts the rail leg and port handling in one booking you control. The nearest rail terminal to Tiruppur is ICD Irugur in Coimbatore district.
- Read moreSee also CFS, Dedicated freight corridor, Inland haul
- ICEGATE
- Indian Customs' online portal, where exporters and their customs brokers file shipping bills and other declarations.
- Buying from India: Only an Indian IEC holder can file on ICEGATE, so a foreign buyer never files anything in India.
- Read moreSee also Shipping bill, Let Export Order
- IECalso Importer Exporter Code
- The ten-character code an Indian business needs from DGFT to import or export.
- Buying from India: The IEC is the business's PAN, one per PAN. It shows a firm may export, not that it has shipped anything. An IEC "deactivated" after 30 June usually means a missed annual update.
- Read moreSee also DGFT, PAN, GSTIN, RCMC, Denied Entity List
- IEEPA tariffsalso IEEPA
- US tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, struck down by the Supreme Court on 20 February 2026.
- Buying from India: Duties paid on Indian goods from August 2025 are refunded through CBP's CAPE process, but only to the importer of record or its broker.
- Read moreSee also Importer of record, Section 301, Duty refund
- Import declarationalso Customs declaration, Import entry
- The formal statement to customs describing imported goods, their code, value and origin, on which duty is assessed.
- Buying from India: Australia needs a full import declaration above AUD 1,000. Below that, a self-assessed clearance generally applies.
- Read moreSee also Self-assessed clearance, Entry summary, Customs broker
- Import health standardalso IHS
- A New Zealand MPI document setting the biosecurity conditions a type of import must meet to enter.
- Buying from India: Forest products, stored plant products such as spices and rice, and wood packaging from India all have standards. Ask your broker which applies before you order.
- Read moreSee also Biosecurity, BICON
- Import refusalalso Border rejection, Refusal
- A decision by a border authority not to admit a shipment, which then must be destroyed or re-exported.
- Buying from India: In our analysis of FDA records, Salmonella was the charge on 690 of 1,320 refused Indian spice lines. Test for Salmonella first.
- Read moreSee also FDA import alert, RASFF
- Import VATalso Import GST, Border VAT
- Sales tax charged at the border on imports, worked out on a base that already includes the duty.
- Buying from India: A German buyer of Indian furniture read 19% VAT as import duty. VAT is a separate line and a registered business gets it back.
- Read moreSee also Postponed VAT accounting, Customs value
- Importer of recordalso IOR
- The party named on the import entry as legally responsible for the goods, the duty and compliance.
- Buying from India: When an Indian supplier ships on its own courier account, the courier becomes importer of record, and duty refunds go to the courier, not you.
- Read moreSee also Customs broker, IEEPA tariffs, Duty refund
- Importer's knowledge
- A proof of origin where the importer claims the preference on its own evidence, with no document from the exporter.
- Buying from India: It exists under the UK-India agreement, not Australia's or New Zealand's. With a trader who keeps the maker's records private, it is off the table.
- Read moreSee also Origin declaration, Certificate of origin, Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
- Incotermsalso Incoterms 2020, International Commercial Terms
- The ICC's eleven three-letter rules saying where the seller hands goods to the buyer, and who pays which costs and carries which risks.
- Buying from India: Incoterms 2020 is current, with no newer edition as of 28 September 2026. Insist on the term, the edition and the named place on every Indian quote.
- Read moreSee also FOB, FCA, EXW, Named place
- IndiaMART
- A large Indian online business directory where sellers list products and buyers send enquiries.
- Buying from India: Paid sellers see enquiries first, so a fast reply shows the seller's tier. IndiaMART says its TrustSEAL badge checks business authenticity, "not product quality".
- Read moreSee also TradeIndia, GSTIN
- Indian rupeealso INR, Rupee, ₹
- India's currency, issued by the Reserve Bank of India.
- Buying from India: An export invoiced in rupees gets 18 months for payment to be realised, against 15 for foreign currency, under the rules in force from 1 October 2026.
- Read moreSee also Invoice currency, Foreign exchange, Export realisation period
- Indicative
- On our site, an evidence state for useful directional information where precise checking isn't possible.
- See also Verified, Reported
- Industrial estatealso Industrial area
- A planned area of plots and sheds built by a state agency for factories.
- See also GIDC, MIDC, Cluster, SEZ
- Informal entry
- A simpler US entry for low-value goods, with no bond required.
- Buying from India: Informal entry goes up to US$2,500, but Indian goods carrying chapter 99 duty drop to a US$250 line (19 CFR 143.21).
- Read moreSee also Formal entry, De minimis
- Initial production checkalso IPC, Pre-production inspection
- An inspection at the start of production, checking materials, components and the first finished pieces against the approved sample.
- See also During production inspection, PP sample
- Inland haulalso Pre-carriage, On-carriage, Drayage
- The road or rail leg between a factory or warehouse and the port, at either end of the sea voyage.
- Buying from India: In India this leg is long. Ludhiana sits about 1,100 km in a straight line from Mundra and Jaipur about 770 km, and most boxes still go by truck.
- Read moreSee also ICD, Dedicated freight corridor, Door to door
- Intimate
- Indian English for "inform" or "notify", as in "we will intimate you once the goods are ready".
- See also Kindly revert, Updation
- Invoice currency
- The currency the price is stated and paid in, which decides who carries exchange-rate risk.
- See also Indian rupee, Currency hedging
- IOSSalso Import One Stop Shop
- The EU system that lets sellers charge VAT at checkout on consignments up to €150 and declare it in one monthly return.
- Buying from India: From 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 those consignments also pay a flat €3 per item duty, so a parcel of four Indian tees pays €12.
- Read moreSee also De minimis, Import VAT
- Irrevocablealso Irrevocable letter of credit
- Describes a letter of credit that cannot be cancelled or changed without the parties' agreement. Under UCP 600 every credit is irrevocable.
- Buying from India: An Indian exporter with proceeds unrealised more than a year past due may export only against full advance or an irrevocable LC (RBI, from 1 October 2026).
- Read moreSee also Letter of credit, UCP 600
- ISFalso Importer Security Filing, 10+2
- A US filing of shipment details the importer must lodge before ocean cargo is loaded at the foreign port.
- Buying from India: ISF 10+2 is due 24 hours before your container is loaded in India, so it has to be set up before the supplier books.
- Read moreSee also Customs bond, Importer of record
- ISI mark
- The BIS certification mark showing a product meets an Indian standard, required for many products sold in India.
- See also BIS, Quality Control Order
- ISO 9001
- An international standard for quality management systems. It certifies how a company manages quality, not that a product is good.
- See also Supplier audit, Product certificate
- Issuing bankalso Opening bank
- The buyer's bank that opens a letter of credit and promises to pay the exporter.
- See also Letter of credit, Applicant, Advising bank
- ISTalso India Standard Time
- India Standard Time, UTC+5:30. India uses one time zone all year and never changes its clocks.
- Buying from India: Because India never changes its clocks, your overlap moves when your own country does. From Sydney the shared office window shrinks from about four hours to three in October.
- Read moreSee also Festival calendar
- ITC(HS)also ITC-HS, Indian Trade Classification
- India's eight-digit version of the HS code, used for Indian export and import policy and on the shipping bill.
- Buying from India: Only the first six digits mean anything at your border. Schedule 2 of ITC(HS) also lists Indian exports that are prohibited or restricted.
- Read moreSee also HS code, Shipping bill, CN code
- JNPAalso Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Nhava Sheva, INNSA, JNPT
- India's largest container port, across the harbour from Mumbai. Shippers call it Nhava Sheva.
- Buying from India: It handled a record 8.17 million TEU in FY2025-26, more than half the government-owned ports' total. It is not Mumbai Port, so ask which one "FOB Mumbai" means.
