Local production & security on mind, govt restricts import of laptops, tabs

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, August 3

The government on Thursday restricted the import of laptops, tablets and computers with immediate effect for security reasons and to promote domestic manufacturing.

The move will add another layer of incentive for local manufacturing to existing incentives worth $2 billion assured under the Productivity-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. India is targeting annual production worth $300 billion by 2026 and the restrictions on unlimited imports will compel companies like Dell, Acer, Samsung, LG Electronics, Apple, Lenovo and HP to set up assembling or manufacturing facilities in India.

Three exemptions under new policy

• Exemption from licensing requirement for one PC/laptop bought via e-commerce (duty to apply)
• One new and one old laptop can be brought under existing baggage rules without paying duty
• 20 items per consignment for R&D, testing, benchmarking and evaluation (without duty)

Push to Make-in-India

• New policy aims to reduce reliance on foreign markets
• India working to become a global manufacturing hub
• Eyes $300 billion worth of annual production by 2026

$7-8 billion

worth of laptops, tablets, PCs, etc imported by

India annually

“The import of laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, ultra-small form factor computers and servers falling under the HSN 8741 shall be ‘restricted’ with immediate effect and their import would be allowed against a valid licence for restricted imports,” said a Commerce Ministry notification. The restriction will not apply to import under the baggage rules, under which one old and one new laptop can be brought into the country without paying duty. The notification came two days after Jio launched its laptop “Jiobook”, priced at Rs 16,499.

Exemption from import-licensing requirements is also provided for the import of one laptop, tablet, personal computer, or ultra-small form factor computer, including those purchased from e-commerce portals, through post or courier. Imports shall be subject to duty as payable.

There is an exemption for up to 20 items per consignment for R&D, testing, benchmarking and evaluation, repair and return and product development purposes. Explaining the new policy, officials invoked the need for security, besides the attempt to push local manufacturing. They also played down industry fears and claimed that there would be no impact on domestic prices.

An official said one primary reason is “to ensure that the security of our citizens is fully safeguarded as some of the hardware could potentially have security-related issues and compromise sensitive and personal data”.