Importing From India to Japan

Japan's own customs statistics tell a quiet story about India. In 2025 Japan imported about US$7 billion of Indian goods, and when we lined those records up against what India says it shipped, the two matched almost exactly, with Japan's figure 1.14 times India's (our mirror-trade analysis, UN Comtrade, 2022 to 2025). That's the normal gap between a CIF and an FOB value. It means Indian goods for Japan go straight there, not through a Singapore or Dubai hub, and the paperwork has fewer places to go wrong.

That's good news, because Japan is strict about paperwork at the moment it counts. This page covers the one thing that decides whether you get the CEPA rate - having the certificate in the file when you declare - plus the rule the goods have to meet and what India actually sells to Japan. The caveat is that we haven't read Japan's CEPA schedule line by line, so check your own rate.

Last researched 28 September 2026 · Next review 1 December 2026 · Written by SourcingFrom

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

1. The Certificate Has to Be There on the Day

The India-Japan CEPA was signed in February 2011 and entered into force in August 2011 (Japan Customs, Outline of the Japan-India EPA (opens in a new tab)). To get its rate, the proof of origin goes to customs with the import declaration. Japan Customs says so plainly, and allows a late submission only for unavoidable events such as an earthquake, or when the goods were released before the permit under an approved scheme (Japan Customs, origin certification procedures (opens in a new tab)).

Compare that with Korea, which gives an importer a year after declaration to claim (see South Korea). In Japan, a certificate that arrives on the next courier is usually a certificate that arrives too late. So the practical rule for a Japanese buyer is simple. Don't let the goods be declared until the certificate is in your broker's hands, and tell the supplier that before the ship sails, not after.

Two more numbers from the same Japan Customs page. The certificate is valid for one year from issue. And for a consignment with a total customs value of 200,000 yen or less, you don't need to submit origin documents at all. That's useful for samples and small first orders, as long as they really are separate consignments.

2. The Rule the Goods Have to Meet

A good qualifies with a qualifying value content of at least 35% and a change of tariff classification at the six-digit level, unless a product-specific rule says otherwise (IJCEPA Basic Agreement, Articles 28 to 30 (opens in a new tab)). The certificate comes from a competent governmental authority in India, not from the exporter (Implementing Procedures (opens in a new tab)).

For most made-in-India apparel, home textiles, leather goods and jewellery, 35% is a low bar, as long as the fabric or main input is Indian or changes subheading in India. It becomes a real bar when a supplier assembles imported parts, and Chinese components are the usual way it fails. Ask where the inputs come from at the RFQ stage and ask which rule the certificate will cite. The Indian agency list and the April 2026 invoice-matching rule are on India's trade agreements.

3. Clearing the Goods

The importer, or usually a customs broker, declares the goods and gets an import permit. The file holds the declaration (form C-5020), the invoice, the bill of lading or air waybill and, where a preferential rate is claimed, the certificate of origin (Japan Customs, import procedures (opens in a new tab)). Consumption tax applies at import at 10%, or 8% on reduced-rate goods (Japan Customs, tariff and taxes (opens in a new tab)).

A private tracker describes the agreement as under "modernisation" (India Briefing tracker, April 2026 (opens in a new tab)), but we found no official dated status for those talks. Nothing in them changes what you can claim today.

4. What India Actually Sells to Japan

The CEPA has been in force for fifteen years and India is still a small supplier to Japan, at under 1% of its imports. The consumer goods our readers buy sit well down the list. That's not a reason to avoid India. It does mean you're less likely to find a supplier who has done a hundred Japan certificates, so ask how many they've issued before you rely on one.

Next Step

Run the landed cost calculator with your CEPA rate once your broker confirms it. Every agreement's status is on India's trade agreements. Making sure the certificate is issued right and reaches Japan before the goods do is where SourcingSync (opens in a new tab) helps.