Importing From India to South Korea

When India and Korea sat down in New Delhi in May 2026 for the twelfth round of talks to upgrade their CEPA, the official summary said out loud what the trade figures show - India's bilateral deficit has kept widening since the agreement came into force in 2010 (KNN India, May 2026 (opens in a new tab)). Korea sells India far more than it buys. That's the backdrop for a Korean importer of Indian goods, and it's mostly good news for you, because India wants this lane to grow.

This page covers what's specific to Korea - the rule, a claim window that's more forgiving than Japan's, and where the upgrade talks stand. APTA, the other agreement Korea and India share, is explained once on the APTA page. The caveat - we haven't read Korea's CEPA schedule line by line, so confirm your own rate.

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. The Rule, and Why 35% Isn't Your Number

Unless a product-specific rule in Annex 3-A says otherwise, a good qualifies when its regional value content is at least 35% of FOB and it changes tariff subheading at six digits (India-Korea CEPA text (opens in a new tab)). Many product-specific rules are stricter, for example a change of heading plus 40%. So 35% is the floor, not necessarily your rule. Ask the supplier which Annex 3-A rule the certificate will cite.

Imported inputs, often Chinese yarn, fabric or components, are the usual reason an Indian good fails a 35 to 40% test. Ask where the inputs came from before you order, not after the agency refuses the certificate. The certificate is issued by a government-designated authority in India, with no self-declaration under this agreement (same text).

2. Korea Gives You a Year to Claim

This is the most useful Korea-specific fact on this page. If your origin documents weren't ready when the import declaration was accepted, you can claim the preferential rate afterwards, within one year of acceptance, and get the difference back through a correction (Korea Customs Service, FTA portal (opens in a new tab)).

Japan doesn't work that way. There, the certificate has to be in the file at declaration (see Japan). In Korea, a certificate that arrives a week after the goods is an administrative job, not a lost preference. Don't treat that as permission to be sloppy, though. Paying the full duty up front ties up cash, and a late certificate that was issued against the wrong invoice number still fails.

3. The Upgrade Talks

The twelfth round ran from 25 to 27 May 2026 and covered trade in goods, rules of origin and origin procedures, among other chapters (same KNN report). It followed a joint declaration signed on 20 April 2026 by the two trade ministers to resume and speed up the talks. Press reports put the target at the first half of 2027, and a thirteenth round was reported for Seoul in August 2026. We haven't found an official text for either.

What does that mean for you now? Nothing changes until an upgraded agreement is signed and in force. Rules of origin are on the table, so the rule above could change, but price on today's text.

4. What Korea Buys From India

The trade is industrial - fuels, chemicals, aluminium. India supplies three quarters of Korea's lead imports and almost none of its finished clothing. Cotton yarn and fabric is Korea's twelfth-largest chapter from India, and finished apparel, home textiles and leather goods aren't in the top fifteen. If you're importing those, you're building a lane Korean statistics show is thin today. That's not a reason not to. It's a reason to check the CEPA rate on your line yourself and to ask how many Korea certificates your supplier has issued.

No carrier schedule we read listed Busan as a destination from India. It appeared only as a relay hub for Mundra to Los Angeles, so ask your forwarder how the box gets to Korea.

Next Step

Run the landed cost calculator once your broker confirms the CEPA rate. The APTA fallback is on the APTA page, and every agreement's status is on India's trade agreements. If you'd like the input origin checked and the certificate issued correctly at the Indian end, SourcingSync (opens in a new tab) does exactly that.