eCoO 2.0 (trade.gov.in): how to get a Certificate of Origin
eCoO 2.0 is DGFT's Certificate of Origin system at trade.gov.in: every new preferential CoO, including India–UAE CEPA, has been filed there since 21 December 2024. Login with your DGFT account, which agency issues your certificate, the cost breakup CEPA asks for, retrospective CoOs, validity, verification, and what changed from coo.dgft.gov.in.
Data last updated: · Maintained by India FTA Duty Toolkit
What is eCoO 2.0?
eCoO 2.0 is DGFT's revamped online system for Certificates of Origin, hosted at trade.gov.in. Every new preferential Certificate of Origin — the kind that claims an FTA rate such as India–UAE CEPA — has been filed there since 21 December 2024, and electronic filing of non-preferential certificates through it has been mandatory since 1 January 2025.
DGFT's launch notice lists what the new system added over the legacy platform:
- Multi-user access — several users can file under one Importer Exporter Code (IEC).
- Aadhaar e-signing as well as a digital signature (DSC) token.
- Cost sheet digitisation — the value breakup an FTA certificate needs is prepared on the platform.
- An integrated dashboard with FTA information alongside your applications.
- In-lieu certificates — request a correction to an issued certificate online.
The platform also offers back-to-back certificates for goods of non-Indian origin being re-exported, but those are non-preferential: they do not carry any CEPA rate.
Exporting from India or importing into India?
eCoO 2.0 is for goods leaving India. If you are importing from Dubai or anywhere in the UAE, you do not use it: your certificate is issued in the UAE by the Ministry of Economy, and your supplier applies for it.
The agreement names each side's issuing authorities — India's in Annex 3C, the UAE's in Annex 3D — and a certificate is always issued by the exporting country. An Indian importer's job is to get a valid UAE certificate from the supplier before the goods arrive and claim the rate on the Bill of Entry; the CEPA claim guide walks through that side. The rest of this page is for Indian exporters shipping to the UAE.
Registering and logging in
There is no separate eCoO 2.0 account. Your DGFT website login works on trade.gov.in, and accounts created on dgft.gov.in sync to it automatically.
If you have never registered on dgft.gov.in, register there first and link your email to your IEC — that is what makes the eCoO 2.0 login work. Keep your details current on dgft.gov.in too: address, branch and GSTIN changes are made through Modify IEC and flow through to your certificates. Extra users for the same IEC are added the same way, on the DGFT website.
Which agency issues your CEPA certificate
For India–UAE CEPA, the Export Inspection Council and Export Inspection Agencies and DGFT with its regional offices can issue for all products. Product bodies and SEZs issue for their own goods and units.
| Issuing authority (Annex 3C) | Products |
|---|---|
| Export Inspection Council and Export Inspection Agencies | All products |
| DGFT and regional offices | All products |
| Textile Committee and regional offices | Textiles and clothing |
| Central Silk Board and regional offices | Silk products |
| Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) and regional offices | Handicrafts |
| Spices Board | Spices and cashew nuts |
| Coir Board | Coir and coir products |
| Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) | Marine products |
| Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) | Agricultural products |
| Tobacco Board | Tobacco and tobacco products |
| MEPZ, Kandla, SEEPZ, Cochin, Noida, Visakhapatnam and Falta SEZs | Goods made by units (and EOUs) in each zone's jurisdiction |
You choose the issuing agency when you file on eCoO 2.0; the application goes to that agency's officers for review and digital signature.
What you file
The agreement asks for four things: the application with documents proving origin, the minimum required information in Annex 3A, the commercial invoice, and the product's HS code, description, quantity and value.
The Annex 3A information is where most of the work is. Beyond the producer's name, registration number and country of origin, it asks for a good-by-good cost breakup: every input or component with its six-digit HS code, supplier, country of origin and value, and the labour, overheads and profit on top. That breakup is what proves the goods meet the CEPA Rules of Origin, and DGFT's launch notice says eCoO 2.0 digitises the preparation of cost sheets. Run the numbers through the Rules of Origin qualifier before you file.
Several products can go on one certificate, but each must qualify on its own. The issuing agency may also check before export — the agreement lets it ask for detailed cost sheets or visit the factory, selected by risk — so keep the working papers behind every figure.
Retrospective CoO vs normal CoO
A normal Certificate of Origin is issued before, at, or within five working days of the date of exportation. Miss that window and CEPA still allows a retrospective certificate — marked "ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY" in box 8 — for up to twelve months from the date of shipment. A missed CoO is recoverable far more often than exporters assume.
The agreement is explicit about both the route and its conditions. A retrospective certificate is for cases where the CoO "has not been issued at the time of exportation or within five (5) working days from the date of shipment due to involuntary errors or omissions, or any other valid reasons". The issuing authority must record in writing the exceptional circumstances that justified it, so this is a documented exception, not a routine second chance — but it exists, and twelve months is a long runway.
| Normal CoO | Retrospective CoO | |
|---|---|---|
| When issued | Before, at, or within 5 working days of exportation | After that window, up to 12 months from the date of shipment |
| Marking | None | "ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY" in box 8 |
| Justification | Not required | Involuntary error, omission or other valid reason, recorded in writing by the issuing authority |
| Preferential rate | Yes | Yes — the certificate is equally valid |
How long a Certificate of Origin lasts
Twelve months from the date of issue, and it is valid for one import only — though a single certificate may cover several products on the same consignment.
