India restricts import of foreign-made laptops, tablets, and servers
India has added even more devices to the growing list of those that will require authorization for import, but it’s not all it seems, and Indian citizens will still be able to buy and trade machines from all the top manufacturers.
The revised rules are designed to encourage companies to manufacture devices in India, and raising import costs by introducing permits is one such way of ensuring increased domestic manufacturing.
Laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, ultra small form factor computers, and servers are all affected with immediate effect.
Indian restrictions
The letter, signed by Santosh Kumar Sarangi, India’s Director General of Foreign Trade, details the amendment of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act of 1992.
The newly restricted items will, from now, require a valid License for Restricted Import, though there are some exceptions to the rule. Most importantly, consumers will still be able to buy and import devices as part of the Baggage Rules, though the document highlights that these too can be amended “from time to time.”
Research and development, testing, benchmarking and evaluation, repair and re-export, and other development purposes are all allowable for the first 20 items of each consignment, too.
This news follows similar news from around three years ago that saw the country place import restrictions on smart TVs. It also comes just weeks after the announcement of $2 billion in funding aimed at promoting local hardware manufacturing, too.
Already, Dell, HP, and Cisco have already committed or started delivering on promises to ramp up manufacturing in India. The move is also hoped to encourage manufacturers of cheaper devices to have a fair stab at the market, given that many Indian citizens are living below the poverty line, though this figure has drastically improved in recent years.
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Via The Register
