UK-India Trade Deal: What Enters Into Force From 15 July 2026

What changed on 15 July 2026

The UK-India trade deal, formally the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), entered into force on 15 July 2026. The agreement was signed on 24 July 2025 following talks concluded in May that year, and has since gone through UK parliamentary scrutiny under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, debated in the House of Commons on 9 February 2026 and the House of Lords on 4 March 2026, before implementation this week.

It is the UK's most economically significant bilateral trade agreement since leaving the European Union, and one of the most comprehensive trade deals India has concluded with any partner. Government modelling forecasts the deal will raise UK GDP by £4.8 billion a year in the long run, alongside a £2.2 billion annual increase in UK wages, with bilateral trade rising by an estimated £25.5 billion a year. Total UK-India trade already stood at £47.9 billion in the four quarters to Q4 2025, up 10% year on year, with UK exports to India at £19.3 billion.

For UK businesses that have been waiting on the sidelines, entry into force is the point at which preferential tariff rates, simplified customs arrangements and the new business travel commitments actually become usable, rather than simply agreed in principle.

Business travel and professional services access

One of the deal's most relevant chapters for UK service professionals covers the temporary movement of business travellers. It locks in existing access for UK professionals working temporarily in India, including engineers, architects, accountants and management consultants attending conferences, transferring to an Indian branch of their employer, or delivering a contracted service. The same access applies in reverse for Indian professionals travelling to the UK.

The agreement does not alter the UK's points-based immigration system, and the chapter is limited to short-term, temporary business mobility rather than general work or settlement routes. A separate professional services annex encourages UK and Indian professional bodies, such as those representing accountants, architects and engineers, to negotiate mutual recognition of qualifications, which could reduce the administrative burden for professionals seeking to have qualifications recognised in the other country. Financial services firms also benefit from a foreign investment cap that secures UK ownership or investment into Indian insurance and banking businesses at up to 74%.

Alongside business mobility, the deal extends the UK-India Double Contributions Convention. UK nationals working temporarily in India can now continue paying UK National Insurance contributions, rather than Indian social security, for up to 60 months, an increase from the 36 months set out when the deal was concluded, helping protect continuity of their UK State Pension record.

Tariff cuts businesses and consumers may notice

From entry into force, the UK removes duties on 99% of Indian tariff lines, while India removes or reduces tariffs on 90% of lines, covering 92% of existing UK goods exports based on 2022 trade data. On the UK side, this opens immediate zero-duty access for goods including Indian textiles, footwear, leather goods, engineering products and processed foods.

Going the other way, some of the largest cuts affect UK drinks exporters. India's tariff on Scotch whisky falls from 150% to 75% immediately, with further staged reductions to 40% by year 10. Comparable reductions apply to gin and other spirits, subject to minimum import price thresholds that vary by product. UK car manufacturers gain access to a quota that cuts Indian tariffs from as much as 110% to 10%, starting with internal combustion vehicles before extending to electric and hybrid models as UK manufacturing shifts.

Not every product is covered. The deal excludes sensitive domestic sectors from liberalisation on both sides, including sugar, milled rice, pork, chicken and eggs on the UK side, and categories such as gold bars and smartphones remain outside India's concessions to the UK.

Rules of origin: what UK exporters need to check

Preferential tariff rates under the deal are not automatic. To qualify, goods must meet the agreement's rules of origin, meaning they are wholly obtained in the UK or India, or have undergone sufficient processing there according to product-specific rules set out in the agreement's annexes. UK exporters need to register and obtain the correct proof of origin before making a preference claim, and businesses that have been importing from India under the Developing Countries Trading Scheme need to transition to the new CETA preference codes, since the DCTS enhanced preferences are replaced by the trade deal once it is in force.

Getting origin claims wrong can result in back-duty demands and penalties, so businesses relying on Indian-sourced inputs, or exporting goods with mixed-origin components, are likely to need to review their supply chains against the product-specific rules before claiming preference.

What happens next

With the deal now in force, the immediate priorities are administrative: UK exporters registering for origin declarations, customs systems updating to reflect new preferential rates, and the Joint Committee established under the agreement beginning oversight of implementation. The government's stated ambition is to double bilateral trade with India by 2030.

Frequently asked questions

When did the UK-India trade deal come into force?

The UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement entered into force on 15 July 2026, having been signed on 24 July 2025 and gone through UK parliamentary scrutiny in the months before implementation.

Does the trade deal change UK visa rules?

No. The deal includes a business mobility chapter that locks in existing short-term travel access for professionals such as engineers, accountants and consultants, but it does not alter the UK's points-based immigration system or create new visa routes.

Will Scotch whisky and gin become cheaper in India?

India's import tariff on UK whisky and gin falls from 150% to 75% immediately, and to 40% after 10 years, which reduces the cost for Indian importers. Whether that reduction reaches retail shelf prices in India depends on individual distributors and state-level excise duties, which sit outside the trade deal.

What is the Double Contributions Convention?

It is a reciprocal agreement that stops workers moving between the UK and India from paying social security contributions in both countries at once. Under the deal, UK nationals working temporarily in India can continue paying UK National Insurance instead of Indian social security for up to 60 months.

Are all UK-India goods now tariff-free?

No. The deal excludes some sensitive products from liberalisation, including sugar, milled rice, pork, chicken and eggs on the UK side, and certain Indian sectors such as gold bars and smartphones are not covered by India's tariff concessions to the UK.