- Read moreSee also Port of loading, UN/LOCODE, Mundra
- Job work
- When one firm processes another firm's materials, such as dyeing, printing or stitching, and returns the goods.
- Buying from India: Job work is normal and legal, and it is how Indian clusters work. On supplier pages we tag it as a light "Job-work model" signal. Ask which steps leave the premises and who checks them before they come back.
- Read moreSee also Cluster, Fabricator, Sister concern, Udyam
- Jugaad
- A Hindi word for a clever, improvised fix that gets something working with what is to hand.
- See also Yes, no problem
- Karigar
- Hindi and Urdu for a skilled craftsman or worker, often in a small workshop.
- Buying from India: At Indian trade fairs, member firms include merchant exporters who work with karigar workshops, which is how much of this trade has always run.
- Read moreSee also Artisan, Merchant exporter
- Key performance indicatoralso KPI
- A measure used to track how a supplier or process is doing, such as on-time delivery or defect rate.
- See also Supplier scorecard, On time in full
- Khadi
- Cloth hand-spun and hand-woven in India, promoted by the government's Khadi and Village Industries Commission.
- See also Handloom, Artisan
- Kindly revertalso Revert, Please revert
- "Please reply." In Indian business English, revert means to reply, not to go back to an earlier state.
- See also Do the needful, PFA, Intimate
- Lab dip
- A small swatch dyed by the mill to match a colour reference, sent for the buyer's approval before bulk dyeing.
- See also Strike-off, Shade band, Colourfastness
- Lacey Act
- A US law that bans trade in plants taken against any country's law and requires a declaration of species and harvest country.
- Buying from India: Furniture has been covered since 1 December 2024. Gibson's raid turned on Indian wood that left under a code dodging India's sawn-wood export ban.
- Read moreSee also Timber legality, EUDR, CITES permit
- Lakh
- An Indian number word for one hundred thousand (1,00,000).
- Buying from India: Since 15 September 2026 a consignment worth ₹3 lakh FOB or less needs no RCMC.
- Read moreSee also Crore, RCMC
- Landed cost
- The total cost of a product delivered to your door, including the price, freight, insurance, duty, taxes and fees.
- Buying from India: Duty is usually why a China plus one project starts, and it's where most spreadsheets go wrong.
- Read moreSee also Costing sheet
- LC amendmentalso Amendment
- A formal change to the terms of a letter of credit after it is issued, which all parties must agree.
- See also Letter of credit, Discrepancy
- LCLalso Less than container load
- Cargo too small for its own container, shipped in a shared box and charged by volume or weight.
- Buying from India: A UK importer said LCL itself was fine but inland trucking in India made it unviable. A shared box often cannot be loaded at the ICD, so the cargo trucks to the port.
- Read moreSee also FCL, Consolidation, CFS
- Lead contentalso Total lead
- The amount of lead in a material or coating, limited for children's products, food contact items and some markets.
- Buying from India: Lead is a property of some brass alloys. Ask for the alloy grade and the lead content from the metal supplier's certificate, and test every metal part, small ones included.
- Read moreSee also CPSIA, Proposition 65, Food contact
- Lead time
- The time from placing an order to having the goods, made up of sampling, production and shipping.
- Buying from India: Delivery dates slip by months, not weeks. Our pages suggest building the slip into your plan and inspecting during production so you learn early.
- Read moreSee also Sampling lead time, Production lead time, Capacity
- Let Export Orderalso LEO
- Indian Customs' permission for goods to be exported, issued after the shipping bill is cleared.
- Buying from India: Ask your supplier for a copy of the LEO. It is the one paper that proves your goods legally left India.
- Read moreSee also Shipping bill, ICEGATE
- Letter of creditalso LC, L/C, Documentary credit
- A bank's promise to pay the exporter when it presents the documents the credit names, on time and in the stated form.
- Buying from India: An LC earns its keep on a first large order and anything made to your design. Without an inspection certificate in its document list it is a promise to pay for paperwork.
- Read moreSee also UCP 600, Discrepancy, Confirmed letter of credit, Irrevocable
- Letter of indemnityalso LOI
- A written promise to cover another party's losses, often given to release cargo without the original bill of lading.
- See also Bank guarantee
- Letter of Undertakingalso LUT
- A filing that lets an Indian exporter ship without charging GST on the export invoice.
- Buying from India: Most Indian exporters ship under an LUT, which is why a genuine export invoice shows no Indian GST.
- Read moreSee also Commercial invoice
- Liquidated damagesalso LDs, LD clause
- A sum fixed in the contract that one party pays the other for a specific breach, such as late delivery.
- See also Penalty clause, Sales contract, Force majeure
- Liquidation
- The final US calculation of duty owed on an entry, after which corrections close and a protest is needed.
- Buying from India: After liquidation you have 180 days to protest. CBP's IEEPA refund route currently takes unliquidated entries and some within 80 days of liquidation.
- Read moreSee also Entry summary, Post-summary correction, Protest
- LLPalso Limited liability partnership
- An Indian business form that combines a partnership with limited liability, registered on the company register.
- Buying from India: LLPs appear on MCA company data like companies. A sister concern in a family group is often an LLP holding a certificate for its own unit.
- Read moreSee also MCA, CIN, Sister concern, Partnership firm
- Low-value importsalso Low-value goods, LVG
- Small consignments that fall under a country's threshold, where the seller often collects the sales tax at checkout instead of the border.
- Buying from India: Australia uses A$1,000, New Zealand NZ$1,000 and the UK £135 (as of 28 September 2026). The line is drawn on the consignment, not the item.
- Read moreSee also De minimis, IOSS, Import VAT
- LUTalso Letter of undertaking
- A yearly filing that lets an Indian exporter ship without paying GST up front.
- Buying from India: The FY2026-27 LUT runs to 31 March 2027. A current one is a quick sign the supplier exports.
- Read moreSee also GST, Financial year, e-BRC
- LWGalso Leather Working Group
- A body that audits tanneries on environmental performance and publishes a directory of rated sites.
- Buying from India: The LWG public directory lists audited tanneries around Ranipet, Ambur and Vellore in Tamil Nadu.
- Read moreSee also Supplier audit
- Major defect
- A defect likely to make the product fail or be returned, though not unsafe.
- Buying from India: The usual default is AQL 2.5 for majors. In one worked example on our site, a 4,000-unit lot gets a 200-piece sample.
- Read moreSee also Acceptable quality limit, Critical defect, Minor defect
- Make in India
- The Indian government's campaign since 2014 to attract manufacturing investment.
- See also PLI scheme
- Mandi
- A wholesale market, especially for farm produce, where farmers' lots are sold to traders.
- Buying from India: Many farmers' cumin lots are blended at the mandi, which accounts for 151 of 453 EU notifications. The fix is lot segregation, not better cleaning.
- See also Wholesale, Commission agent
- Manufacturer exporter
- An Indian exporter that makes the goods it ships, as recorded on its IEC and RCMC.
- Buying from India: A manufacturer-exporter RCMC is India's strongest public "we make it" signal, because the council asks for evidence of manufacturing before it issues one.
- Read moreSee also Merchant exporter, RCMC, IEC
- Marks and numbersalso Shipping marks
- The labels on each carton or package that match it to the invoice, packing list and bill of lading.
- See also Packing list, Bill of lading
- Master bill of ladingalso MBL, Master B/L, Ocean bill
- The bill of lading the shipping line issues to the forwarder or NVOCC that booked the space.
- See also House bill of lading, NVOCC
- MCAalso Ministry of Corporate Affairs
- The Indian ministry that keeps the register of companies and LLPs.
