India–EFTA Trade and
Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA)
FTA with TEPA4 Comes
into Effect on 01 Oct. 2025
·
TEPA to stimulate
services exports in sectors such as IT, business services, education, audio-visual
etc
·
TEPA offers binding
commitment of $50+50 bn investment in 10+5 Years (Includes Third Party
Investment through Switzerland)
·
TEPA provides Mutual
Recognition Agreements in Professional Services like nursing, chartered accountants,
architects etc
·
Separate
Customs Notifications Issued Only for Switzerland, Norway and Iceland on 30
September, 2025 as below:
·
41/2025-Customs/30-Sep-2025 - Seeks to give effect to the first tranche
of tariff concessions under India-EFTA (Switzerland)
·
42/2025-Customs/30-Sep-2025 - Seeks to give effect to the first tranche
of tariff concessions under India-EFTA (Norway)
·
43/2025-Customs/30-Sep-2025 - Seeks to give effect to the first tranche
of tariff concessions under India-EFTA (Iceland)
·
Rules of
Origin for All Four EFTA States by Notification 59/2025-Customs(NT)
dated 29 September, 2025 issued
India–EFTA
TEPA: Key Highlights
·
Entry into Force: 1 October 2025
·
Signed: 10 March 2024, New Delhi
·
Parties: India & the Four EFTA States
– Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein
Core Features
·
Comprehensive Agreement: 14 chapters
covering –
o
Market access for goods & services
o
Rules of origin
o
Trade facilitation & remedies
o
Sanitary & phytosanitary measures (SPS)
o
Technical barriers to trade (TBT)
o
Investment promotion
o
Intellectual property rights
o
Trade & sustainable development
o
Legal & institutional provisions
·
First-of-its-kind commitment: Investment
+ job creation directly linked to FTA.
Investment
& Employment Commitments
·
FDI inflows:
o
USD 50 bn in first 10 years
o
Additional USD 50 bn in next 5
years
o
Total: USD 100 bn in 15 years
·
Jobs: Target creation of 1 million
direct jobs in India.
·
Focus on long-term capital → excludes FPI
(foreign portfolio investment).
Market Access
for Goods
·
EFTA Offer:
o
Covers 92.2% tariff lines = 99.6% of India’s
exports.
o
100% of non-agri products liberalized.
o
Tariff concessions on Processed Agricultural Products
(PAP).
·
India’s Offer:
o
Covers 82.7% tariff lines = 95.3% of EFTA
exports.
o
Over 80% of imports = gold, with no change
in effective duty.
o
Sensitive sectors protected: pharma,
medical devices, processed food, dairy, soya, coal, sensitive agri goods.
Strategic
Importance
·
EFTA = one of Europe’s three major blocs (along
with EU & UK).
·
Switzerland = largest trading partner for India
among EFTA, followed by Norway.
·
Agreement will:
o
Give Indian exporters greater access to advanced
markets & inputs.
o
Provide services sector opportunities in finance,
IT, R&D, professional services.
o
Encourage a stable and investor-friendly environment
in India.
In essence: TEPA is India’s most ambitious FTA so
far, combining trade liberalization with binding investment & job creation
targets, while balancing sensitivities in key domestic sectors.
·
Cheaper
Swiss & EFTA imports into India:
Wines, chocolates, apparel, watches, smartphones, fish oils, olive oil, salmon,
tuna, and dyes will see duty cuts — some immediately, others phased over 5–10
years. But these are subject to Origin Restriction.
·
Boost
for Indian exports: Tea,
coffee, fruits, processed foods, textiles, marine products, leather, sports
goods, toys, and gems & jewellery will gain preferential access to EFTA
markets (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland).
·
Tariff
coverage:
o India has liberalized 82.7% of tariff lines, covering 95.3% of EFTA exports.
o EFTA has liberalized 92.2% of tariff lines, covering 99.6% of India’s exports.
·
For
India:
o Engineering goods, electronics, chemicals,
plastics benefit from duty cuts.
o Agriculture exports (guar gum, basmati
rice, grapes, pulses, processed vegetables) to Norway & Switzerland will
expand, as they form 99%+
of India’s agri-exports to EFTA.
o Electronics sector gets a $100B investment commitment, with opportunities in medical
electronics, EV components, smart sensors, battery systems, and marine
electronics.
·
For
EFTA:
o Immediate duty elimination on coal
(non-coking), medicines, dyes, textiles, iron & steel.
o Gradual duty elimination on chocolate,
watches, salmon, tuna, olive oil over 7–10 years.
·
Positions
India as an attractive destination for European
investments in
high-tech sectors.
·
Opens
doors for labour-intensive
Indian exports in
wealthy European markets.
·
Balances
consumer
gains in India
(cheaper luxury goods, food imports) with industrial and agri-export
opportunities abroad.
Overall, TEPA is a balanced agreement, securing investments and export access
for India while offering phased concessions to EFTA on luxury and industrial
goods.
India-European
Free Trade Association (EFTA) Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) will
come into effect on 01 October 2025. The agreement was signed on 10th
March 2024 at New Delhi. TEPA is a modern and ambitious agreement that incorporates,
for the first time in any Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed by India, a commitment
linked to investment and job creation.
The agreement comprises
of 14 chapters with main focus on market access related to goods, rules of
origin, trade facilitation, trade remedies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures,
technical barriers to trade, investment promotion, market access on services, intellectual
property rights, trade and sustainable development and other legal and horizontal
provisions.
The EFTA’s market
access offer under TEPA covers 100% of non-agri products
and tariff concession on Processed Agricultural Products (PAP). Sensitivity
related to PLI in sectors such as pharma, medical devices & processed food etc.
have been taken while extending offers.
The agreement goes
beyond goods and services and committed to promote investments with the aim to increase
the stock of foreign direct investments by USD 100 billion in India in the next
15 years, and to facilitate the generation of 1 million direct employment in India,
through such investments.
Key features of
the agreement
EFTA is an important
regional group, with several growing opportunities for enhancing international trade
in goods and services. EFTA is one important economic block out of the three (other
two - EU &UK) in Europe. Among EFTA countries, Switzerland is the largest trading
partner of India followed by Norway.
The TEPA will empower
India’s exporters by providing access to specialized inputs and create conducive
trade and investment environment. This would boost exports of Indian made goods
as well as provide opportunities for services sector to access more markets.
Investment and
Employment Commitments
As per Article
7.1 of TEPA, the EFTA States shall aim to increase foreign direct investment (FDI)
from their investors into India by USD 50 billion within 10 years from the entry
into force of the Agreement, and an additional USD 50 billion in the succeeding
5 years, amounting to a total of USD 100 billion over 15 years. Concurrently, the
EFTA States shall aim to facilitate the generation of 1 million direct jobs in India
resulting from these investment inflows.
This investment
commitment explicitly excludes foreign portfolio investment (FPI), focusing on long-term
capital for productive capacity building.
Market Access for
Goods
Under TEPA, EFTA
has offered 92.2% of tariff lines encompassing 99.6% of India’s exports. Includes
100% of non-agricultural products and tariff concessions on Processed Agricultural
Products (PAP).
India’s offer to
EFTA covers 82.7% of tariff lines, accounting for 95.3% of EFTA exports. Over 80%
of these imports are Gold, with no change in effective duty on Gold. Sensitive
sectors protected, including pharma, medical devices, processed food, dairy, soya,
coal, and sensitive agricultural products.