Indian Government Eases Import Rules for Laptops

In a significant turn of events, the Indian government has opted not to impose licensing requirements on the import of personal computers, laptops, and tablets, Times of India is reporting.

Instead, the government will initiate a monitoring system for tracking inbound shipments.

This decision comes as a welcomed relief for tech giants like Apple and Samsung, who rely on importing laptops into the Indian market.

Earlier reports had hinted at the possibility of India deferring import duty restrictions on PCs, laptops, and tablets. Now, a senior official has confirmed that rather than imposing licensing requirements, the government will closely monitor the imports.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal clarified the government’s stance, stating, “On laptops, we are of the view that there are no restrictions as such.”

“We are only saying that somebody who is importing these laptops has to be under close watch, so that we can look at these imports. It is basically monitoring, which we are doing. It has nothing to do with restrictions as such.”

Santosh Kumar Sarangi, the director general of foreign trade (DGFT), mentioned that an import management system is slated to be in operation from November 1.

The government’s original intention behind these measures was to impose import restrictions on various technology products, including laptops, computers, and tablets.

This was done with the objective of promoting domestic manufacturing and reducing imports, particularly from countries like China.

Today’s relief addresses concerns voiced by the IT hardware industry, which had expressed that configuring and establishing manufacturing and assembly units within India would require a considerable amount of time.

India imports approximately $7-8 billion worth of these technology goods every year.