- Buying from India: MCA data covers only companies and LLPs, so a proprietorship or partnership with no record is normal. Struck off or dormant is a hard contradiction for a firm claiming active production. Low paid-up capital means nothing.
- Read moreSee also CIN, Charges register, LLP, Private limited company
- Merchandiser
- The person in an export unit who runs your order day to day, from sampling to shipping.
- Buying from India: In a mid-size export unit the owner decides prices and priorities, and the merchandiser is the right person to chase on routine matters. Get both numbers.
- Read moreSee also Buying house
- Merchant exporter
- An Indian exporter that buys goods from makers and exports them under its own name.
- Buying from India: A normal business model that large retailers buy through every day. Small makers often ship through one. The question is who makes your goods and who answers for quality.
- Read moreSee also Manufacturer exporter, RCMC, Karigar, Composition scheme
- MFN ratealso Most-favoured-nation rate, General rate, Third country duty, Normal tariff
- The standard duty a country charges goods from any WTO member without a special deal.
- Buying from India: For cotton T-shirts it is 16.5% in the US, 12% in the UK and 5% in Australia (read 25 September 2026).
- Read moreSee also Preferential rate, Tariff line
- MIDCalso Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation
- The Maharashtra state agency that builds and runs industrial estates. Addresses often read "MIDC" plus the area.
- See also Industrial estate, GIDC
- Minimal operationsalso Insufficient working, Insufficient processing, Non-qualifying operations
- Work too light to give a product origin, such as packing, labelling, pressing or simple assembly.
- Buying from India: A maker that imports blank tees and prints logos in India has done minimal work, so the shirt fails origin for the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
- Read moreSee also Rules of origin, Substantial transformation, Circumvention
- Minimum order quantityalso MOQ
- The smallest order a supplier will accept for a product, colour or style.
- Buying from India: Nobody publishes MOQ norms for India. Dye-lot and yarn minimums upstream often set it, and the packaging MOQ can be higher than the product's, so ask for both in the same RFQ.
- Read moreSee also Request for quotation, Stock lot
- Minor defect
- A small cosmetic fault that doesn't affect function or likely cause a return.
- Buying from India: The usual default is AQL 4.0 for minors.
- Read moreSee also Acceptable quality limit, Major defect
- Monsoonalso Southwest monsoon
- India's rainy season, mainly June to September.
- Buying from India: The monsoon slows wet processing and anything sun-dried. Block print dries in the sun, so work slows from roughly July to September.
- Read moreSee also Festival calendar
- Mother vesselalso Mainline vessel, Mainliner
- The large ship that carries containers on the long ocean leg, fed by smaller feeder ships.
- Buying from India: 35% of India-origin knit T-shirt shipments to the US show Colombo as the port of lading, because US records name where the mother vessel loaded (our count of US bills, to Sep 2026).
- Read moreSee also Feeder vessel, Hub port
- Mouldalso Mold, Die
- A shaped tool used to form a product or part, such as for plastics, castings or rubber soles.
- Buying from India: Without an ownership clause, the mould that makes your part sits in someone else's shed and moving suppliers means paying twice.
- Read moreSee also Tooling
- MPEDAalso Marine Products Export Development Authority
- The Indian government body that registers and promotes exporters of seafood.
- Buying from India: MPEDA runs Seafood Expo Bharat. The 2026 edition was held in Chennai from 1 to 3 July.
- Read moreSee also Commodity board, APEDA
- MSMEalso Micro, small and medium enterprises
- India's official term for smaller businesses, split into Micro, Small and Medium by investment and turnover.
- Buying from India: About 98.8% of Udyam registrations are Micro (22 September 2026). Micro is not a failure. A small maker is often the one who gives your order its full attention.
- Read moreSee also Udyam
- Mundraalso Mundra Port, INMUN
- A large private port on the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, a main gateway for north and west Indian cargo.
- Buying from India: In US records it is the top loading port for ceramic tiles (55.3% of bills) and wooden furniture (54.6%). It beat Nhava Sheva to New York, 30 days against 33 (23 Sep 2026).
- Read moreSee also JNPA, Port of loading
- Named placealso Named port
- The port, depot or address written after an Incoterm, which fixes where delivery and risk transfer happen.
- Buying from India: "FOB" without a port is not a price. The gap between Nhava Sheva and an inland container depot can be a truck ride and a customs step.
- Read moreSee also Incoterms, FOB, FCA
- Nearshoring
- Moving production to a country closer to the buyer's market to cut transit time and risk.
- See also China plus one, Dual sourcing
- Non-alteration rulealso Direct transport rule, Direct consignment
- An origin rule that goods passing through a third country keep their origin only if not worked on there beyond unloading, storing or labelling.
- Buying from India: An exporter routed goods through a UAE hub expecting CEPA rates, and customs denied them months later. A hub is not a source of origin.
- Read moreSee also Circumvention, Rules of origin
- Non-preferential certificate of originalso Non-preferential CoO, Ordinary certificate of origin
- A certificate stating where goods were made for statistics, quotas, trade remedies or bank documents. It gives no lower duty.
- Buying from India: In India these now issue only electronically. A supplier offering "a certificate of origin" should be asked which agreement it is for.
- Read moreSee also Certificate of origin, e-CoO
- Not found
- On our site, an evidence state meaning we researched it and found no supporting evidence.
- See also Unknown, Verified
- Notify party
- The person or company the carrier tells when the goods arrive, often the buyer's customs broker.
- See also Consignee, Bill of lading
- NVOCCalso Non-vessel operating common carrier
- A company that sells sea transport and issues its own bills of lading without owning ships, buying space from carriers.
- See also Freight forwarder, House bill of lading, Consolidation
- ODOPalso One District One Product
- A government programme naming each district's signature products and supporting their makers.
- Buying from India: Uttar Pradesh's ODOP portal lists products per district, such as leather footwear and saddlery for Kanpur and locks for Aligarh. We use it to check where a category is officially strong.
- Read moreSee also Cluster, Towns of Export Excellence, GI tag
- OEKO-TEXalso OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100, STeP, Made in Green
- A family of textile labels. STANDARD 100 tests articles for harmful substances, while STeP certifies production sites.
- Buying from India: A product class 2 certificate (worn against the skin) doesn't cover babywear, which needs class 1. Check the number on OEKO-TEX's Label Check, and match the address to the supplier's GST record.
- Read moreSee also Product certificate, GOTS
- OEM and ODMalso Original equipment manufacturer, Original design manufacturer
- OEM makes to the buyer's design under the buyer's brand. ODM sells its own designs for the buyer to brand.
- Buying from India: Contract and OEM manufacturing are normal business models in India, not red flags. What matters is knowing who makes it and who answers for quality.
- Read moreSee also Private label, White label
- On time in fullalso OTIF
- A delivery measure: the share of orders that arrive on the agreed date with the full quantity.
- See also Key performance indicator, Chargeback, Supplier scorecard
- Open accountalso OA, Net 30, Net 60
- The seller ships and the buyer pays later, on agreed days after shipment or invoice.
- Buying from India: It usually arrives only with a track record or an insurer behind it. Credit must fit within the exporter's 15-month legal realisation window.
- Read moreSee also Credit insurance, ECGC, Export realisation period
- Organic in-conversionalso In-conversion cotton
- Cotton from farms moving to organic methods but not yet through the full conversion period, so it can't be sold as organic.
- See also GOTS, Better Cotton
- Origin declarationalso Statement on origin, Declaration of origin, Self-certification
- A proof of origin written and signed by the exporter on the invoice, checked by nobody before shipment.
- Buying from India: It works for the UK on the GOV.UK template. For Australia it is worthless, because ECTA accepts only an agency certificate.
