India-UK Trade Deal Goes Live July 15 — The Overlooked Winners Beyond Textiles

India-UK Trade Deal Goes Live July 15 — The Overlooked Winners Beyond Textiles

The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) comes into force on July 15, 2026, granting 99% duty-free access between the two countries. Rules of origin have been notified, customs frameworks are finalized, and the countdown is on.

Most coverage has focused on textiles — and rightly so. Gokaldas Exports noted in their Q4 FY25 earnings call that "the India-UK FTA offers a 12% duty advantage over China and puts India on par with Bangladesh, creating a strong export potential" and estimated it could "increase India's exports to UK by an additional billion." PDS Limited already derives 41% of its revenue from the UK, with 132% year-on-year growth in that market per their H1 FY26 investor presentation.

But the textile story is well known. What the market is missing are three sectors where the CETA creates equally compelling — and far less priced-in — tailwinds.

The Whisky Surprise: Scotch Duty Drops from 150% to 75%

This is the angle nobody's watching. India currently levies a punishing 150% customs duty on Scotch whisky imports. Under the CETA, that halves to 75% — still high, but a transformative reduction for Indian spirits companies that rely on imported Scotch malt for their premium blends.

Tilaknagar Industries spelled it out in their FY26 investor presentation: the "reduction in custom under India-UK FTA from 150% to 75% for scotch import" will result in "225 to 350 basis points in margin expansion on the acquired business." For a company that sold 20 million cases in FY26 (67.6% year-on-year volume growth) and guided EBITDA margins of 15.5% to 17%, that margin uplift is material — potentially adding 2-3 percentage points to group-level EBITDA. Radico Khaitan echoed this in their Q2 FY24 earnings call: "We import a lot of bulk scotch. So, any duty reduction will make a good impact on our costing." Management also noted that cheaper Scotch malt "will definitely improve the quality of Indian blend" — meaning Indian whisky makers can upgrade their products while actually cutting costs. Radico has guided 15% annual growth in its prestige and above (P&A) brands going forward.

The logic is simple: cheaper imported Scotch malt means lower input costs for Indian blended whisky, which is where the volume is. This is a direct margin tailwind that flows straight to the bottom line.

Pharma: Marksans Is Already the Largest Indian Player in the UK

Pharmaceutical exports don't attract the same tariff headlines as textiles, but the CETA creates a more predictable regulatory and trade framework for companies already selling into the UK.

Marksans Pharma is the standout. Per their Q3 FY26 earnings call, UK and EU formulation revenue stood at Rs 258.2 crores for the quarter, and the company described itself as "one of the leading Indian pharmaceutical firms in the UK in terms of revenue." For FY26, North America revenue reached Rs 1,533 crores (24% year-on-year growth), while the UK business showed a "clear recovery trajectory" in H2 FY26 per their investor presentation.

Marksans operates through its UK subsidiary, which includes two acquired businesses — Bell, Sons & Co. (OTC portfolio) and Relonchem (prescription generics) — giving it front-end access to all major UK retailers. With 565+ Rx and OTC products and 34 products in the pipeline per their FY23 investor presentation, they are positioned to scale further as trade barriers ease. FY26 EBITDA margin hit 21.3% in Q3, up 217 basis points year-on-year.

Gems and Jewellery: Vaibhav Global's UK Revenue Is Nearly Rs 1,000 Crores

Vaibhav Global, the direct-to-consumer jewellery and lifestyle products company, operates TV shopping channels and e-commerce platforms in both the US and UK. Per their Q1 FY26 quarterly results, UK segment revenue was Rs 228.2 crores for the quarter alone, up 12.3% year-on-year. For the full year FY25, UK segment revenue totalled Rs 934.1 crores — roughly 28% of the company's total revenue — with segment profit of Rs 108.5 crores.

The CETA eliminates or reduces duties on gems, jewellery, and fashion accessories exported to the UK. For Vaibhav Global, which ships directly to UK consumers, any reduction in landed costs either expands margins or allows more competitive pricing in a market they already serve profitably.

What Retail Investors Should Do

The India-UK CETA is a multi-year structural catalyst, not a one-quarter trade. Textiles will benefit, but the market has already been pricing that in since the deal was signed in mid-2025. The overlooked plays — spirits companies benefiting from halved Scotch import duties, pharma exporters with established UK distribution, and direct-to-consumer sellers with high UK revenue concentration — offer potentially better risk-reward precisely because they are not yet in the consensus narrative. Watch for Q1 FY27 results (July-September quarter) for the first concrete evidence of CETA-related margin improvements, particularly from Tilaknagar Industries and Radico Khaitan on the spirits side.

Data sourced from company filings on NSE via Xaro.