India could cut trade costs, boost exports via CPTA: Report

New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) India stands to reduce trade costs and significantly boost export competitiveness by embracing paperless trading systems, with such initiatives expected to cut trade costs of economies in the Asia-Pacific region by about 25 per cent, according to a joint report by policy think tanks ICRIER and RIS.

Cross-border paperless trade, which builds on the broader idea of paperless trade and refers to conducting trade through electronic communication, is gaining momentum regionally with the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific (CPTA) being a key driver.

Countries joining this agreement benefit from streamlined trade procedures, lower logistics costs, and improved regulatory cooperation.

As of January 2025, 16 countries are a part of the CPTA. India has taken multiple domestic reforms, including the Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade (SWIFT) and electronic handling of indirect tax documents, yet it has not joined the CPTA so far.

"Digitalisation has transformed India's trade ecosystem, but the next step lies in seamless cross-border integration," said Arpita Mukherjee, Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).

The report, launched during the second Asia-Pacific E-commerce Policy Summit organised by ICRIER and UNESCAP here, highlighted that accession to the CPTA would enhance India's global trade integration, especially benefiting exporters and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by reducing red tape and simplifying customs procedures.

India's logistics performance and digital trade facilitation measures have improved steadily, but gaps remain in legal and technical readiness, particularly regarding interoperability with other countries' systems and cross-border data exchange.

Joining the CPTA offers India policy flexibility without requiring immediate overhaul of laws or systems, allowing gradual implementation of reforms aligned with international standards and enhanced capacity-building. PTI ANK TRB