- Read moreSee also Certificate of origin, Importer's knowledge, REX, Status holder
- Original bill of ladingalso OBL, Negotiable bill of lading
- The paper bill of lading set, usually three originals, that acts as title. The buyer hands one over to collect the goods.
- Read moreSee also Telex release, Sea waybill, Bill of lading
- Our account has changed
- A message saying the supplier's bank details are new. It is the classic opening of payment fraud.
- Buying from India: Payment fraud often arrives as a friendly "our account has changed" message from a hijacked account. Confirm by phone, on a number you already had, before paying.
- Read moreSee also Telegraphic transfer, Proforma invoice
- Out of station
- Indian English for away from home or out of town, as in "sir is out of station till Monday".
- See also Intimate
- Packing list
- A document listing what is in each carton or package, with weights and measurements, sent with the invoice.
- See also Commercial invoice
- PANalso Permanent Account Number
- The ten-character Indian tax identity of a person or business.
- Buying from India: The PAN ties India's records together. When it matches across GST, IEC and company records you are looking at one business. Same names but different PANs mean a group.
- Read moreSee also GSTIN, IEC, Sister concern
- Partner unit
- Another factory a maker sends part of your order to, usually under a job-work arrangement.
- Buying from India: A maker may sew a third of your order in its own sheds and send the rest to a partner unit. Textile certification schemes treat that as normal job work. Just ask where your order is made.
- Read moreSee also Job work, Challan, Sister concern
- Partnership firm
- An Indian business owned by two or more partners, without separate legal personality.
- Buying from India: Many good Indian makers are partnerships, which have no MCA record. A move from partnership to company often explains a new company claiming a long history.
- Read moreSee also Proprietorship, LLP, Private limited company
- Payment against copy B/Lalso Balance against B/L copy, Payment against copy bill of lading
- Paying the balance when the exporter emails a copy of the bill of lading showing the goods have shipped.
- Buying from India: The copy proves a carrier received a sealed container, not what is inside. If the exporter keeps the originals until the balance clears, that is fair.
- Read moreSee also Deposit and balance, Balance payment
- Payment terms
- The part of a contract that says when, how and against what event the buyer pays.
- Buying from India: A payment term is not payment security, as an Indian export adviser put it in 2026. Tie each payment to an event you can verify.
- Read moreSee also Advance payment, Letter of credit, Open account
- PEFCalso Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification
- An international forest certification scheme that endorses national standards and issues chain-of-custody certificates.
- Buying from India: Our timber guide treats a PEFC certificate as good evidence in a legality risk assessment, alongside FSC and India's VRIKSH.
- Read moreSee also FSC
- Penalty clause
- A contract term that charges a party for a breach, which some courts will not enforce if it punishes rather than compensates.
- See also Liquidated damages, Sales contract
- Performance bondalso Performance guarantee
- A guarantee from a bank or insurer that pays the buyer if the seller fails to perform the contract.
- See also Bank guarantee, Standby letter of credit
- PFA
- Short for "please find attached", written at the top of an email that carries a file.
- See also Kindly revert
- Phase-downalso Tariff phase-out, Tariff elimination schedule
- The cutting of a trade agreement's duty in steps over several years until it reaches the final rate.
- Buying from India: Australia's ECTA phase-down ended on 1 January 2026. New Zealand's FTA removes every tariff on day one, 20 October 2026.
- Read moreSee also Staging category, Entry into force
- Piece rate
- Pay per piece made rather than per hour or day.
- Buying from India: An Indian denim maker said in 2025 that his workers are paid per piece and want to work Sundays too. Western due-diligence rules still ask about hours and weekly rest.
- Read moreSee also Social audit, Karigar
- Pilling
- Small balls of fibre that form on a fabric's surface with wear and rubbing.
- Buying from India: For knitwear our pages say to ask for a pilling test result rather than rely on the sample's feel.
- Read moreSee also GSM, Test report
- PLI schemealso Production Linked Incentive
- Indian government incentives paid on extra production in chosen sectors, such as electronics.
- Buying from India: PLI schemes sit behind India's electronics rise. Smartphone exports went from ₹1,500 crore in FY2014-15 to ₹2,00,000 crore in FY2024-25.
- Read moreSee also Make in India
- Ply
- The number of single yarns twisted together into one thread, as in single or two-ply.
- Buying from India: For towels our pages say to name the yarn in full: ring-spun or open-end, combed or carded, single or two-ply.
- Read moreSee also Denier, GSM
- Pongal
- The Tamil harvest festival in mid-January.
- Buying from India: Pongal matters in Tamil Nadu. Plan sample and production dates around it as well as Diwali.
- Read moreSee also Festival calendar, Diwali
- Port congestion
- Delay at a port when ships or containers arrive faster than the terminals can handle them.
- Buying from India: Forwarders say time on the Oceania lanes in August and September 2026 was lost at Singapore, Colombo and Port Klang, not at the Indian port.
- Read moreSee also Dwell time, Hub port
- Port of dischargealso POD, Discharge port
- The port where the container is unloaded from the last ship.
- Buying from India: While Hormuz was shut in 2026, India bookings for Jebel Ali discharged outside the Gulf, so the discharge port was not the place on the booking.
- Read moreSee also Port of loading, ETA
- Port of loadingalso POL, Port of lading
- The port where the goods are loaded onto the first ship. It is the place named in an FOB term.
- Buying from India: Name the port the feeder loads at, not the hub. In US records 86% of hand-knotted carpet shipments loaded at Nhava Sheva.
- Read moreSee also Port of discharge, Feeder vessel
- Port to portalso Pier to pier
- Covering only the sea leg, from loading port to discharge port, without the inland legs at either end.
- Buying from India: Carrier transit times are port to port. Add the Indian inland leg, the days before sailing and your own clearance.
- Read moreSee also Door to door, Transit time
- Post-clearance verificationalso Post-clearance audit, Origin verification
- A customs check of a preference or declaration after goods have cleared, sometimes years later.
- Buying from India: Under the UK-India agreement you keep records four years and the exporter five. A supplier that ignores a written request can cost you the preference.
- Read moreSee also Certificate of origin, Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
- Post-summary correctionalso PSC
- A US amendment to a filed entry summary, made before liquidation, to fix codes, values or duty.
- Buying from India: Your filer can lodge one within 300 days of entry and up to 15 days before scheduled liquidation, whichever comes first.
- Read moreSee also Entry summary, Liquidation, Protest
- Postponed VAT accountingalso PVA
- A UK scheme letting VAT-registered importers declare and reclaim import VAT on the same VAT return instead of paying at the border.
- Buying from India: UK importers report couriers still charging import VAT on Indian parcels despite PVA. Give the courier your instruction before the parcel ships.
- Read moreSee also Import VAT, EORI
- PP samplealso Pre-production sample
- A sample made in the real bulk materials and trims, approved before the buyer releases production.
- Buying from India: The first proto often comes in whatever fabric is on the shelf. Only the pre-production sample, in the bulk fabric and trims, proves the order.
- Read moreSee also Golden sample, TOP sample, Counter sample
- Pre-shipment inspectionalso PSI, Final random inspection, FRI
- A final inspection of finished, mostly packed goods, using a sampling plan, before they ship and before the balance is paid.
- Buying from India: Our pages suggest letting the pre-shipment report, checked against the golden sample, release the final payment, with the inspector drawing from more than one carton.
- Read moreSee also Acceptable quality limit, Golden sample, During production inspection
- Preferential ratealso Preference, FTA rate, Concessional rate
- The lower duty available under a trade agreement or scheme, claimed only when goods meet its origin rules and carry valid proof.
- Buying from India: Cotton tees from India pay 0% in the UK and Australia with proof, against 12% and 5% without (read 25 September 2026).
