Importing From India to Chile

Chile's customs service explains its import taxes with a simple sum. On goods worth US$1,000 CIF you pay US$60 of duty at 6%, then US$201.40 of VAT at 19% on the CIF value plus the duty (Servicio Nacional de Aduanas (opens in a new tab)). Look at those two numbers side by side. The VAT is more than three times the duty, and no trade agreement touches the VAT.

That's the frame for the India-Chile preferential trade agreement. It exists, it was widened in 2017, and it can take your duty down on the lines it covers. But the most it can ever save you is six points, and it asks for more paperwork than most Indian agreements. This page helps you decide when that's worth it. The caveat - we haven't read the line list in Chile's schedule, so we can't tell you which products it covers.

Last researched 28 September 2026 · Next review 24 November 2026 · Written by SourcingFrom

The decision in brief is in the playbook: Exporting and trade → /india/#trade.

1. What Six Points Is Worth to You

A flat 6% on most lines means Chile is already one of the easier markets for Indian goods, agreement or not. So the PTA question is a small one. On a low-value, high-volume order, like cotton basics or home textiles, six points can be most of your margin and worth the effort. On a one-off sample shipment, or a supplier who has never issued a Chile certificate, it probably isn't. The first mistake on a new certificate costs more than the duty it saves.

The PTA is dated 20 January 2005 on India's Commerce Ministry listing, and an expansion package widened it with Chile's schedule, product-specific rules (Annex C1) and new proof-of-origin rules (Annex C2) in 2017 (commerce.gov.in, expansion of the India-Chile PTA (opens in a new tab)). Find your line in Chile's schedule there, or ask your broker, before you count on a margin.

2. Two Documents, and Who Has to Sign Them

This is the Chile-specific point, and it catches people. The certificate of origin is signed and issued by Indian government offices, and the producer must also submit a sworn declaration that the goods meet the origin criteria (expansion package, 2017 amendment rules). If you buy through a merchant exporter or a trading house, the sworn declaration still comes from the factory. That's a normal way to buy from India. It just means the trader has to be willing to name the maker and get their signature, and some would rather not.

So ask early. If the supplier is a trader, ask whether the factory will sign the declaration. If the answer is vague, price at 6% and move on. The general origin rule in the 2007 base rules wasn't in the document we could read, so ask the issuing agency which rule it applied.

3. The CEPA Is Coming, Maybe

India and Chile have held four rounds of CEPA talks, the latest in New Delhi in December 2025 (News On AIR, 9 December 2025 (opens in a new tab)). After a meeting in Santiago on 26 August 2026, both sides said they want to conclude by the end of 2026 (Business Standard, 30 August 2026 (opens in a new tab)). The talks centre on critical minerals, lithium and copper, which is Chile selling to India, not the other way round. Nothing is signed, so price on the PTA today and don't plan a range around a CEPA rate.

No carrier schedule we read covered Indian ports to Chile, so expect a transhipment and ask your forwarder to name the hub.

Next Step

Every Indian agreement's status is on India's trade agreements. Getting a trader and a factory to line up behind one certificate is fiddly work at the Indian end, and SourcingSync (opens in a new tab) can do it for you.