India Plans To Appeal Against World Trade Organisation (WTO) Panel Ruling On IT Tariffs

According to a government source, India intends to challenge a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel's finding that it breached international trade laws by placing tariffs on some IT items.

A 2019 dispute over import taxes on IT items with the European Union, Japan, and Taiwan was decided on Monday by a WTO panel.

India will file an appeal, according to a source in the trade ministry who has been briefed on the official line. Since the conversations were confidential, the official wished to remain anonymous.

An email requesting comment was not immediately answered by the Indian trade ministry. If India files an appeal, the case will remain in limbo because the WTO's top appeals bench is now inactive due to US opposition to judge nominations.

The EU challenged India's decision to apply import duties ranging from 7.5% to 20% on a number of IT products in 2019, including integrated circuits, mobile phones, and component parts, on the grounds that these rates exceeded the permitted cap. Japan and Taiwan both complained about the same things in the same year.