In a change of stance, India has said at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) it is willing to consider extension of moratorium on taxation of cross border electronic transmissions beyond the customary two years citing the need to provide predictably to businesses.
“India’s stand was that we should look at a little longer period, so that businesses can plan their business activities for a longer period. This is still under discussion amongst various countries, and will be finalized in the next month or two in Geneva,” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said at a press conference on the 14th Ministerial Conference that concluded on Sunday.
Departure from Tradition
This is in contrast to earlier stand taken by India that the moratorium that has been in place since 1998 should not be extended. This stand was repeated at the General Council meeting of the WTO in December 2025. The moratorium expired on March 31, 2026.
The differences over the time period for which the moratorium could be extended led to the 14th MC at Yaounde remaining inclusive. The driver of the idea of longer extensions – beyond two years – was the US, which wanted a permanent extension. Later at the negotiations it brought it down to four years. Other members were willing to go along the US but Brazil and Turkey stood their ground for just a two year extension, which has been the norm since 1998 when the moratorium was first imposed.
TRIPS Linkage
The minister said India’s stand is that period of extension of moratorium on e-commerce taxation and moratorium on Non-violation Complaints under the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement of the WTO should be similar, The safeguard against non-violation complaints expired also expired on March 31, 2026. This moratorium has been in force since 1995.
Developing countries had relied on this safeguard to protect policy space, especially in areas like public health. Without it, even WTO-compliant measures—such as compulsory licensing—can be challenged by developed countries for affecting their expected commercial gain, a GTRI report said.
On e-commerce moratorium, India has advocated strongly for the digital divide to be bridged, for building digital infrastructure and skill sets in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and developing countries and for regulations to empower them in the future, Goyal said. This capacity building of developing countries to take full benefit of the rapidly evolving e-commerce space is part of the work programme of the WTO.
As the Yaounde ministerial remained conclusive, the General Council of the WTO would meet in Geneva in the next couple of months to complete the work started there.
The 14th MC adopted two decisions on improving the integration of small economies into the multilateral trading system; and on enhancing the precise, effective and operational implementation of special and differential treatment provisions in the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
Other than e-commerce and TRIPS, issues which could not be finalised at 14th MC and would be discussed in Geneva include draft on WTO Reform and Work Plan and least developed country (LDC) package.