Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan defended India’s imposition of a 2% digital services tax on foreign e-commerce firms, stating that companies benefiting economically from a country should be taxed even without a physical presence there. This comes in response to a recent report by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) that found India’s equalisation levy discriminated against American firms like Facebook and Amazon. Wadhawan expressed disagreement with the USTR’s conclusion, emphasizing that the not
On Thursday, WTO members tentatively agreed to extend the moratorium on imposing duties on electronic transmissions until the next ministerial meeting, expected in 2023, according to two trade sources engaged in the discussions as reported by Reuters. The potential expiration of the moratorium, which has shielded data flows from cross-border tariffs since 1998, raised significant concerns among businesses. Supported by influential entities such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Unio
In the face of resistance from both industry stakeholders and certain sections of the government, the Department of Consumer Affairs is reportedly reconsidering certain provisions in the draft e-commerce rules it released in June. Notably, concerns have been raised within the government regarding perceived “overreach” by the Consumer Affairs Department, encroaching into domains already addressed by other departments such as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Ministry