Indian alcohol cos seek elimination of 'non-tariff barriers' in EU markets

For a beverage to be considered "whisky" in the EU, it has to be at least three years or more old. For "brandy", this time is one year

As European spirits and wine manufacturers have raised demands to lower tariffs in India under the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) has also raised a similar demand, seeking better market access for Indian products into the European Union (EU), The Times of India (ToI) has reported.

The CIABC has highlighted the "non-tariff barriers" like how whisky and brandy are defined in Europe and has sought dismantling of the same, the newspaper reported.

Definition of whisky and brandy in the European Union

For a beverage to be considered as "whisky" in the EU, it has to be at least three years or more old. For "brandy", this time is one year.

Arguing for the Indian case for the removal of these conditions, Director General of CIABC, Vinod Giri, told ToI, "It has been highlighted several times, along with scientific substantiations, that such long maturation is not required under warm Indian climate."

We believe that the condition of a long maturation period is a type of "non-tariff barrier" as it increases the cost of production by 30-40 per cent for Indian manufacturers, Vinod Giri added.

He also said that, under Indian climate, spirit evaporates 10-15 per cent every year, which is only 1-2 per cent in European climate conditions.

Vinod Giri added that if the EU does not repeal the law related to the maturation period, any trade agreement will be one-sided and will favour only the EU and not the Indian manufacturers, The Times of India report said.

The EU lobby groups are seeking zero-duty imports under the proposed FTA. CIABC argued that the trade deal between India and the EU should be similar to the one being finalised with the United Kingdom (UK).