The certificate has to be submitted to customs inside that validity period. There is one narrow escape: customs in the importing country may accept a certificate after its validity has expired where the delay resulted from force majeure or other valid reasons beyond the exporter's control, and the goods were imported before the validity ran out. Do not plan around it.
Two more mechanical rules catch people out. Erasures and overwriting are not allowed — a correction must be struck through, initialled by an authorised signatory and certified, or the certificate reissued (on eCoO 2.0, through an in-lieu request). And if the original is lost, stolen or destroyed, the issuing authority can produce a "CERTIFIED TRUE COPY" within the original's validity period.
Verifying a certificate
An eCoO 2.0 certificate can be checked without logging in: on trade.gov.in, open Get Certificate of Origin → Verify Certificate and enter the certificate number. The QR code printed on the certificate shows the same details.
That is worth sending to your UAE buyer with the first shipment — their customs broker can confirm the certificate before the goods land. Certificates issued on the legacy system are verified through the old process.
eCoO 2.0 vs the old platform (coo.dgft.gov.in)
coo.dgft.gov.in — the "Common Digital Platform for Issuance of Certificate of Origin" — is the legacy eCoO 1.0 system. It stopped taking new preferential applications on 21 December 2024, but it still handles certificates it issued.
| coo.dgft.gov.in (eCoO 1.0) | trade.gov.in (eCoO 2.0) | |
|---|---|---|
| New preferential applications | Up to 20 December 2024 | From 21 December 2024 |
| In-lieu or follow-up on a certificate | If the certificate was issued here | If the certificate was issued here |
| Verification | Existing process | Pre-login Verify Certificate, or the QR code |
| Login | — | DGFT website credentials |
DGFT said all data, including e-wallet balances, would migrate from the legacy platform to eCoO 2.0 once the new preferential workflow stabilised, in a separate notification.
Getting help
DGFT's CoO helpdesk: 011-23061495 or 011-23061499 (Monday to Friday), or email coo-dgft@gov.in. DGFT publishes the eCoO 2.0 user guide and FAQs on trade.gov.in under Get Certificate of Origin.
Sources: India–UAE CEPA agreement text, Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin), Articles 3.13–3.17 and Annexes 3A, 3C and 3D — official agreement PDF ↗; DGFT Trade Notice 23/2024-25 ↗ (6 December 2024); and PIB, "DGFT Launches Enhanced eCoO 2.0 System" ↗.
Frequently asked questions
- What is eCoO 2.0?
- eCoO 2.0 is DGFT's revamped online system for Certificates of Origin, hosted at trade.gov.in. All new preferential Certificate of Origin applications — the ones used to claim FTA rates such as India–UAE CEPA — have been filed there since 21 December 2024 (DGFT Trade Notice 23/2024-25), and electronic filing of non-preferential certificates through it has been mandatory since 1 January 2025.
- Is coo.dgft.gov.in (the Common Digital Platform) still used?
- Only for older certificates. coo.dgft.gov.in is the legacy eCoO 1.0 system. New preferential applications stopped there on 21 December 2024, but applications submitted up to 20 December 2024 are processed there, and follow-up actions on certificates it issued — such as an in-lieu certificate — are still filed on it.
- How do I register and log in to eCoO 2.0?
- Use your DGFT website login — the same credentials work on trade.gov.in and there is no separate eCoO 2.0 account. If you are not registered on dgft.gov.in, register there and link your email to your IEC first. Changes to your address, branches or GSTIN are made through Modify IEC on dgft.gov.in and flow through automatically.
- I am importing from Dubai into India. Do I use eCoO 2.0?
- No. eCoO 2.0 issues certificates for goods exported from India. For UAE-origin goods coming into India, the certificate is issued in the UAE by the Ministry of Economy — the issuing authority named in Annex 3D of the agreement — and your UAE supplier applies for it.
- Who issues a CEPA Certificate of Origin in India?
- Annex 3C of the agreement lists the Indian issuing authorities. The Export Inspection Council and Export Inspection Agencies, and DGFT with its regional offices, cover all products. Product bodies cover their own goods — for example the Textile Committee for textiles and clothing, the Spices Board for spices and cashew, MPEDA for marine products and APEDA for agricultural products — and each SEZ covers the units in its jurisdiction.
- Retrospective CoO vs normal CoO — what is the difference?
- A normal Certificate of Origin is issued before, at, or within five working days of the date of exportation. If that window is missed through involuntary error, omission or another valid reason, CEPA allows the certificate to be issued retrospectively: it carries the words ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY in box 8, the issuing authority records the reasons in writing, and it cannot be issued more than twelve months from the date of shipment.
- How long is a CEPA Certificate of Origin valid?
- Twelve months from the date of issue in the exporting country, and it covers one import only — though a single certificate can list several products, each of which must qualify on its own. It must be submitted to customs within that validity period.
- How do I check that a Certificate of Origin is genuine?
- Certificates issued on eCoO 2.0 can be verified pre-login, without credentials: on trade.gov.in open Get Certificate of Origin, choose Verify Certificate and enter the certificate number. Each certificate also carries a QR code that shows the same details. Certificates from the legacy coo.dgft.gov.in system are verified through the old process.
This guide is general information for the India–UAE CEPA corridor, not legal or customs advice. Verify rates and rules against official CBIC and DGFT sources before filing.