Courtesy of Asia Pulse:

NEW DELHI – The South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), which paves the way for free trade in goods among South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries came into effect on Sunday. As per the agreement, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will impose their customs duties to 0-5 per cent by 2013, while the least developed members Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan will do so by 2018. India, as the larger and relatively developed economy, will provide concessions to Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including a mechanism to compensate for revenue losses, due to a reduction in duties. The LDCs which will be compensated include Bangladesh and Maldives.