The logos of Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple are displayed on a screen in this illustration image.
India’s decision to levy a tax on companies offering digital services in the country does not target any particular country and the decision will not be reconsidered, said people familiar with the subject.
The decision was communicated to the US Department of Commerce, which had launched an investigation alleging the South Asian nation was targeting companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc. and Google Alphabet Inc., people said asking not to not be identified by citing rules on how to speak to the media.
India’s stance on levies comes as the two countries begin negotiations to strike a limited trade deal with ambitions of a free trade deal going forward. A similar dispute in France prompted the United States to levy 25% tariffs on a series of French products worth around $ 1.3 billion last week.
A call to the after-hours Commerce Department spokesperson was not immediately answered, while the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi referred the request to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. An email sent to a USTR spokesperson for comment went unanswered.
The South Asian nation is one of ten other countries facing US surveys to assess whether the levies discriminate against US technology majors. In the French case, the tariff on products such as makeup and handbags will take effect after around 180 days because France has not yet started to collect its digital tax.
The tax – or equalization levy – which was announced by the Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman in the February budget, was operationalized from April 1 and applies only to non-resident companies selling goods and services in line. It is further protection against loss of income in India due to the activities of e-commerce operators in the country, people said.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
