The notification at a glance
How the concession is structured: the four tables
The notification organises the concessions into four tables. This is the skeleton every importer needs to grasp:
- TABLE I — the big one: serial numbers 1 through 8,546, covering tariff items from heading 0204 to 96190090. For virtually every entry the description is simply "All goods", with concessional basic customs duty (BCD) rates ranging from 0.00 to 90.00 (ad valorem), and AIDC 0.00 and health cess 0.00 in the great majority of cases. Some lines carry specific duties instead of ad valorem rates — for example, Rs. 0.8 per tonne for crude petroleum (27090010), or "Rs. 55.7 per sq. mtr., whichever is higher" for certain textile and apparel lines.
- TABLE II — wines only: tariff items 22041000, 22042110/20/90, 22042210/20/90, 22042910/20/90, 22043000, 22051000 and 22059000.
- TABLE III — Mānuka honey (04090000) and kiwi fruit (08105000), both with value conditions.
- TABLE IV — tariff-rate-quota (TRQ) concessions: Mānuka honey and albumins, up to stated quota quantities.
Headline concessions: wine, Mānuka honey, kiwi and albumins
These are the value-conditioned items the notification spells out in detail:
The notification defines "CIF value" as the assessable value determined under Section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 — the value customs already computes for every consignment. For the headline wine bands, that means the BCD outcome turns on whether the 750 ml container's assessable value crosses USD 15.
Old versus new: what changes on 20 October
Until 19 October 2026, goods of New Zealand origin attract India's standard most-favoured-nation (MFN) duty rates — the same rates applicable to any WTO member without a trade agreement. From 20 October 2026:
- Before: full MFN BCD, plus AIDC and health cess at their statutory rates, on all New Zealand-origin imports.
- After: the concessional TABLE I–IV rates apply — but only where the notification names the tariff item, only for goods that are of New Zealand origin under the origin rules, and only where any attached value or TRQ condition is met. Anything outside the four tables continues at MFN rates; the notification creates no general exemption.
This is deliberately the first tranche: tariff commitments under the FTA are phased, so further notifications can be expected. Products not yet covered stay at full rates for now.
The two conditions that gate every concession
Mānuka honey carries a third gate: the importer must produce, before the DC or AC of Customs, a certificate issued by New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries certifying that the goods are Mānuka honey.
Who is affected
- Importers of New Zealand-origin goods — food and beverage distributors (wine, honey, kiwi), dairy-derivative and albumin users, and the thousands of industrial lines in TABLE I — who can now price in the concessional rates from 20 October.
- Customs brokers and CHA firms, who must adjust duty calculations, classification checks and documentation checklists for NZ-origin consignments arriving on or after 20 October.
- Trade-compliance professionals advising on origin documentation under CAROTAR, 2020 and DGFT TRQ procedures.
- New Zealand exporters targeting the Indian market, who gain the first operational tariff advantage under the FTA.
What to do next: a five-step checklist
- Fix the HS classification now. The concession turns entirely on the tariff item. Pull the exact 8-digit classification for every New Zealand-sourced product against TABLE I–IV columns; do not assume a product is covered because the description says "All goods".
- Build the origin-evidence file. Under CAROTAR, 2020, be ready to demonstrate New Zealand origin to the DC/AC Customs — origin declarations, supplier certificates and any Gazette-notified rules. Goods merely shipped through New Zealand do not qualify.
- For TRQ goods, watch the DGFT route. The notification's ANNEXURE requires electronic TRQ authorisation from DGFT transmitted to ICES; trade media reports that DGFT's Public Notice No. 33/2026-27 (17 Oct 2026) operationalises the procedure via the DGFT website's TRQ application module. Confirm the live procedure from the official DGFT portal before applying (not checked from the official document).
- Arrange MPI certification for Mānuka honey. Without the Ministry for Primary Industries certificate, the honey concession is unavailable at the border regardless of the CIF value.
- Time consignments arriving 20 October or later. The notification has no retrospective effect; goods cleared before 20 October do not get the benefit. For consignments in transit, the relevant date is the date of clearance, so coordinate with your broker.
Frequently asked questions
Q1. When do the India–New Zealand FTA duty concessions start?
CBIC Notification No. 32/2026-Customs comes into force on 20 October 2026, the same day the FTA enters into force. The notification was dated 16 October 2026.
Q2. Do all imports from New Zealand get the lower duty automatically?
No. Two things are mandatory: the tariff item must be listed in the notification's TABLES I–IV, and the importer must prove New Zealand origin to the satisfaction of the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Customs under CAROTAR, 2020. Merely importing from New Zealand is not enough.
Q3. What is the concessional duty on New Zealand wine?
For the listed wine tariff items, wine with a CIF (assessable) value of USD 5 or more but below USD 15 per 750 ml container attracts BCD 20.0; wine at or above USD 15 per 750 ml container attracts BCD 50.0.
Q4. How does the Mānuka honey concession work?
Mānuka honey with CIF value of USD 30/kg or above gets the TABLE III concession. Honey valued at USD 20/kg or above but below USD 30/kg can enter under a 40 MT tariff-rate quota at in-quota BCD 51.0. Both routes need the Ministry for Primary Industries (New Zealand) certificate, and the TRQ route needs DGFT's electronic authorisation.
Q5. How do TRQ imports actually work at the border?
DGFT allots the TRQ and issues an electronic authorisation (with IEC, notification number, tariff item, quantity and validity) transmitted to ICES; the import is allowed only when debited electronically in ICES. No TRQ authorisation, no in-quota rate.
Q6. Does the concession apply to goods that merely transit through New Zealand?
No — the notification's proviso requires the goods to be of the origin of New Zealand under the origin rules. Transhipped or insufficiently-transformed goods do not qualify.
Sources
- Primary: CBIC Notification No. 32/2026-Customs dated 16 October 2026 — official PDF on the CBIC tax information portal. All duty rates, value thresholds, TRQ quantities and origin conditions in this article are drawn from this document. (The document's G.S.R. line is printed blank — a G.S.R. number circulating in news reports was not confirmed from the official text.)
- Background: India–NZ FTA Annex 2A: Schedules of Tariff Commitments — Ministry of Commerce and Industry, for the TRQ administration framework the notification implements.
- Pointer-level only: trade-media reports on DGFT Public Notice No. 33/2026-27 (TRQ procedures) and the FTA's entry into force — used as pointers, not as sources of fact in this article.