Electronic transmission: Two industry bodies want ‘no customs duty’ to stay

Two Indian industry associations – the India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) and the India SME Forum- have supported the continuation of prohibition of imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions at the World Trade Organization (WTO), citing it to be important for supply chain resilience post Covid.

The two industry bodies made this submission to the global trade watchdog as part of a consortium of around 170 global associations. The submission comes amid India and South Africa pushing hard for the prohibition to end as it leads to revenue loss and are keen on an outcome on the issue before the WTO’s 13th ministerial conference (MC13) later this month. The moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions is in place since 1998. Around 105 countries, including the US, the UK, Australia, China, and Japan favour this prohibition.