Importing From India to South Asia (SAFTA)

Here's a number that surprised us. When we counted US bill-of-lading records for knit T-shirts from India, 35% of them had loaded at Colombo, against 33% at Nhava Sheva, India's own biggest container port (US bill-of-lading data, our count, 2015 to September 2026, US sea imports only). A Tiruppur order for an American brand quite often leaves Asia from Sri Lanka.

That tells you how tightly South Asia's trade is knitted together, and it's why the South Asian Free Trade Area matters beyond its own members. This page is for buyers in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Pakistan and Afghanistan who want to know what SAFTA gives them on Indian goods. The caveat is a big one - the agreement is in force on paper for all seven, but for Pakistan and Afghanistan, trade with India isn't open in any practical sense in 2026.

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. This is the bloc page. Each member's page holds its own status.

1. The Origin Rule Is Public, Which Is Rare

Most Indian agreement texts are scans or behind broken links. SAFTA's we could read in full from the official site (SAFTA text, commerce.gov.in (opens in a new tab)), so here it is plainly.

A product qualifies if it changes tariff heading and the non-originating content stays at or under 60% of the FOB value, with the final process in the exporting country. Least-developed members get 10 percentage points more room, and Sri Lanka gets 5. Regional cumulation lets you count SAARC inputs, if at least 50% of the content is from the region and at least 20% from the exporting member. Some lines carry their own rule in Annex A, such as "change of subheading and 30%". The proof is a certificate of origin from an authority the exporting government designates. For Indian goods that's the usual agency list on Exporting from India.

2. Often a Bilateral Deal Beats SAFTA

Three members have their own arrangement with India, and that's usually the better route.

Sri Lanka's FTA with India has run since 2000. Its rule allows up to 65% non-originating content, so 35% value added, with a designated-authority certificate (India-Sri Lanka FTA text (opens in a new tab)). Nepal has its own Treaty of Trade from 27 October 2009, renewed automatically in October 2023 for a term to October 2030 (treaty text (opens in a new tab), Embassy of India, Kathmandu (opens in a new tab)). Bhutan has an Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit signed on 12 November 2016 (agreement text (opens in a new tab)). Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are also in APTA.

So before you ask a supplier for a SAFTA certificate, ask which agreement it normally ships your market under. If it has shipped to Colombo under the bilateral FTA for years then that's the certificate it knows how to get right.

3. Status Member by Member

SAFTA and its predecessor SAPTA appear on India's list of "Agreements already concluded" (commerce.gov.in listing, read 23 September 2026 (opens in a new tab)), which doesn't separate working agreements from dormant ones. So here's what we could confirm for each.

Bangladesh has SAFTA and APTA both in force (DGFT Appendix 2A (opens in a new tab), read 25 September 2026). It's due to graduate from least-developed status on 24 November 2026 (UN DESA (opens in a new tab)), and when it does, the extra 10 points of LDC room under the origin rule should stop applying to goods exported from Bangladesh. That affects Bangladeshi exporters more than Bangladeshi importers of Indian goods.

The Maldives applies SAFTA with a sensitive list of 170 lines, revised in February 2021 (WTO Trade Policy Review, Maldives, 2024 (opens in a new tab)). Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan trade under the bilateral routes above. Pakistan has SAFTA on paper, but bilateral trade with India is restricted. Afghanistan has SAFTA and a 2003 PTA, which DGFT still lists as operational, but we found no official source on whether it works after 2021. Check with your broker before you ship. We'd rather say we don't know than guess at a border.

4. Back to Colombo

That 35% figure is the reason this page talks about hubs as well as tariffs. Colombo handles a good share of Indian cargo bound for the US West Coast and Australia, and when it's congested, Indian shipments wait there. If you import into Sri Lanka, you're buying next to one of India's own export gateways, which makes short lead times realistic. If you're somewhere else in South Asia, your nearest route may run through a third country, so ask your forwarder before you promise dates.

Open your country's page - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka.

Next Step

Every Indian agreement is on India's trade agreements.