- Read moreSee also MFN rate, Rules of origin, Certificate of origin
- Prepone
- Indian English for moving something to an earlier time, the opposite of postpone.
- See also Cargo ready date
- Private label
- Goods made by a supplier and sold under the buyer's own brand, often with some changes to the product.
- Buying from India: In India this is a contract question with Indian law behind it. Put tooling ownership, approved production units and artwork approval in writing.
- Read moreSee also White label, OEM and ODM, Exclusivity
- Private limited companyalso Pvt Ltd
- An Indian company with limited liability and private shareholders, registered with the MCA.
- See also CIN, MCA, LLP, Charges register
- Product certificatealso Product certification
- A certificate covering an article and its materials, as opposed to one covering a site or a management system.
- Buying from India: "OEKO-TEX certified factory" is a misdescription, because STANDARD 100 certifies products, not factories.
- Read moreSee also OEKO-TEX, Scope certificate, ISO 9001
- Product-specific rulealso PSR, Product-specific rule of origin
- The origin rule written for one chapter, heading or subheading in a trade agreement's annex, overriding the general rule.
- Buying from India: Under ECTA, whole spices like pepper and turmeric must be wholly obtained, while Indian apparel and furniture follow the general rule.
- Read moreSee also Rules of origin, Wholly obtained, Change of tariff heading
- Production lead time
- The time from approved samples and confirmed order to finished goods ready to ship.
- Buying from India: For hand-printed goods, one Bagru studio said production "relies entirely on human hands and weather (sun drying)" (Supplier-stated).
- Read moreSee also Lead time, Capacity
- Proforma invoicealso PI, Pro forma
- A draft invoice sent before the order is final, setting out goods, price and terms, often used to pay a deposit.
- Buying from India: Check the exporter's GST record, IEC and legal name against the proforma before any money moves.
- Read moreSee also Commercial invoice, Purchase order
- Proof of origin
- Any document or evidence a trade agreement accepts to show goods originate: a certificate, an exporter's declaration or importer's knowledge.
- Buying from India: Proofs under the UK, New Zealand and Australian agreements with India are valid for 12 months from issue.
- Read moreSee also Certificate of origin, Origin declaration, Importer's knowledge
- Proposition 65also Prop 65
- A California law requiring warnings on products that expose people to listed chemicals above set levels.
- Buying from India: It reaches lead in brass and other metal goods sold in California. A Prop 65 notice is an allegation, not a ruling.
- See also Lead content, CPSIA
- Proprietorshipalso Sole proprietorship, Proprietary concern
- An Indian business owned and run by one person, with no separate legal identity.
- Buying from India: Proprietorships do not appear on MCA company data, so a missing company record is normal for one. Check GST, IEC and Udyam instead.
- Read moreSee also Partnership firm, GSTIN, Udyam
- Protest
- A formal US challenge to a customs decision or liquidation, filed by the importer or another party who paid.
- Buying from India: A protest must be filed within 180 days of liquidation (19 CFR 174.12).
- Read moreSee also Liquidation, Post-summary correction
- PSSalso Peak season surcharge
- A temporary surcharge carriers add when demand on a lane is high.
- See also GRI, BAF, Surcharge
- Pukkaalso Pucca, Pakka
- Genuine, proper or confirmed. A "pakka" order or bill is the final, firm one rather than a rough draft.
- See also Proforma invoice, Purchase order
- Purchase orderalso PO
- The buyer's formal written order stating goods, quantity, price and terms.
- Buying from India: Write the receiving account name, the payment triggers and who carries any later freight surcharge into the PO.
- Read moreSee also Proforma invoice, Sales contract
- Qualifying value contentalso QVC, Regional value content, RVC, Value addition test
- An origin test requiring a minimum share of a product's value to come from the agreement countries.
- Buying from India: A tee sewn in India from costly imported fabric can pass the heading change and still fail the value test. Ask where the fabric comes from.
- Read moreSee also Build-down method, Build-up method, Rules of origin
- RASFFalso Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed
- The EU's system for alerting member states to food and feed risks found at the border or on the market.
- Buying from India: In our count, 100 of 254 RASFF notices on Indian Ayurvedic and botanical goods were document errors. For spices, pesticide residues drove 202 of 453.
- Read moreSee also Import refusal, Safety Gate
- RCMCalso Registration-cum-Membership Certificate
- An exporter's membership certificate from an export promotion council, valid for five years.
- Buying from India: A manufacturer-exporter RCMC is the strongest public sign a firm makes what it sells. A missing RCMC is not decisive. Since 15 September 2026 consignments of ₹3 lakh FOB or less need none.
- Read moreSee also Export promotion council, Manufacturer exporter, Merchant exporter, FIEO
- REACHalso Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals
- The EU chemicals law, which restricts substances in products and requires registration of some chemicals.
- Buying from India: EU buyers face REACH limits on nickel release, lead and cadmium. The UK runs a parallel REACH system, so check what applies there.
- See also SVHC, Azo dyes, GPSR
- Ready stockalso Stock goods, In-stock
- Goods a supplier has already made and can sell now, with no production wait.
- Buying from India: Buying from a running line needs no new tooling and no development sampling, so ask the price of the running line before you commission a custom one.
- Read moreSee also Stock lot, Wholesale
- Red flag
- A sign that something in a deal needs a closer look before you go on.
- Buying from India: Traders, merchant exporters, job work and small firms are normal in India and are not red flags. Frame signals as "know who makes it and who answers for quality".
- Read moreSee also Due diligence, Verification
- Red Sea crisisalso Red Sea diversions
- Attacks on shipping near the Bab el-Mandeb strait from late 2023 that pushed many carriers round the Cape instead of through Suez.
- Buying from India: By August 2026 carriers were returning to Suez service by service. Nhava Sheva to Savannah became 28 days, 10 to 14 days faster than the Cape, said the port authority on 22 Sep 2026.
- Read moreSee also Suez routing, Cape routing, Chokepoint
- Reeferalso Refrigerated container
- A container with its own refrigeration unit, for chilled or frozen goods such as seafood.
- See also FCL
- Reported
- On our site, an evidence state for a fact a credible source reports that we have not established ourselves.
- See also Supported, Verified
- Request for informationalso RFI
- An early request asking suppliers about their capabilities and products, before asking for prices.
- See also Request for quotation
- Request for quotationalso RFQ
- A formal request asking suppliers to quote a price and terms for a defined product and quantity.
- Buying from India: Our pages add India lines first-timers leave out: which unit will make the order, the fabric or yarn origin, the Incoterm and named place, and the packaging MOQ.
- Read moreSee also Request for information, Tech pack, Minimum order quantity
- Retentionalso Retention money
- Part of the price held back by the buyer until the goods or work prove satisfactory over an agreed period.
- See also Balance payment, Performance bond
- REXalso Registered Exporter system, REX number
- The EU's register of exporters allowed to make their own statements on origin for GSP preferences.
- Buying from India: Above EUR 6,000 per shipment an Indian exporter needs a REX number. A supplier quoting a "GSP price" without one cannot deliver it.
- Read moreSee also GSP, Origin declaration
- RoDTEPalso Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products
- An Indian scheme refunding to exporters taxes built into the cost of exported goods.
- Buying from India: The rebate is worked out as a percentage of FOB value, so the FOB figure on the shipping bill matters to the exporter. Ask whether a quote assumes the rebate.
- Read moreSee also RoSCTL, Foreign Trade Policy
- Roll-overalso Rolled cargo, Rollover
- When a booked container is left behind and moved to a later sailing.
- Buying from India: Forwarders working Indian ports say most last-minute rollovers come from paperwork, a late VGM or a wrong export manifest, not a full ship.
