India is under no obligation to implement the recommendations of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) dispute panel on its export promotion schemes, which were challenged by the United States, as New Delhi has appealed against that order at the higher level, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal told parliament lower house recently.

A WTO dispute settlement panel in October last year had ruled that India's export-related schemes are in the nature of prohibited subsidies under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and are inconsistent with WTO norms.

The panel has given a time-frame of 180 days for withdrawal of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) scheme. India has appealed at the WTO's appellate body against this ruling.

"Due to non-functioning of appellate body (of the WTO's dispute settle mechanism), the appeal has been kept in suspension. Till the appeal is disposed of, India is under n obligation to implement the recommendations of panel," Goyal said in a written reply.

In another reply, the minister informed that India is now involved in 15 trade disputes, mostly against the United States, at the WTO, according to an official release.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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