India and MERCOSUR Sign First Additional Protocol to Preferential Trade Agreement to Enable Electronic Certificates of Origin

Key facts

• India and the MERCOSUR bloc signed the First Additional Protocol to the India–MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in New Delhi on September 14, 2026, to facilitate acceptance of electronic Certificates of Origin and paperless trade documentation.
• The protocol amends Article 16 of Annex III governing Rules of Origin under the PTA, providing that Certificates of Origin issued in electronic format have the same legal validity and identical value as paper-format Certificates of Origin.
• Electronic Certificates of Origin must be issued and electronically signed in accordance with the respective domestic legislation of the parties by duly authorised entities and officials.
• Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal signed the instrument on behalf of India, while Uruguay's Ambassador to India Alberto Guani and Paraguay's Ambassador to India Fleming Raul Duarte Ramos signed for their respective nations.
• The signing took place in the presence of Uruguay's Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin, who attended the exercise of the Pro Tempore Presidency of MERCOSUR, alongside representatives from the embassies of Argentina and Brazil.
• The Joint Administrative Committee of the India–MERCOSUR PTA supported the update permitting electronic certification at its fourth meeting on November 27, 2025, and adopted the formal text of the Additional Protocol at its fifth meeting on April 9, 2026.
• The original India–MERCOSUR PTA was signed on January 25, 2004, and entered into force on June 1, 2009.
• Under the PTA, India offers preferential tariff concessions on 450 tariff lines, while MERCOSUR countries provide tariff concessions on 452 tariff lines.
• The First Additional Protocol will formally enter into force once India and the respective MERCOSUR member states conclude their domestic ratification procedures and exchange legal notifications.