- Read moreSee also Cut-off, VGM, Blank sailing
- RoSCTLalso Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies
- An Indian rebate for garment and made-up textile exporters, covering taxes built into their costs.
- Buying from India: Ask whether a textile quote assumes the rebate, as its status can change.
- See also RoDTEP
- Rules of originalso Origin rules, ROO
- The legal tests deciding which country a product comes from, and whether it qualifies for a trade agreement's rate.
- Buying from India: India grows its own cotton, so a Tiruppur tee knitted from Indian yarn qualifies everywhere. Imported fabric is where Indian garments fail.
- Read moreSee also Wholly obtained, Tariff shift, Qualifying value content, Cumulation
- SA8000
- A certifiable social standard for workplaces, run by Social Accountability International.
- See also Social audit, WRAP, amfori BSCI
- Safeguard dutyalso Safeguard measure
- A temporary product-wide duty or quota imposed when a surge of imports seriously injures a domestic industry.
- Read moreSee also Anti-dumping duty, Countervailing duty
- Safety Gatealso RAPEX
- The EU's rapid alert system for dangerous non-food consumer products, such as toys, electricals and clothing.
- See also RASFF, Import refusal
- Sales contractalso Contract of sale
- The agreement between buyer and seller setting out the goods, price, delivery, payment and remedies.
- Buying from India: A letter of credit has its own terms and does not rely on the sales contract (UCP 600 Article 4), so put your quality terms in both.
- Read moreSee also Purchase order, Governing law, Arbitration
- Same to same
- Indian English for identical, as in "we will make same to same as your sample".
- Buying from India: Treat it as a promise to test, not a result. Approve a golden sample and judge bulk against it.
- Read moreSee also Golden sample, Counter sample, Yes, no problem
- Sampling lead time
- The time a supplier needs to make and send samples, before bulk production can start.
- Buying from India: Approving colour by strike-off adds weeks before weaving starts, and new development adds months, not weeks.
- See also Lead time, Development charge
- Scope certificatealso SC, Certificate scope
- The certificate showing which site, processes and products a company is certified for under a standard such as GOTS.
- Buying from India: A scope certificate says a site is certified, not that your shipment is. One that lapsed last month still looks fine as a PDF, so check it on the scheme's own database.
- Read moreSee also Transaction certificate, GOTS
- Sea waybillalso Seaway bill, Express bill
- A non-negotiable transport document. The named consignee collects the goods without presenting an original.
- See also Telex release, Original bill of lading
- Sea-airalso Sea-air freight
- A route that ships goods by sea to a hub, then flies them onward. Faster than sea alone, slower than air alone.
- See also Air waybill
- Secondsalso B grade, Factory seconds
- Goods with defects that failed first quality, often sold off at a discount.
- See also Grade A, Stock lot
- Section 232
- A US law letting the President impose duties on imports judged a threat to national security, used for metals, vehicles and more.
- Buying from India: Covered Indian goods pay the 232 rate instead of the 10% Section 301 duty. Since 6 April 2026 the metals rate applies to full customs value.
- Read moreSee also Section 301, Chapter 99
- Section 301
- A US trade law letting the government impose duties in response to another country's unfair practices.
- Buying from India: Most Indian goods have paid MFN plus 10% under a Section 301 action since 24 July 2026, with no end date and no exclusion process.
- Read moreSee also Section 232, Chapter 99, IEEPA tariffs
- Self-assessed clearancealso SAC
- Australia's simple declaration for consignments of AUD 1,000 or less, generally with no duty or GST collected at the border.
- Read moreSee also Import declaration, Low-value imports
- SEZalso Special Economic Zone
- A designated area in India treated as outside customs territory, where export units get duty and tax benefits.
- Buying from India: SEZ offices are among the bodies that can issue certificates of origin for goods made in their zones.
- Read moreSee also EOU, Industrial estate
- Shade band
- A set of fabric swatches showing the range of shade variation between dye lots, approved by the buyer.
- See also Lab dip, Colourfastness
- Shipper
- The party that sends the goods and is named as such on the transport document, usually the exporter.
- Buying from India: A freight forwarder registered in Tuticorin is among the ten biggest named Indian shippers of cotton T-shirts in US records, with 373 shipments.
- Read moreSee also Consignee, Freight forwarder
- Shipping bill
- The export declaration an Indian exporter or its broker files with Indian Customs for every shipment.
- Buying from India: Its invoice number must match the one on any preferential certificate of origin since April 2026, or the preference can be denied at your border.
- Read moreSee also Let Export Order, ICEGATE, Certificate of origin
- Shipping instructionsalso SI
- The details the shipper sends the carrier to draft the bill of lading: parties, cargo description, marks, weights and seal numbers.
- See also SI cut-off, Bill of lading
- Shrinkage
- How much a fabric or garment shrinks after washing, measured in percent for length and width.
- Buying from India: One production agent says rushed small orders cut straight off the roll without resting leave 5 to 8% shrinkage after the first wash. Set a maximum after a stated wash method and tie a payment to it.
- Read moreSee also GSM, Colourfastness
- SI cut-offalso Documentation cut-off, Doc cut-off
- The deadline for sending the carrier the shipping instructions used to draft the bill of lading.
- Read moreSee also Shipping instructions, Cut-off, VGM
- Sightalso At sight, Sight LC
- Payable as soon as compliant documents are presented, rather than on a later date.
- See also Usance, Letter of credit
- Sister concernalso Group company, Associate concern
- A separate business owned by the same family or promoters as another.
- Buying from India: Common in Indian family groups that run several units. A certificate held by a sister concern at its own address is a light signal we tag. Ask whether it covers the unit making your order.
- Read moreSee also PAN, LLP, Job work
- SMETAalso Sedex, Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit
- An ethical trade audit method shared through the Sedex platform. It produces an audit report, not a certificate.
- Buying from India: "Sedex certified" describes something that doesn't exist, because SMETA is an audit method (our research of 23 September 2026).
- Read moreSee also Social audit, amfori BSCI
- An audit of a factory's labour, health, safety and wage practices against a code.
- Buying from India: Buyers often ask Indian textile makers for GOTS or OEKO-TEX on the product and a social audit such as BSCI, Sedex or WRAP on the factory. These are different kinds of document.
- Read moreSee also amfori BSCI, SMETA, WRAP, SA8000
- Sourcing agent
- A person or firm that finds suppliers, handles samples and follows orders for a buyer, for a fee or commission.
- Buying from India: How an agent is paid shapes the advice. One India-based agent wrote that "Vendors here will rarely say no directly", which is why someone reading between the lines helps.
- Read moreSee also Buying agent, Buying house
- Spec sheetalso Specification sheet, Product spec
- A document listing a product's measurable requirements, such as size, weight, materials and tolerances.
- Buying from India: "Soft hand feel" survives the trip badly, while "GSM 180, plus or minus 5, tested before washing" survives it fine. Give every measurement a plus and a minus.
- Read moreSee also Tech pack, Bill of materials
- Specific duty
- A duty charged as a fixed amount per unit, such as per kilo or per item, rather than a percentage of value.
- Buying from India: The EU's flat €3 per item on consignments up to €150, from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028, works like a specific duty on parcels from India.
- Read moreSee also Ad valorem duty, IOSS
- Spices Board
- The Indian commodity board that registers spice exporters and promotes the trade.
- Buying from India: Your exporter must hold Spices Board registration. The Board runs the World Spice Congress and can issue certificates of origin for spices.
- Read moreSee also Commodity board, FSSAI, AGMARK
- Staging categoryalso Staging, Tariff staging
- The code in a trade agreement's schedule that says how fast duty on a tariff line falls, such as day one or over five years.
