Consumption of alcohol is constantly increasing in India. In such a situation, many Indian brands are becoming popular, India Made Foreign Liquor is also seeing a different craze in the country. But this news is for those who are fond of drinking foreign liquor, because in the coming time, foreign whiskey can increase the glory of every party. The prices of foreign whiskey are going to come down very soon in the country.
The 9th round of talks on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) has begun. In this meeting, talks are to be held on reducing the import duty on many items and giving relief from carbon tax. Reducing tax on liquor is also an important agenda of the meeting.
The European Union demands that India reduce the import duty on foreign liquor i.e. whisky coming from Europe. Currently, 150 percent tax is levied on foreign liquor in the country. Under the FTA, India has set a target to reduce the import duty from 150 to 50 percent in the next 10 years. Whereas India wants that the maturity period of the whisky produced here should be reduced for export to Europe.
Currently, only 3-year-old whisky is allowed to be imported in Europe, while for brandy the limit is 1 year. India wants the maturity age of whisky to be brought down to below 3 years. This 5-day meeting to agree on the terms of the FTA has started on 23 September.
This conversation between India and Europe regarding FTA started again in June 2022 after about 8 years. Earlier in 2013, this conversation which started in 2007 was stopped due to many contradictions. Under this FTA, Europe wants tax exemption on 95 percent of the goods exported from India. This includes automobiles and agricultural products. At the same time, India hopes to get a big market in Europe for its manufacturing goods and service sector.
The total trade between India and Europe has crossed $200 billion in 2023. India has exported goods worth $75.18 billion and services worth $31.13 billion to the 27 countries of the European Union in 2023, while the total exports of the European Union to India have been around $103 billion.
