Scotch and British gin producers may have secured lower import duties in India, but Indian alcoholic beverage makers allege an uneven playing field when exporting to the UK, The Times of India has reported.
Domestic liquor firms claim that non-tariff barriers in the UK and EU restrict access for Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) products. These barriers, they say, revolve around technical norms like maturation period and ingredients, which are not aligned with Indian production conditions.
“The UK and even the European Union do not allow fair imports of most Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) products due to non-tariff barriers related to maturation and ingredients. We only wish that the Indian govt had stood firm on the issue of non-tariff barriers,” said Anant S Iyer, director general of the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies ( CIABC), told TOI.
UK regulations define whisky as a spirit matured for a minimum of three years—criteria applied to both domestic and imported products. But Iyer argues the rule disadvantages Indian producers due to climate differences.
“In India, the maturation is much faster. A longer maturity period, say, three years, means that around one-third of our spirit will evaporate due to the hotter climate which will not only result in losses but also impact the quality of the product,” he said.
He further added that Indian companies are unable to market their products as whisky in the UK, forcing them to label it as 'Indian spirits' instead. “We would like to label our products as Indian Whisky or Indian Rum/Brandy and sell the same in the UK/EU and allow the market and consumer to decide.”
CIABC has urged the Indian government to raise this “discrimination” with UK authorities and push for a level playing field. The lobby group has also proposed a minimum import price (MIP) for Bottled-in-Origin (BIO) liquor from Scotland to prevent Scotch imports from undercutting domestic brands.
(With inputs from TOI)
Domestic liquor firms claim that non-tariff barriers in the UK and EU restrict access for Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) products. These barriers, they say, revolve around technical norms like maturation period and ingredients, which are not aligned with Indian production conditions.
“The UK and even the European Union do not allow fair imports of most Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) products due to non-tariff barriers related to maturation and ingredients. We only wish that the Indian govt had stood firm on the issue of non-tariff barriers,” said Anant S Iyer, director general of the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies ( CIABC), told TOI.
UK regulations define whisky as a spirit matured for a minimum of three years—criteria applied to both domestic and imported products. But Iyer argues the rule disadvantages Indian producers due to climate differences.
“In India, the maturation is much faster. A longer maturity period, say, three years, means that around one-third of our spirit will evaporate due to the hotter climate which will not only result in losses but also impact the quality of the product,” he said.
He further added that Indian companies are unable to market their products as whisky in the UK, forcing them to label it as 'Indian spirits' instead. “We would like to label our products as Indian Whisky or Indian Rum/Brandy and sell the same in the UK/EU and allow the market and consumer to decide.”
CIABC has urged the Indian government to raise this “discrimination” with UK authorities and push for a level playing field. The lobby group has also proposed a minimum import price (MIP) for Bottled-in-Origin (BIO) liquor from Scotland to prevent Scotch imports from undercutting domestic brands.
(With inputs from TOI)
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