India Advocates Prolonged E-Commerce Duty Moratorium at WTO

India is pushing for a significant extension of the WTO's moratorium on levying import duties for cross-border electronic transmissions, according to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's statement on Thursday. The aim of this move is to provide more business certainty and predictability.

The 14th WTO ministerial conference held in Yaounde ended without a consensus. While India initially supported a two-year extension, there is now a shift towards advocating for a longer duration, aligning with the ongoing debate amongst other member nations, including the US, Brazil, and more, on periodic extensions.

Goyal emphasized that alongside the economic implications, there is emphasis on bridging the digital divide by enhancing digital infrastructure in less developed countries. The current dispute over extension reflects evolving international dynamics on e-commerce taxation and digital economy policies.