Brussels, 21/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 20 October, European exporters of wine (CEEV) and spirits (CEPS) called on the European Commission to ensure that reducing customs duties was a priority in the negotiations for a free trade agreement with India. The EU-India summit on 10 December will be discussing this agreement.
The custom duties and tax systems currently in force in India have created significant obstacles for exports into the continent. India currently imposes a 150% customs duty on imported products and imports are subject to a very high rate of VAT (up to 75%). Excise duties sometimes reach a level of 200%. CEEV (Comité européen des entreprises vins) and CEPS (European Spirits Organisation) assert that “the removal of customs duties would open up significant market development potential for EU exports such as wines and spirits”. These organisations are particularly calling for the gradual phasing out of the 150% Indian customs duty on imported products “over a reasonable transitional period”.
Jamie Fortescue, the director-general of CEPS, explained that with more than 200 million cases, the Indian spirits market is already significant and constitutes the biggest whisky market in the world. He added that “today spirits imports represent less than 1% of that market. There is plenty of room for both domestic and imported products”. Lamberto V. Gancia, the president of CEEV concluded that “taking into account the importance of the EU wines and spirits export sectors for the EU balance of payments, a free trade agreement with India without a significant improvement of the market access for wines and spirits through substantial tariff concessions would just be inconceivable”. (L.C./transl.fl)