. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/W/304 
12 March 2009 
 (09-1251) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
CONCERNS ON INDIA'S IMPORT RESTRICTION ON CHINESE TOYS 
 
Communication from China
 
  
 The following communication, dated 11 March 2009, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of China.  
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I. BACKGROUND 
1. India’s Department of Commerce of Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued Notification 
No. 82 on 23 January 2009, which declares that: 
“Import of ‘Toys’” from China appearing und er ITC Codes 9501, 9502, 9503 of Schedule-I 
of ITC (HS) Classification of Export and Impor t Items is prohibited for six months with 
immediate effect and until further orders. 
2. This Notification imposes a general ban only on Ch inese toys for at least six months without 
specifying reasons for the restriction. After a 38- day implementation, a new notification, namely 
Notification No. 91, was issued by the Department  of Commerce of India’s Ministry of Commerce 
and Industry on 2 March, which states: 
Import of “Toys” from China appearing under ITC Codes 9501, 9502, 9503 of Schedule-I of 
ITC (HS) Classifications of Export and Impor t Items is prohibited for six months with 
immediate effect and until further orders. Howe ver, import of toys from China accompanied 
by the following certifications shall be permitted: 
(i) A certification that the toys being import ed conform to the standards prescribed in 
ASTM F963 or standards prescribed in IS O 8124 (Parts I-III) or IS 9873 [Parts I-
III]; 
(ii) A certification of Conformance from th e manufacturer that representative sample of 
the toys being imported have been tested by  an independent laboratory which is ILAC 
accredited and found to meet the specificati ons indicated above. The certificate 
would also link the toys in the consignment to the period of manufacture indicated in 
the Certificate of Conformity.  
 G/TBT/W/304 
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  II. THE INDIAN NOTIFICATIONS ARE INCONSISTENT WITH ITS WTO 
OBLIGATIONS 
3. China notes that Notification No. 82 applies only to  Chinese toys while not applicable to toys 
of Indian origin or those originating from ot her WTO Members. Therefore, Notification No. 82 
constitutes a general ban on and a discriminatory measure against Chinese toys, which breaches a 
series of fundamental principles embodied in the multilateral trading agreements, especially the 
general elimination of quantitativ e restrictions under Article 11 of GATT 1994, the most favored 
nation treatment and national treatment principles in Articles 1 and 3 of GATT 1994 and Articles 2.1 
and 5.1 of the TBT Agreement. China believes that  the ban also creates unnecessary obstacles to the 
international toy trade and is much more trade-r estrictive than necessary, which does not conform to 
Article 2.2 of the TBT Agreement.  
4. Although India issued Notification No. 91 on 2 March 2009 to replace the Notification 
No. 82, the discriminative nature of  the restriction remains unchanged. 
(i)  Notification No. 91 requires Chinese toys to conform to the related standards while 
toys manufactured in India are not subject to the same requirement. Therefore, the 
Notification discriminates against toys from China and is inconsistent with India’s 
obligations of national treatment under Artic le 3 of GATT 1994 and Article 2.1 of the 
TBT Agreement. 
(ii)  China notes that the conformance requirement is not imposed by India on toys 
originating from other WTO Members. Therefore, it violates the MFN principle provided under Article I of the GATT 1994 and Article 2.1 of the TBT Agreement. 
(iii)  Notification No. 91 imposes a ban on Chinese toys without related certificates while 
toys from India and other origins, regardless of their conformance to the standards provided, are exempted from the discriminat ory ban. Therefore, China believes that 
Notification No. 91 accords unfavorable tr eatment to Chinese toys specifically and 
obviously violates WTO fundamental principles of national treatment, MFN and 
general elimination of quantitative restricti ons provided under Articles I, III and XI of 
the GATT and Articles 2.1 and 5.1 of the TBT Agreement. 
(iv)  China notes that India didn’t notify its Notification No. 82, and has not notified 
Notification No. 91 to the WTO. China would like to remind India of its transparency obligations under Articles 2.9, 2.10, 5.6 and 5.7 of the TBT Agreement. 
5. China welcomes India’s statements to stand against trade protectionism on various occasions 
such as at the World Economic Forum in Davos, in  January this year. China hopes that the Indian 
Government stands by its promises and does not impose trade protectionism. China strongly requests 
that India revoke its discriminatory and WTO-incons istent restriction on Chinese toys immediately. 
 
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