Professional Documents
Culture Documents
India
Labeling Requirements
Licensing
Required Documents
Import Procedures
Marketing Samples
Taxes/Tariffs
Contacts
LABELING REQUIREMENTS
The following must be present on all labels of products being imported into India (in English):
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LICENSING
Items not classified as either prohibited or restricted in the ITC (Indian Trade
Classification) (HS), are freely permitted without the need to obtain a license. To make
sure that your product is not prohibited or restricted please contact an importer and/or
read through the ITC (HS) Classification of Export and Import Items under the section
titled, Customs Duty Calculator Schedule.
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REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
The following is a list of some of the documents that are required when importing into India:
Importers must provide an Import Declaration in the prescribed bill of entry format,
disclosing the value of the imported goods. This must be provided along with any import
license and phytosanitary certificate that complies with the PFA (Prevention of Food
Adulteration Act; in case of agricultural products), and other documents such as sales
invoices and freight and insurance certificates. All products are required to be inspected
prior to clearance.
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MARKETING SAMPLES
U.S. firms that plan to participate in international trade shows in India should contact the
U.S. Embassy's commercial service for assistance with importing exhibits duty-free into
India.
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TAXES/TARIFFS
The Indian customs classification on tariff items follows the Harmonized Commodity Description and
Coding System (Harmonized System).
For the most current tariffs and taxes applied to imported products for this country, please
visit export.gov. Please ensure you have a 10-digit HS classification code in order to obtain tariff
information. Also see the Census Bureau’s Schedule B search function
( https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedules/b/index.html), which allows you to classify your
product according to United States export codes. Simply click "Search" and enter the keyword (i.e.
beer) that best describes your product.
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CONTACTS
Embassy of India Ministry of Commerce
2107 Massachusetts Ave., NW Udyog Bhavan
Washington, D.C. New Delhi - 110 011
Tel: 202-939-7000 Phone: (91-11)23016262
Fax: 202-265-4351 Fax: (91-11)23016225
Web: http://www.indianembassy.org E-mail: dgft@ub.nic.in
Website: http://dgft.delhi.nic.in/
GS1 India U.S. Embassy
330, 2nd Floor, "C" Wing Shantipath, Chanakyapuri
August Kranti Bhawan New Delhi, 110021
Bhikaji Cama Place Tel: 91-11-2419-8000
New Delhi - 110066, India Fax: 91-11-2419-0017
Tel: 91-11-26168720 Web:https://in.usembassy.gov/
Fax: 91-11-26168730
Web: http://www.gs1india.org/
Ministry of Finance Department of
Revenue
Central Board of Excise and
Customs
Web: http://www.cbec.gov.in
The information in this guide was obtained from external sources, including the websites of
various governmental agencies and organizations, direct contact with those agencies and
organizations, and from Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Attaché reports. Consequently, the
accuracy of this information depends upon the accuracy of the sources.