Cross Trade Operations: Trading Between Two Countries Through Your FTWZ
How to buy from one country and sell to another using an India-based FTWZ as your control point — without the goods ever entering the domestic market.
Cross Trade Operations let a business buy goods from a supplier in one country and sell them to a buyer in another country, while routing documentation, consolidation, and logistics through a Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) in India. The goods are imported into the FTWZ under duty deferment and re-exported directly to the final buyer's country — they never clear into India's Domestic Tariff Area (DTA), so no Indian import duty applies to the transaction at all.
Why Run Cross Trade Through an FTWZ?
Trading companies use Cross Trade Operations to run third-country business from a single, stable base rather than setting up a trading entity or warehouse in every country they deal with.
- One India-based control point for multi-country trade
- Duty deferred the entire time goods sit in the zone
- No need to register or warehouse in either trading country
How the Documentation Works
- Import into the FTWZ — goods arrive from the origin country and are stored under duty deferment, no Indian import duty due.
- Trade invoicing — the resale to the buyer in the destination country is invoiced from the FTWZ, keeping both legs of the deal on record in one place.
- Re-export — goods ship directly to the buyer's country; because they never clear into the DTA, customs treats the whole movement as a re-export, not a domestic sale.
How Yimpilo Supports Cross Trade Operations
We manage the import, storage, and re-export documentation for each leg of a cross trade deal, coordinate with customs so the movement is correctly treated as a re-export rather than a domestic transaction, and handle any consolidation or light processing your cargo needs while it's in the zone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Indian import duty apply to a cross trade shipment?
No — since the goods are re-exported directly from the FTWZ and never clear into the Domestic Tariff Area, no Indian import duty applies to the transaction.
Do I need a registered trading company in India to run cross trade?
Requirements vary by structure and are worth confirming with your customs broker, but an FTWZ-based cross trade setup is designed to let you operate from a single India-based point without establishing operations in either trading country.
Can cross trade goods be combined with other FTWZ services, like consolidation?
Yes — goods moving through a cross trade deal can also be consolidated, relabeled, or lightly processed in the zone before re-export, the same as any other FTWZ inventory.
Running Third-Country Trade Through India?
Let us structure your Cross Trade Operations and handle the documentation end to end.