India’s Import Duties On ICT: New Delhi, Chinese Taipei Ask WTO To Delay Ruling Till July

The five-year long dispute between India and Chinese Taipei regarding New Delhi’s levy of import duties on certain information and communication technology (ICT) products has taken a new turn with both the countries asking the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to not adopt any ruling in the matter till July 26, 2024.

During a meeting of the WTO’s dispute settlement body (DSB) on April 26, India and Chinese Taipei said they were engaged in talks to resolve the dispute. 

The DSB agreed to the requests of both the countries, as per the information available on the WTO’s website. 

The development was first reported by news agency PTI.

Chinese Taipei filed a case against India in the WTO over import duties imposed on certain electronic goods, including telephones for cellular networks; machines for reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data; and parts of telephone sets in 2019, as per the report. 

Since then, the countries thrice approached the body for delays in its consideration of the reports. 

In an April 2023 report, a dispute panel of the WTO said import duties imposed by India on certain information and technology products violated global trading norms. 

India imposes 20% import duty on mobile phones and 15% on telecom equipment.

Besides Chinese Taipei, the European Union and Japan also approached the body seeking reductions in the import duties imposed by New Delhi. 

The EU also agreed to defer its case earlier in September 2023. “The EU and Chinese Taipei have made a request to the Dispute Settlement Body at WTO to defer the adoption of the Panel report until 19 September 2023. This deferral is intended to create an opportunity for all parties to work towards a Mutually Agreed Solution (MAS),” Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel told the Lok Sabha in September last year. 

The latest development comes at a time when India has upped its domestic production of mobile phones. The India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) said last month that India has turned 97% self-sufficient when it comes to mobile phones compared to being 78% import-dependent in 2014. 

In this time, international phone majors like Apple, Oppo, and Samsung have also increased production in India. Tech major Apple had manufactured iPhones worth INR 1 Lakh Cr in India in 2023. 

Talking about WTO, earlier this year, the Indian government proposed at the 13th ministerial conference that there should be no extension of moratorium on imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions. However, semiconductor industry bodies in India said the move will hit the chip design sector in the country.