- Buying from India: Year 1 ends on 31 December however late an agreement starts. That is why ECTA's five-year lines were free from 1 January 2026.
- Read moreSee also Phase-down, Entry into force
- Standby letter of creditalso SBLC, Standby LC
- A letter of credit that pays only if its customer fails to pay or perform, used like a guarantee.
- See also Bank guarantee, Letter of credit
- Star Export Housealso Export house, Status holder
- A DGFT status from One Star to Five Star, given to exporters for their export performance.
- Buying from India: A Two Star firm has exported at least US$15 million. Ask for the DGFT certificate whenever you hear the claim.
- Read moreSee also DGFT, Foreign Trade Policy
- Status holder
- An exporter certified by its government with recognised status, allowed to declare origin itself under some agreements.
- Buying from India: Under the NZ-India FTA, Indian status holders may declare origin, but only once an electronic checking system exists. Plan on a certificate at the start.
- Read moreSee also Origin declaration, Certificate of origin
- Stock lotalso Surplus, Overruns, Closeouts
- Leftover goods from cancelled orders, overruns or past seasons, sold in bulk as they are.
- Buying from India: Export surplus that still carries brand logos has been sold on through brokers around Tiruppur (buyer forums, 2021). Buy unbranded surplus if you buy it at all, and put "no third-party marks" in your own PO.
- Read moreSee also Ready stock, Seconds
- Strike-off
- A short test print of a design on the real fabric, approved for colour and detail before bulk printing.
- Buying from India: Approve colour by strike-off or yarn pom, never by photo. It adds weeks before weaving starts, and on jute the texture spreads ink.
- Read moreSee also Lab dip, Shade band
- Stuffingalso Vanning, Container loading
- Loading goods into a container, at the factory, an inland depot or a container freight station.
- Buying from India: Write the stuffing point into the term. For LCL from India it may not be possible at the ICD, so get the forwarder to confirm it first.
- Read moreSee also De-stuffing, Container seal, ICD
- Substantial transformation
- Processing that turns inputs into a new product with a new name, character or use, giving it the processing country's origin.
- Buying from India: Agreements rarely use the phrase. They write the idea as tariff-shift and value rules, and the last production step must happen in India.
- Read moreSee also Tariff shift, Minimal operations, Rules of origin
- Suez routingalso Suez Canal routing
- Sending ships between Asia and Europe or the US East Coast through the Suez Canal and Red Sea, the shorter path.
- Buying from India: No carrier schedule we read says Suez or Cape, so ask which routing your sailing uses. It moves your ETA by a week or two.
- Read moreSee also Cape routing, Red Sea crisis
- Supplier audit
- A structured review of a supplier's operations, quality systems, records and compliance.
- See also Factory audit, Social audit, Due diligence
- Supplier scorecard
- A regular rating of a supplier against agreed measures such as quality, delivery and responsiveness.
- Buying from India: Step 5 of our China plus one guide uses a scorecard for a pilot order.
- Read moreSee also Key performance indicator, On time in full
- Supplier-stated
- On our site, an evidence state for information the business supplied about itself.
- See also Verified, Reported
- Supported
- On our site, an evidence state for a claim that is reasonably supported but not fully established on its own.
- See also Verified, Reported
- Surchargealso Accessorial charge
- Any charge a carrier adds on top of the base freight, for fuel, season, risk, equipment or port conditions.
- See also BAF, PSS, War-risk surcharge, THC
- SVHCalso Substances of very high concern, Candidate List
- Chemicals listed under REACH as of very high concern, which trigger information duties when present in articles above a set level.
- See also REACH
- SWIFTalso SWIFT code, BIC
- The network banks use to send payment messages, and the code that identifies each bank on it.
- See also Telegraphic transfer
- TARIC
- The EU's integrated tariff database, which shows every duty, preference and measure on each CN code.
- Buying from India: Run your CN code in TARIC to confirm whether India still has GSP on your line before you lodge.
- Read moreSee also CN code, GSP
- Tariff linealso National tariff line, Tariff item
- The full national code under the HS6 where a country sets its duty rate, eight to ten digits long.
- Buying from India: Write the full national line on every PO line next to the description, so your broker declares the code you priced.
- Read moreSee also HS code, HS6, Commodity code, HTS
- Tariff shiftalso Change in tariff classification, CTC
- An origin test met when imported inputs change tariff code during production. Only imported inputs need to shift.
- Buying from India: Indian inputs never need to shift, so the working document is the maker's bill of materials with each input's code and origin.
- Read moreSee also Change of tariff heading, Change of tariff subheading, Change of chapter
- Tea Boardalso Tea Board of India
- The Indian commodity board that regulates and promotes tea, including auctions and exports.
- Buying from India: The Tea Board publishes region-wise export figures and the Tea (Marketing) Control Order, which sets how much tea goes through auction.
- Read moreSee also Commodity board
- Tech packalso Technical package
- A full product document with drawings, measurements, materials, colours, construction and labelling, sent to the maker.
- Buying from India: Our pages suggest sending a versioned tech pack and keeping the master files, and approving in writing by version number.
- Read moreSee also Spec sheet, Bill of materials, Request for quotation
- Telegraphic transferalso T/T, TT, Wire transfer, Bank transfer
- An electronic bank-to-bank payment, the usual way to pay an overseas supplier.
- Buying from India: A wire cannot be pulled back once it lands. Confirm any change of bank details by phone on a number you already held.
- Read moreSee also SWIFT, Advance payment, Chargeback
- Telex releasealso Surrendered bill of lading, Surrender B/L
- The shipper returns the original bills at origin, and the carrier tells its destination office to release the cargo without them.
- See also Original bill of lading, Sea waybill
- Test reportalso Lab report
- The document from a testing lab giving the sample, methods, results and pass or fail against stated limits.
- Buying from India: Our pages suggest having lab samples drawn from bulk by your inspector, not picked by the factory, and tying the balance to a passing report.
- Read moreSee also Third-party lab
- TEUalso Twenty-foot equivalent unit, 20-foot container
- The standard unit for counting containers, equal to one 20-foot box.
- Buying from India: India's government-owned ports moved 14.92 million TEU in FY2025-26, and Nhava Sheva alone did 8.17 million.
- Read moreSee also FEU, FCL
- Texprocilalso Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council
- India's export promotion council for cotton yarn, fabrics and made-ups.
- Buying from India: Texprocil's member directory needs a login, unlike AEPC's.
- See also Export promotion council, AEPC
- THCalso Terminal handling charge
- A charge for handling the container at the port terminal, billed at origin and destination.
- Buying from India: "FOB India" does not cap origin charges, and terminal handling and documentation lines can still land on you, so ask what each option adds.
- Read moreSee also Surcharge, Demurrage
- Third-party labalso Independent lab, Accredited lab
- A testing laboratory independent of buyer and seller, often accredited for the methods it runs.
- See also Test report, Children's Product Certificate
- Third-party payment
- A payment made by someone other than the buyer named on the invoice, such as a group company or financier.
- Buying from India: Under the RBI rules in force from 1 October 2026 it is allowed only where the exporter's bank is satisfied the deal is genuine. Agree it before the PO.
- Read moreSee also FEMA, AD bank
- Thread count
- The number of threads per square inch in a woven fabric, often quoted for bed linen.
- Buying from India: Counting methods differ, so a quote well below others is a question about thread count. If you sell on it, write the counting method next to the number and keep the lab report.
- Read moreSee also GSM
- Timber legalityalso Illegal logging due diligence, UKTR, EUTR
- Laws that make importers check wood in their goods was legally harvested and traded, through due diligence before import.
- Buying from India: Indian trade names like "sheesham" and "teak" are used loosely. Put the Latin name of every wood part, plywood included, in the PO.
