India, Taiwan request WTO to defer ICT import duty dispute ruling until Apr 2026

New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) India and Taiwan have requested the WTO's dispute settlement body not to adopt a ruling against New Delhi's import duties on certain information and technology products till April 2026, as both sides are engaged in resolving the matter mutually.

The issue will come up during a meeting of the dispute settlement body (DSB) in Geneva on October 24, a WTO (World Trade Organisation) communication said on Tuesday.

A similar request was made by the separate customs territory of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.

They have stated that adoption of the request "would facilitate the resolution of the dispute", the WTO said.

They have requested not to accept the ruling till April 21, 2026.

The dispute settlement body had earlier agreed to such requests from these countries.

As per the WTO rules, the panel's ruling will have to be adopted by the DSB for implementation. However, countries can mutually request the body to delay the adoption of the ruling if they are engaged in the resolution of the issue through negotiations.

In its report, a dispute panel of the WTO on April 17, 2023, said import duties imposed by India on certain information and technology products, including telephones for cellular networks, machines for reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data; and parts of telephone sets, violate global trading norms.

The ruling followed a case filed by these countries against these duties in the WTO.

Earlier, India stated that these ICT products are part of the WTO's Information Technology Products (ITA-2) agreement, and New Delhi is not a part of this pact. India is a part of ITA-1, signed in 1997, which did not have any obligation to eliminate customs duties on these products.

Besides formulating norms for global exports and imports, the Geneva-based 166-member multilateral body adjudicates trade disputes among the member countries.

According to WTO rules, a member country can file a case in the organisation if it feels that a particular trade measure is against the norms.

Bilateral consultation is the first step to resolving a dispute. If both sides are not able to resolve the matter through consultation, either of them can approach the establishment of a dispute settlement panel.

The panel's ruling or report can be challenged at the WTO's appellate platform.

Interestingly, the appellate body is not functioning because of differences among member countries in appointing its members. Several disputes are already pending with this body. The US has been blocking the appointment of the members. PTI RR RR BAL BAL