With domestic production of IT hardware items such as laptops and tablets failing to reach desirable levels, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday extended the validity of any authorization issued for the import of restricted hardware items under the Import Management System (IMS) for another year. , until 31 December 2025.
The government is understood to be considering implementing a credit system for such imports and may finalize that decision once domestic production in India reaches a critical mass.
The new extension follows an earlier one in September, when the existing approval system for the import of certain IT hardware products – including laptops and tablets – was extended by three months after restrictions were first imposed on August 3, 2023. These restrictions include items. Laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, ultra-small form factor computers, and servers.
A senior government official told The Indian Express that the year-long extension requiring authorization only for IT hardware imports is the reason domestic production is yet to reach satisfactory levels. In 2023, the IT Ministry notified a modified version of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware, which aimed to encourage manufacturers to increase local production through subsidies.
“Currently, we cannot impose strict norms for laptop imports because the companies selected under the 2.0 IT hardware PLI scheme have not started production at a significant scale. Some of their plants will start production in the next financial year, so we have to give them time till then. Locally enough Once laptops are produced in quantity, there will be less need to depend on imports,” the official said.
27 companies including Dell, HP, Foxconn, and Lenovo have been approved by the government for incentives under the IT Hardware PLI Scheme 2.0.
A second government official said the expansion was to ensure there was “no disruption” in the market. The government is still considering implementing a credit system in the import management system linked to the producer’s domestic production price, but that will be implemented “in due course”.
“There was some domestic production of IT hardware this year, but it has not yet met the thresholds. Next year the companies will meet the threshold and their production targets,” said a second official.
The original move to introduce a licensing system for the import of laptops and personal computers was aimed at curbing imports from China, which dominates the supply of these devices to India. However, The Indian Express had earlier reported that China’s share of overall laptop imports had increased after the government temporarily withdrew the policy last October, following significant pushback from the industry.
India imported personal computers including laptops worth $5.33 billion in 2022-23 as against $7.37 billion in 2021-22.
Think tank GTRI says India’s repeated delays in implementing laptop import restrictions – possibly influenced by US concerns – need to end. According to GTRI, China controls 81 percent of the global PC and laptop market, and any disruption there could have global ramifications.