India will be referred to the World Trade Organisation unless it ceases to discriminate against European spirits and wines, the European Commission has warned.

The eight-month investigation by the European Commission confirmed that India’s duty system amounted to “blatant violations” of WTO rules and unfairly distorted competition by subjecting imported bottled spirits to a much higher tax burden – up to 550 per cent on Scotch whisky – than faced by Indian distillers, with the effect that “the Indian market has remained essentially closed for imported wines and spirits”.