New Delhi [India], September 14 (ANI): India and the MERCOSUR bloc signed the First Additional Protocol to the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement to facilitate the acceptance of electronic Certificates of Origin, establishing a framework to streamline customs operations and implement paperless documentation between both jurisdictions.

According to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the protocol amends Article 16 of Annex III governing Rules of Origin under the preferential trade pact. The amendment provides that 'Certificates of Origin issued in electronic format shall have the same legal validity and identical value as Certificates of Origin issued in paper format.'

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal signed the instrument on behalf of the Government of India. Ambassador of Uruguay to India Alberto Guani and Ambassador of Paraguay to India Fleming Raul Duarte Ramos signed the document on behalf of their respective nations.

The signing took place in the presence of Mario Lubetkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, who attended the exercise of the Pro Tempore Presidency of MERCOSUR, alongside representatives from the embassies of Argentina and Brazil.

Under the revised terms, authorities mandated that 'such electronic Certificates of Origin will be required to be issued and electronically signed in accordance with the respective domestic legislation of the Parties, by duly authorised entities and officials.'

The institutional arrangement followed deliberate negotiations held within the Joint Administrative Committee of the India-MERCOSUR pact. At its fourth meeting on November 27, 2025, both parties supported updating the existing provisions to permit electronic certification. The committee subsequently adopted the formal text of the Additional Protocol by mutual consent during its fifth meeting on April 9, 2026.

The development represents a procedural evolution of the bilateral framework originally signed on January 25, 2004, which entered into force on June 1, 2009. Under the operational trade mechanism, India offers preferential tariff concessions on 450 tariff lines, while the MERCOSUR countries provide tariff concessions covering 452 lines.

Officials noted that the reform seeks to 'facilitate the transition towards digital and paperless trade documentation, reduce transaction costs and processing time associated with the issuance and verification of Certificates of Origin, and improve the efficiency of preferential trade under the existing India-MERCOSUR PTA.'

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. (ANI)