India to appeal against WTO panel ruling over IT tariffs

In 2019, the EU challenged India's introduction of import duties of between 7.5% and 20% for a wide range of IT products, such as mobile phones and components, as well as integrated circuits.

India is planning to appeal against a ruling from a panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) that the Asian country violated global trading rules by imposing tariffs on some IT products, a government source said.

On Monday, the WTO panel gave its ruling related to a 2019 dispute with the European Union, Japan and Taiwan over import duties on IT products.

"Yes, India will go in to appeal," a trade ministry source, briefed on the government position, told Reuters. The official did not want to be named as discussions are private.

India's trade ministry did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

If India appeals, the case will sit in legal purgatory since the WTO's top appeals bench is no longer functioning due to the opposition from the United States (US) to judicial appointments.

In 2019, the EU challenged India's introduction of import duties of between 7.5 percent and 20 percent for a wide range of IT products, such as mobile phones and components, as well as integrated circuits, saying they exceeded the maximum rate. Japan and Taiwan filed similar complaints that same year.

A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel said on April 17 that India had violated global trading rules in a dispute with the European Union (EU), Japan and Taiwan over import duties on IT products.

“We recommend that India bring such measures into conformity with its obligations,” the WTO panel’s report said.

The WTO panel said that India had already brought some of the challenged tariffs into line with global trading rules since last year. While the panel broadly backed the complaints against India, it rejected one of Japan’s claims that New Delhi's customs notification lacked “predictability”.