The government has set up an inter-ministerial panel to examine whether imports of products such as smartphones can be taxed without violating the country’s commitments under the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) 1997 of the World Trade Organization (WTO), official sources told FE. The panel would identify all the items that are within the scope of the ITA, and the ones outside it on which import duties can be imposed without spurring resistance at the WTO.The move comes as India intends to tax purchases of products like smartphones from overseas to not only promote local value addition but also cut a massive merchandise trade deficit, partly caused by expanding electronics imports.