- Read moreSee also EUDR, Lacey Act, CITES permit
- Tolerancealso De minimis tolerance, De minimis (origin)
- An origin rule forgiving a small share of imported material that fails the tariff shift.
- Buying from India: It never rescues a failed value test. A Chinese zip on an Indian bag can be forgiven for the heading change and still drag the value share down.
- Read moreSee also Tariff shift, Qualifying value content
- Tooling
- The moulds, dies, jigs and patterns made to produce a specific product, often paid for by the buyer.
- Buying from India: We found no Indian court ruling on tooling ownership, so it's a matter of contract. Write it out: "The formulation, artwork, patterns and tooling created under this order belong to the buyer."
- Read moreSee also Mould, Development charge, Exclusivity
- TOP samplealso Top of production sample
- Pieces taken from the first bulk production run and sent to the buyer to confirm bulk matches the approved sample.
- See also PP sample, Golden sample
- Towns of Export Excellencealso TEE
- Indian towns named by DGFT for high exports of one product, such as Tiruppur for knitwear.
- Buying from India: The list dated 6 April 2023 names 42 towns. The status gives local exporters priority access to some export-promotion funds.
- Read moreSee also Cluster, ODOP, DGFT
- Trade fairalso Trade show, Expo
- An event where suppliers in an industry show products to buyers, often with programmes for overseas visitors.
- Read moreSee also Request for quotation
- TradeIndia
- An Indian online business-to-business directory where sellers list products and buyers post enquiries.
- See also IndiaMART
- Transaction certificatealso TC
- A certificate confirming that one specific shipment of goods is certified under a standard such as GOTS.
- Buying from India: From 1 January 2027 a GOTS transaction certificate must name a seller with its own scope certificate. A trader showing you the mill's certificate has shown you the mill is certified, not your goods.
- Read moreSee also Scope certificate, GOTS
- Transaction value
- The price actually paid or payable for the goods, the main method customs uses to set customs value.
- Buying from India: A supplier suggesting part cash, part invoice to cut duty is proposing customs fraud, and it lands on the importer. Put the true price on the invoice.
- Read moreSee also Customs value, FOB valuation
- Transhipmentalso Transshipment, T/S
- Moving a container from one ship to another at a hub port on the way.
- Buying from India: Every sailing we read from India to Australia and New Zealand changed ship at Singapore, Port Klang, Colombo or Tanjung Pelepas, so the hub sets your real transit time.
- Read moreSee also Feeder vessel, Hub port, Direct service
- Transit time
- The days a shipment takes between two points. Carrier figures are usually port to port.
- Buying from India: Plan on the top of the carrier's range, not the median. Nhava Sheva to Fremantle ran 15 to 52 days over six weeks of sailings.
- Read moreSee also Port to port, ETA, Transhipment
- Transporter
- An Indian road haulage firm that moves goods by truck between cities, often from its own depot or godown.
- Buying from India: Under godown delivery you collect from the transporter's depot, and under FOR dispatching station the seller hands goods to the transporter's godown nearest the factory.
- Read moreSee also Godown, Door delivery, FOR, Inland haul
- Tuticorinalso V.O. Chidambaranar Port, Thoothukudi
- A port at the southern tip of India serving Tiruppur, Karur, Madurai and the deep south.
- Buying from India: Every routing we read from Tuticorin transshipped, mainly at Colombo (23 Sep 2026). It is at its best for UK and EU buyers.
- Read moreSee also Feeder vessel, Hub port
- UCP 600also Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits
- The ICC rules that govern most letters of credit worldwide.
- Read moreSee also Letter of credit, Discrepancy, URC 522
- Udyamalso Udyam registration, Udyog Aadhaar
- India's self-declared register of micro, small and medium businesses.
- Buying from India: Exports are left out of the turnover test, so "Micro" says nothing about export scale. It does cap machinery, so a Micro unit claiming heavy in-house dyeing or forging usually uses a partner unit.
- Read moreSee also MSME, Job work, Crore
- UFLPAalso Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act
- A US law presuming goods made wholly or partly in Xinjiang were made with forced labour and barring their import.
- Buying from India: No India-located entities are on the list, but Indian textiles with Chinese cotton or yarn carry exposure. Ask for input origin in writing.
- Read moreSee also Section 301
- UKCAalso UK Conformity Assessed
- The UK product marking for goods in scope of certain safety laws in Great Britain.
- Buying from India: Toys sold in Great Britain follow the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, with UKCA or CE marking and a GB responsible business.
- Read moreSee also CE marking
- UN/LOCODEalso UN location code, Port code
- A five-letter code for ports and places, two letters for the country and three for the place, used on schedules and documents.
- Buying from India: Nhava Sheva's code is INNSA, which is what you see in carrier schedules.
- Read moreSee also JNPA, Port of loading
- Unknown
- On our site, an evidence state meaning the evidence is too thin, or we haven't researched it yet.
- See also Not found
- URC 522also Uniform Rules for Collections
- The ICC rules that govern documentary collections such as D/P and D/A.
- Read moreSee also Documentary collection, UCP 600
- Usancealso Usance LC, Deferred payment
- A credit period, so payment falls due a set number of days after sight or shipment.
- See also Sight, Documents against acceptance, Bill of exchange
- Verificationalso Supplier verification
- Checking that a supplier is who it says it is and that its claims hold, against independent records.
- Buying from India: Our pages suggest passing or failing five official registry checks (such as GST and IEC) before any RFQ. Paid listing status is never verification.
- Read moreSee also Due diligence, Verified, Factory audit
- Verified
- On our site, the strongest evidence state: strongly supported by authoritative evidence or several credible sources.
- See also Supported, Reported, Supplier-stated
- VGMalso Verified gross mass
- The certified total weight of a packed container, which the shipper must declare before loading under the SOLAS convention.
- Buying from India: Forwarders say a late VGM is one of the commonest reasons Indian boxes get rolled, so the VGM cut-off belongs in your PO.
- Read moreSee also Cut-off, Roll-over
- War-risk surchargealso War risk surcharge, WRS
- An extra charge carriers add for sailing through or near conflict zones.
- Buying from India: An Indian exporter reported a war-risk surcharge on a container that had already sailed when Gulf routes shut in 2026.
- Read moreSee also Surcharge, Chokepoint, Cargo insurance
- White label
- A standard product a supplier makes for many buyers, each selling it under their own brand with no product changes.
- Read moreSee also Private label, Ready stock
- Wholesale
- Buying a supplier's existing products in bulk to resell as they are, under the maker's brand or none.
- Read moreSee also Ready stock, Private label
- Wholly obtainedalso WO
- Goods entirely grown, mined, fished or raised in one country, with no imported material beyond a tiny tolerance.
- Buying from India: Whole turmeric from Erode is wholly obtained. NZ-India and ECTA require whole spices such as pepper and turmeric to be wholly obtained.
- Read moreSee also Rules of origin, Product-specific rule
- With or without bill
- An offer to sell or transport goods either with a tax invoice or off the books, for cash.
- Buying from India: It means walk away. Unbilled goods can't be exported legally, so there is no export paperwork behind them.
- Read moreSee also Hawala, GST, E-way bill
- WRAPalso Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production
- A certification programme for apparel and footwear factories covering labour, health, safety and environment.
- Buying from India: WRAP certifies facilities for one to two years, and certificates can be checked on WRAP's verify page.
- See also Social audit, SA8000
- Yes, no problem
- The answer you will often hear to a hard request. It usually means "we will try", not "this is solved".
- Buying from India: Makers rarely say no directly, out of politeness, optimism and fear of losing the order. Ask "when can you send me one?" instead of "can you do this?", and let a sample prove it.
- Read moreSee also Same to same, Golden sample