India seeks duty concession on cars, machinery in FTA with Sri Lanka

India is seeking customs duty concession on a number of goods including cars, commercial vehicles and machinery from Sri Lanka under a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA), talks for which are underway, an official said.

India has also sought easier visa norms to further facilitate entry of professionals from here, the official said.

The 14th round of talks between senior officials of India and Sri Lanka was concluded recently in Colombo.

Issues which came up for the talks included rules of origin, goods, services, and technical barriers for trade.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka has sought removal of a quota on apparel exports to India. The island nation is also asking for duty concessions on tea and certain agricultural commodities.

The official said that as elections are announced in Sri Lanka, the next round of negotiations between the two countries will be held after that.

The two nations have already implemented a free trade agreement in goods and now they are negotiating