KalpExport cumin from India to Saudi Arabia: duty, documents and price
Duty: basic duty 5%, no Indian trade agreement in force, plus VAT 15%. Directional
Documents: IEC, commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading/air waybill, plus 9 more listed below. Directional
Price in India: ₹24,250 per quintal (₹2,42,500 per tonne), median of 27 mandis on 3 Nov 2026. Real
What Saudi Arabia charges
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| Basic (MFN) duty | 5% |
| Preferential rate | none: no agreement in force |
| VAT / GST at import | 15% |
| Duty and VAT together, on customs value | ~20.8% |
Directional Source: Live search: https://indiantradeportal.in/; basic duty: WITS https://wits.worldbank.org/API/V1/SDMX/V21/datasource/TRN/reporter/682/partner/000/product/090931/year/all/datatype/reported. Reported tariff for 2023 (WITS), not checked against today's schedule; verify before committing. Basic duty is the applied MFN rate Saudi Arabia reported to WITS (UNCTAD TRAINS) for 2023, not today's schedule. VAT/GST: one source only No anti-dumping, safeguard, or CBAM measure could be established from the available official source. Confirm with Saudi Arabia customs before pricing a deal.
Documents and registrations
- IEC
- Certificate of Registration as Exporter of Spices (CRES)
- Certificate of Registration as Exporter of Spices (CRES) is mandatory in addition to IEC
- CRES is treated as Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC) for spice exporters
- no separate RCMC is needed for these products
- Saudi Food and Drug Authority food clearance requires registration of the importing establishment in FIRS and registration of imported products/materials in FIRS
- commercial invoice
- packing list
- bill of lading/air waybill
- certificate of origin
- phytosanitary certificate or other health certificate if required by Saudi authorities for the specific spice product
- export declaration
- shipment documents required for customs clearance
Where to get them: IEC: Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT); CRES / RCMC for spices: Spices Board of India; Saudi importer registration and product registration: Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) Food Import Registration System (FIRS); standards / food clearance: Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA)
The main failure points on this lane are missing Spices Board registration on the Indian side and missing SFDA FIRS registration on the Saudi side. Shipments also get delayed when product-specific Saudi food clearance or labeling/health documentation is not aligned with the imported spice item.
Directional Compiled for spices exports to Saudi Arabia from the official pages below, checked 24 Sept 2026. Confirm with the issuing authority.
https://www.dgft.gov.in/CP/?opt=e-rcmc
https://www.sfda.gov.sa/sites/default/files/2021-11/SFADFgdfg_1.pdf
Cumin prices in Indian mandis
Median ₹24,250/quintal across 27 markets; middle 80% ₹22,105 to ₹25,110. Reported 3 Nov 2026.
Real Source: Agmarknet, Government of India, via data.gov.in (Cummin Seed(Jeera)). Domestic wholesale price, not an export or FOB price.
What this page does not know
- Freight and port costs for your shipment. Carrier rates are not connected yet, so we do not print a freight number here. Put your own quotes into the landed cost calculator; it fills in this duty.
- Your buyer's price. The mandi price is what cumin costs inside India.
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Grades: Real is read from an official or primary source on the date shown. Directional is an estimate, a compilation or a single unconfirmed source. Reference is an official schedule or rule.