NEWS
FREE TRADE TALKS: INDIA ALCOHOL INDUSTRY REQUESTED UK TO LOWER WHISKY MATURATION STANDARD
By Siulan Law Mathews DipWSET
7-2-2024
Credt: Naveed Ahmed/Unsplah
India and the UK are having the 14th round of negotiations for their free trade agreement (FTA), India was reported to be prepared to give further tariff concessions to Scotch whisky imported in barrels but but it’s alcohol industry requested the UK to remove the minimum requirement of 3 years maturation for whisky.
A delegation of high-ranking officials from the UK arrived in India on 22 January to discuss the remaining aspects of the FTA negotiations.
India media reported that the country’s alcoholic beverage industry is prepared to accept further tariff concessions to Scotch whisky imported in barrels.
But they have also demanded that the UK to remove the minimum requirement of 3 years maturation for a spirit to be called whisky.
Vinod Giri, director-general of Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), told Indian media: “Our demand is very simple. We want the government to propose a tax reduction on bottled liquor from current 150 percent to 100 percent now and then to 50 percent over a period of 10 years.”
“We also acknowledge that whisky imported in bulk is also used as a raw material and hence are fine with more concessions on it by reducing duty to 75 percent now and then to 25 percent over 10 years."
“The other pertinent issue that we have raised is removal of the maturation condition of 3 years for a spirit to be called whisky in the UK. In warm Indian weather conditions, whisky matures 3-5 times faster than in cold Scotland. It also evaporates 10-15 percent every year during maturation in hot India and so in 3 years more than one-third of the whisky is lost which would make Indian products just uncompetitive. If this condition is not removed the deal would be one sided with no gain to Indian industry," Giri said.
CIABC is the most important organisation of Indian liquor makers, whose members include major Indian companies such as Allied Blenders & Distillers, Radico Khaitan, Inbrew, Mohan Meakin, Jagatjit, Tilaknagar, Alcobrew and Amrut.
Another contentious issue is mobility and visas, Indian media quoted resources as saying that the Indian team had requested “full mobility” for doing businesses in the UK.
India was said to have proposed UK to grant relaxations in the visa regime and make it in favour of Indian service companies operating in the UK under FTA provisions, to allow Indian firms to hire manpower easily.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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