Brussels, 26/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has notified the WTO headquarters of its decision of 16 March to bring a panel of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) against the Indian import regime for wines and spirits, which the Union has accused of blocking access to the Indian market to European producers. This is the second stage of the procedure following the formal consultations which were launched in November 2006, and which ended in failure at a meeting in New Delhi on 20-21 December. The Union has asked for its request to be included on the agenda of the DSB meeting of 11 April.
This procedure follows on from an in-depth investigation, which was launched in July 2005 after a complaint was tabled by the European Spirits Organisation (CEPS) and the Comité européen des entreprises vins (CEEV), the European wine producers' association. The complaint brought by the European producers relates to certain Indian trade practices which disfavour the import and sales of wines and spirits in India, particularly additional- and high- customs duties for certain member states, on top of federal duty, which is already high (100% for wines and 150% for spirits). Altogether, tax can reach 264% for wines and 550% for spirits, depending on import prices.
According to the European industry, the Indian market is one of the largest and most promising in the world, with a volume of 87 million 9 litre cases for spirits (a market on which imported products represent just 1% of the total) and 667,000 cases for wines. In 2005, however, European exports of wines and spirits to India totalled just €6.7 and €43.3 million respectively. (eh)