New Delhi, March 6 - India should cut "extremely high" duties on imported wine and spirits, the European Union's farm commissioner said on Tuesday, and the bloc may escalate the dispute at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
A European Commission report issued last year, prompted by complaints from European producers of whisky and other spirits and wines, found "clear violations of WTO provisions" and producers are pressing for action.
"I am desperately sorry and disappointed to see no cut by India on its extremely high tariffs on wine and spirits," Mariann Fischer Boel told reporters after meeting India's agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar.
"We are considering a possibility of raising dispute settlement at the WTO," she said.
Fischer Boel is due to meet Trade Minister Kamal Nath on her trip and asked if she would request New Delhi to cut duties, she replied: "You can be sure."
The Commission report found a combination of duties and taxes in some Indian states were as high as 550 percent on imported spirits and 264 percent on wines.
Scotch whisky makers last week asked the Commission to escalate the dispute at the WTO after India left duties on imported wines and spirits untouched in its annual budget despite lowering duties on other imports.
If the WTO forms a dispute settlement panel and rules against India, the EU could impose retaliatory tariffs on imports from India.