{"id":2210,"date":"2025-12-22T06:38:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T06:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/?p=2210"},"modified":"2025-12-22T06:38:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T06:38:47","slug":"what-is-the-india-oman-cepa-free-trade-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/what-is-the-india-oman-cepa-free-trade-agreement\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the India Oman CEPA Free Trade Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>India Oman Trade Agreement<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This is Oman\u2019s first FTA in nearly two decades.<\/p>\n<p>This agreement is India\u2019s second comprehensive Gulf FTA, after the UAE (2022).<\/p>\n<p>India\u2019s has signed six\u00a0 free trade pact in the past five years, following deals with Mauritius, the UAE, Australia, the EFTA bloc and the UK.<\/p>\n<p>India \u2013 Oman has a bilateral trade at around $10.5 billion, dominated by energy imports. India remains trade deficit with Oman.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>India exported $4.06 billion worth of merchandise to Oman in 2024-25, which made up 0.93% of India\u2019s total exports that year.<\/li>\n<li>It imported $6.5 billion worth of goods from Oman, comprising 0.91% of India\u2019s total imports in 2024-25.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Key Features of CEPA<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>India and Oman signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), in Muscat.<\/li>\n<li>Under this agreement, Oman will grant duty-free access on 98.08% of tariff lines, covering 99.38% of India\u2019s exports to Oman.<\/li>\n<li>India will liberalise tariffs on 77.79% of its tariff lines, covering 94.81% of imports from Oman.<\/li>\n<li>Oman\u2019s strategic location positions it as a hub for: Wider GCC markets; Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Africa.<\/li>\n<li>Oman already has duty-free access to the US under its FTA, enhancing indirect opportunities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2219\" src=\"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/India-Oman-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"787\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/India-Oman-1.png 787w, https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/India-Oman-1-300x149.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/India-Oman-1-768x381.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/India-Oman-1-660x327.png 660w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 787px) 100vw, 787px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Market Access and Tariff Liberalization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Products that India Exports: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Full tariff elimination for labour-intensive sectors, including: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gems &amp; jewellery,<\/li>\n<li>textiles, leather, footwear<\/li>\n<li>Sports goods, plastics, furniture<\/li>\n<li>Agriculture and food products<\/li>\n<li>Engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automobiles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Enhanced Mobility of Professionals (Service \/ Job)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Contractual Service Suppliers\u2019 stay extended: From 90 days \u2192 2 years, extendable by another 2 years.<\/li>\n<li>More liberal entry and stay for skilled professionals in:<\/li>\n<li>Accountancy, taxation, architecture<\/li>\n<li>Medical and allied services<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Boost to the Services Sector<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Oman offers substantial commitments across key services, including:\n<ul>\n<li>Computer and IT services<\/li>\n<li>Business and professional services<\/li>\n<li>Audio-visual services<\/li>\n<li>R&amp;D, education, and health services<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>CEPA allows 100% FDI by Indian companies in major services sectors in Oman via commercial presence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Export Opportunities for India <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Indian exports to Oman have doubled over the past five years.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2220\" src=\"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/India-Oman-2-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"519\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/India-Oman-2-1.png 519w, https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/India-Oman-2-1-300x154.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 519px) 100vw, 519px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Key exports include machinery and parts, aircraft, rice, iron and steel articles, beauty and personal care products, ceramics, and petroleum products such as naphtha and petrol.<\/p>\n<p>Zero-duty access on 98% of Oman\u2019s tariff lines under the CEPA is expected to boost competitiveness, especially for industrial goods, though sustained growth will depend on quality upgrades and product differentiation.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2221\" src=\"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/India-Oman-1-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"592\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/India-Oman-1-2.png 592w, https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/India-Oman-1-2-300x122.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 592px) 100vw, 592px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With more than 6,000 India\u2013Oman joint ventures and Indian investments exceeding $7.5 billion, particularly in Oman\u2019s Sohar and Salalah free zones, the CEPA is as much about geopolitics and regional presence as it is about tariffs. For India, it represents another step in cementing its economic footprint in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>CEPA between India and Oman is signed to be implemented after ratification by both the country\u2019s parliaments. By the end of 2st Quarter of 2026 this India Oman CEPA is likely to be implemented.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India Oman Trade Agreement This is Oman\u2019s first FTA in nearly two decades. This agreement is India\u2019s second comprehensive Gulf FTA, after the UAE (2022). India\u2019s has signed six\u00a0 free trade pact in the past five years, following deals with Mauritius, the UAE, Australia, the EFTA bloc and the UK. India \u2013 Oman has a\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/what-is-the-india-oman-cepa-free-trade-agreement\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446,445],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bilateral-agreement","category-trade-agreement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2210"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2222,"href":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210\/revisions\/2222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iiiem.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}