Product Specific Rules

FTA / RoO

Rules of origin specific to individual products or categories within an FTA schedule.

Sources

1. CBIC — Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 (CAROTAR), Notification No. 81/2020-Customs (N.T.) taxinformation.cbic.gov.in accessed 23 September 2026

Rule 4 of CAROTAR names product specific criteria alongside regional value content as things the importer must be able to demonstrate from Form I information, as “specified in the Rules of Origin”. The rules also treat a mismatch as fatal: the explanation to rule 3(2) says a certificate is ineligible where “the product specific rule mentioned in the certificate of origin is not applicable to the goods”. Naming the wrong rule on the certificate defeats the claim by itself.

What CAROTAR does and does not settle. These rules govern how an importer into India claims and proves preferential origin. They do not define the substantive origin criteria — cumulation, value content, tariff shift, wholly obtained — which are set by each trade agreement’s own Rules of Origin. CAROTAR says so itself at rule 8(3): “In the event of a conflict between a provision of these rules and a provision of the Rules of Origin, the provision of the Rules of Origin shall prevail to the extent of the conflict.” So read the agreement for what qualifies, and CAROTAR for what India requires of the importer who claims it.

Related terms

• Absorption Principle
• Bilateral Cumulation
• Certificate of Origin
• Change in Tariff Classification
• Cumulation
• Diagonal Cumulation

From the AJG lexicon archive (July 2026).