Bureaucratic procedural hassles in India are still a "stumbling block" to Italian investment in the country, said Italian Trade Commissioner Vittorio Mecozzi.
"Bureaucracy is still not easy (in India)," Mecozzi, based in Mumbai, said on the sidelines of an International Granites and Stone Fair, where Italian companies are participating in a big way.
He referred to a "lot of paperwork" to invest in India. He also spoke about high import duty on wines and said it was in the region of 250 per cent to 300 per cent.
The Trade Commissioner, however, said bureaucratic hassles were "decreasing" and India was paying a great deal of attention towards that but still they "are a stumbling block."
The duties were also gradually coming down, he added. Bilateral annual trade between India and Italy is to the extent of $3.4 billion. India imported goods worth $1.3 billion and exported goods worth $2.1 billion, and it has grown by 23.4 per cent from the previous year.
"There is a huge potential to grow the trade," he said.