New Delhi, Oct. 21 -- India's merchandise exports to the United Kingdom rose 8% on an annualised basis to $2.43 billion in August and September this year, the first two months after the India-UK free trade agreement came into force from mid-July, according to latest trade data. Goods import from Britain, however, fell by 16.8% in these two months (August and September) to $1.36 billion, data showed. The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was operationalised on July 15. According to the data, India's merchandise exports to the UK fell about 4.2% to $1.2 billion in July, saw around 10% year-on-year growth to $1.26 billion in August , and a 5.5% increase to $1.17 billion in September. While Indian exports saw a steady growth from July this year, its imports from the UK saw a sharp decline in September. Shipments of British merchandise in July rose by nearly 12% to $639 million. Imports year-on-year surged over 24% to $733 million in August , only to see a sharp 40% fall to $630 million in September, mostly on account of lower import of silver. The two economies are yet to witness the full potential of CETA as traders from both sides are gearing up, government officials and trade experts said. A comprehensive analysis of the reasons for growth and fall would be possible after country-specific, commodity-wise granular data is released, which come with a lag, they added. According to provisional trade data for the first-half of 2026-27 released by the commerce ministry on October 15, India's merchandise exports to the UK rose by 7.22% to $7.32 billion in April-September 2026 as compared to $6.83 billion April-September 2025. India's merchandise imports from the UK, however, saw a 1.6% decline to $4.06 billion in the first-half of 2026-27 as compared to $4.13 billion in the first-half of 2025-26, the data showed. Experts said imports from the UK would also grow with time on the back of import quotas for high value items such as automobiles and whiskey. For Britain, CETA removes or reduces tariffs on 90% of tariff lines, covering about 92% of India's goods imports from the UK. This includes key UK exports such as whiskies and gin, whose duties go down from 150% to 75% at entry, and 40% after staging over a decade. Similarly, UK car manufacturers can benefit from a quota reducing the tariff from up to 110% to 10%. For example, a quota-based, phased market opening has been provided with an annual quota of 37,000 passenger vehicle CBUs at preferential tariffs. Sensitive segments including small and mid-segment ICE vehicles and affordable EVs remain protected. The India-UK CETA provides zero-duty access for nearly 99% of India's exports, covering almost 100% of trade value, the experts said. Most of these items include labour-intensive products such as textiles, leather goods, marine products, gems and jewellery, toys, engineering goods, chemicals, and auto components, they added. Apart from tariff elimination, CETA also provides for simplified rules of origin (ROO), boosts services trade and professional mobility. A Double Contribution Convention (DCC) is also signed between the two countries that exempts workers and their employers from paying social security contributions....