India and Taiwan have requested the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) dispute settlement body to defer the ruling in a case against New Delhi’s import duties on certain information and communication technology (ICT) products till April, 2026, on a plea that both sides are engaged in resolving the matter mutually.
The issue is slated to come up during a meeting of the dispute settlement body (DSB) in Geneva on October 24, 2025, a WTO (World Trade Organisation) communication said on Tuesday.
The adoption of the request “would facilitate the resolution of the dispute”, the WTO said in a statement about the request put in by India and Taiwan.
The countries have appealed for a deferment to the ruling until April 21, 2026.
A similar request was also made by the separate customs territory of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu after the dispute settlement body had earlier agreed to such requests from these countries.
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In its report, a dispute panel of the WTO on April 17, 2023, said import duties imposed by India on certain information and technology products, including telephones for cellular networks, machines for reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data; and parts of telephone sets, violate global trading norms.
The ruling followed a case filed by these countries against these duties in the WTO. As per the WTO rules, the panel’s ruling will have to be adopted by the DSB for implementation.
India has pleaded that these ICT products are part of the WTO’s Information Technology Products (ITA-2) agreement, and New Delhi is not a part of this pact. India is a part of ITA-1, signed in 1997, which did not have any obligation to eliminate customs duties on these products.
However, countries can mutually request the body to delay the adoption of the ruling if they are engaged in the resolution of the issue through negotiations.
Besides formulating norms for global exports and imports, the Geneva-based 166-member multilateral body adjudicates trade disputes among the member countries that have filed a case in the organisation if they feel that a particular trade measure is against the norms.
While bilateral consultation is the first step to resolving a dispute, either of the two sides can approach the establishment of a dispute settlement panel if they are not able to resolve the matter through consultation.
The panel’s ruling or report can be challenged at the WTO’s appellate platform.
Although, interestingly, the appellate body is not functioning because of differences among member countries in appointing its members. Several disputes are already pending with this body but the US has been blocking the appointment of the members.
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