India reverses decision on laptop import restrictions

India has decided not to put any restrictions on the import of laptops, reversing its previous decision due to backlash. The trade secretary of India Sunil Barthwal announced the change on Friday, according to Reuters. The trade secretary claimed that the government wants laptop importers to be on close watch. 

The licensing system for imports, which was introduced on August 3 with the intention of guaranteeing the entry of "trusted hardware and systems" into India, was postponed for three months following opposition from the industry and criticism from Washington. The initial plan would have had significant implications for companies such as Apple, Samsung, Dell, Lenovo and HP.

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The reversal does not imply that the laptop imports will move back to the older protocol. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade Santosh Kumar Sarangi claimed that the government is in talks with stakeholders of industry to build a new order which is expected to be announced by the end of this month.

Attempt to bolster India's laptop manufacturing

In August 2023, the Indian authorities declared that starting from November 1, 2023, import licenses would be mandatory for electronic goods such as laptops and tablets. However, the enforcement of these limitations had been put on hold by the government and has now been scrapped for a new order.

The reasons behind the government’s decision to impose import restrictions were:

• Addressing security issues
• Encouraging local manufacturing
• Reducing the influx of laptops from China

According to the government’s prior announcement, only those with a valid license would be permitted to import the restricted items. However, certain exceptions were made including for the tasks like R&D, testing, benchmarking, evaluation, repair, re-export, and product development.

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