Quality Inspection in India for Chilean Importers

Key takeaways

Leather goods and footwear are over a third of what Chile buys from India in our categories: US$50 million of US$137 million in 2025, led by leather gloves at US$19 million (UN Comtrade).
Decree 26 of 1984 requires garment labels in Spanish, embroidered or printed, with maker or importer, country, size, fibre percentages and four care symbols.
Chilean Customs requires footwear to arrive labelled from origin, on at least the right shoe, and does not allow relabelling in customs warehouses.
Under Ley REP the Chilean importer of packaged goods is the packaging producer, so packaging weights by material have to come from the factory.

What Chile buys from India

India reported exports to Chile of US$137 million in 2025 across the categories Clear To Load inspects, 16% more than in 2024. Chile's mix is unusual: leather gloves and leather shoes rank alongside clothing, and towels lead the home goods.

Source: UN Comtrade, India's reported exports to Chile, calendar year 2025, FOB.
Category (HS)	2025, US$ million
Leather goods (42), of which gloves other than sports gloves (4203.29) 19.4, leather garments (4203.10) 6.9, bags (4202) 3.8	32.7
Home textiles (6301–6304), of which terry toilet and kitchen linen (6302.60) 14.3, furnishing articles (6304) 10.1	28
Woven apparel (62)	24.1
Footwear (64), of which leather uppers (6403) 15.7	17.5
Knitted apparel (61), of which T-shirts (6109) 9.4	16.8
Rugs and carpets (57)	8.1

Furniture and bedding under chapter 94 came to only about US$3.5 million in 2025, most of it bedding articles under 9404.

Where Chile's orders are made in India

For leather shoes and garments, Agra, Kanpur and Ambur are the Towns of Export Excellence for leather products; see leather shoe inspection and leather garment inspection. We have not found an official source naming a glove cluster, so ask your supplier where the gloves are cut and sewn; the checks are on leather work glove inspection.

Terry towels come from Solapur, which holds a geographical indication for terry towels, and Karur, a Town of Export Excellence for handlooms (bath towel inspection). T-shirts come from Tirupur, the Town of Export Excellence for hosiery, and woven garments from Delhi NCR.

Spanish labels on garments and textiles

Chile's consumer protection law (Ley 19.496, art. 32) requires basic commercial information, identification, instructions and warranties in Spanish; other languages may be added. For clothing, Decree 26 of 1984 of the Ministry of Economy sets out the label itself. Article 23 lists what it must show, in Spanish:

Source: Decreto 26 de 1984, Ministerio de Economía, arts. 1, 22 and 23 (BCN, current version).
DS 26/1984, art. 23	What the inspector checks
Name of the manufacturer or importer, or registered brand	Matches your approved artwork
Country of manufacture	India, on the garment label
Size code	Size printed matches the measured sample
Fibre names and percentages of the main fabric	Spanish fibre names and percentages against the fabric test or mill certificate
Special finish claims such as no encoge	Only claims you have approved and can support
The four care symbols (washing, chlorine, ironing, dry cleaning)	All four present and consistent with the fabric

Article 22 asks for labels that are embroidered or printed and hold up to washing or dry cleaning. Other textiles sold to the public, such as towels, need the care information in Spanish or as symbols (arts. 1 and 2).

Footwear labelled at origin, and Ley REP packaging

Footwear. Chile's footwear labelling decree (DS 17 of 2006) is enforced at the border. Chilean Customs says the labelling must come from origin and be on the shoes when the import declaration is accepted, on at least the right shoe. A permanent mark, a sewn label, a self-adhesive label or an attached tag are accepted, and the importer's name and RUT may go on a self-adhesive label. Relabelling in customs warehouses is not allowed, and non-compliant pairs are refused entry. That makes the label check at the factory the last practical chance to fix it.

Packaging. Under Ley 20.920, the producer of packaging is whoever places the packaged consumer good on the Chilean market (art. 3.21), which for goods from India is the Chilean importer. Decree 12 of 2020 obliges these producers, other than microenterprises, to join a management system, finance collection and meet recovery targets by material: paper and cardboard, plastic, metal, glass and liquid cartons (arts. 5, 7 and 9). The targets have applied since September 2023. Master cartons count as non-household packaging unless they are used to deliver to individual buyers (art. 4). Ask the factory for packaging weights by material per SKU; on request, our inspector weighs the packaging of sample units against that sheet.

Rules that apply and the India–Chile agreement

For leather gloves and shoes, the chemical limits most buyers specify are covered in chromium VI in leather and azo dyes and restricted substances. For origin marks in general, see country of origin labelling.

Trade agreement. The India–Chile Preferential Trade Agreement has been in force since 11 September 2007, and an expanded version took effect on 16 May 2017. The two governments signed terms of reference for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on 8 May 2025 and held a fourth round in New Delhi in December 2025. As of 14 October 2026 no CEPA had been signed. Ask your customs agent whether your goods qualify for a preference; we do not quote duty rates.

Working hours, reports and booking

India Standard Time is UTC+5:30 with no summer time. Santiago is on UTC−3 from September to April and UTC−4 from April to September, so India is 8:30 or 9:30 ahead. Our office hours, 9:30 am to 6:30 pm IST from Monday to Saturday, end at 10:00 am Santiago time in the southern summer and 9:00 am in winter. The report follows within 24 hours of the inspection, after supervisor review.

A pre-shipment inspection costs US$249 per man-day, report included. Travel is US$99 per man-day in Delhi NCR, free in Jodhpur and at actual cost elsewhere, such as Agra, Kanpur, Ambur or Solapur. See pricing, then book an inspection and say the goods are for Chile so the Spanish label and right-shoe checks are on the list.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Can footwear for Chile be labelled after it arrives?

No. Chilean Customs requires footwear to be labelled at origin and does not allow relabelling in customs warehouses. Pairs without the required labelling are refused entry, so check the labels at the factory before shipment.

What must a garment label for Chile show?

Under Decree 26 of 1984, in Spanish: the maker's or importer's name or brand, the country of manufacture, the size code, fibre names and percentages of the main fabric, any special finish claim and the four care symbols.

Who is the packaging producer for goods from India sold in Chile?

The Chilean company that places the packaged goods on the market, normally the importer. It joins a management system under Ley 20.920 and Decree 12 of 2020, so it needs packaging weights by material from the Indian supplier.

Is there a trade agreement between India and Chile?

Yes, a Preferential Trade Agreement in force since 2007 and expanded from 16 May 2017. A wider CEPA has been under negotiation since 2025 and had not been signed by 14 October 2026.

Do you inspect leather work gloves?

Yes. We check leather grade, stitching, sizes, cuff and lining against your specification and approved sample, and can pull and seal samples for a lab if you need chromium VI or performance tests.

Know before it ships

Tell us the product, the factory's city and your ready date. We confirm the inspector, the notice time and the price before you book.

Book an inspection Check your city

Quality inspection in India for importers in Chile