In an apparent move to stem Chinese hegemony in the electronics sector, the Centre has ‘restricted’ imports of personal computers, laptops, palmtops, automatic data processing machines, microcomputer/ processors and large/ mainframe computers with immediate effect.
In a notification, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said imports of computers and other items under the seven categories of HSN Code 8471 (HSN is the Harmonised System of Nomenclature, a globally accepted method of naming goods) were restricted. There will, however, be no restrictions on imports under the baggage rules.
It must be noted that India imports computers worth Rs 4-5 billion every year and over 75 per cent of these imports are from China. Now under the ‘restricted’ regime, companies importing these goods from China or anywhere else will have to get a license for the same that will help regulate their entry into India. Earlier, there was no such mandate.
A government official said the move was aimed at pushing companies to manufacture locally in India, as the country looks to strengthen its domestic production prowess in the electronics sector.
The move is being seen as a direct boost to the Centre’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware. The scheme, with an outlay of Rs 17,000 crore, could force companies like Apple, Samsung and Acer to step up manufacturing and assembly in India.
The import of one laptop, tablet, all-in-one personal computer or ultrasmall form factor computer including those purchased from e-commerce portals through post or courier, has been exempted from licensing requirement. It will attract payment of duty as applicable, it said.
Imports up to 20 items per consignment for R&D, testing, benchmarking, and evaluation repair and re-export, and product development purposes, have been exempted from import licence. Such imports will, however, be only for use for the stated purposes and not for sale.
Industry sources said, this new system of licensing will help to create a more secure and streamlined digital ecosystem in the country.
India has seen an increase in imports of electronic goods and laptops/ computers over the last few years. During April-June this year, the import of electronic goods increased to $6.96 billion from $4.73 billion in the year-ago period, with a share of 4-7 per cent in overall imports.
During April-May, the latest period for which country-wise data is available, India’s imports from China for these seven categories of restricted imports were valued at $743.56 million.
In the previous two financial years, 2021-22 and 2020-21, there was a sharp surge in imports of personal computers, laptops from China, with a year-on-year increase of 51.5 per cent to $5.34 billion in 2021-22 and 44.7 per cent to $3.52 billion in 2020-21.
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