Brussels, 25/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the WTO announced that it was to rule on the dispute between the Union and India on the Indian import regime for wines and spirits. A special group tasked with resolving the dispute will be set in place within 45 days, and will then have six months to return its report. Further to the complaint tabled against New Delhi last November by the Commission, bilateral consultations under the aegis of the WTO have failed to resolve the dispute (EUROPE 9310 and 9394). An initial request to set up a panel was blocked by India in mid-April (EUROPE 9404), as is allowed under procedures in force at the WTO. However, the second request, which was tabled by the Union on Tuesday, was automatically accepted by the organisation, in line with its procedures. At the end of March, Indian Trade Minister Kamal Nath pledged that his country would ensure that a negotiated resolution of its dispute with the EU on its import regime for wines and spirits could be attained. The Indian press, for its part, revealed in mid-April that a draft bill aiming to reduce taxes would be tabled by the government before the WTO verdict was returned. (eh)