CIABC welcomes India-UK trade deal

Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) welcomed the historic trade agreement between India and the UK, which came into effect from July 15. CIABC Director General Anant S Iyer said that it is a huge opportunity for both nations.

Anant S Iyer said, “Alcoholic beverages is an important component in the India-UK trade. We hope that the FTA will lead to enhanced cooperation, sharing of technical know-how, and sharing of best practices that will help in the growth of the alcobev industry. We also hope that the FTA will drive investments into India and also help Indian companies which are looking for investments in the UK.  

Lower import duty on Scotch whisky will help Indian alcobev manufacturers to balance their input costs, especially in the light of escalation of costs of dry goods, higher cost of logistics and production as well as rupee devaluation due to the US-Iran conflict. Moreover, phased reduction in import duty over a period of 10 years will give ample time to the domestic industry to gear up to the challenges and dynamics of the evolving marketplace.”

He further said that it is for the individual companies to decide on whether prices will be reduced given the duty cut and benefit passed onto consumers.