India Imposes Restrictions on Imports of Laptops and Computers

The Indian Government has imposed some restrictions on the import of laptops, computers, and more devices. The Ministry of Commerce has released a notification for the same, suggesting that these restrictions will come into effect immediately. Here’s what this means for you.

Restrictions on Imports of Laptops and PCs

It is suggested that the import of laptops, personal computers, and even servers falling under HSN 8741 will be restricted. These items will require a special license for imports. For those who don’t know, the HSN 8741 code is meant for devices dealing with data processing.

The notification read, “Exemption from import licensing requirements is provided for the import of 1 laptop, tablet, all-in-one personal computer, or ultra-small form factor computer, including those purchased from e-commerce portals, through post or courier. Imports shall be subject to payment of duty as applicable.“

Up until now, imports of devices were an easy process but not there are restrictions. But what does this mean for the common user? Will this refrain you from getting electronic gadgets from overseas? To answer this, there won’t be any restrictions on anyone carrying purchases of laptops, computers, or even a smartphone from foreign countries when meant for personal use. So, in case you are planning to get any device from, say, the US, there won’t be a problem.

This new change will be affecting businesses that make imports of the aforementioned devices in bulk. With a valid license, the import will be limited to just 20 items of the HSN 8741 category per shipment. There’s still no word as to why the government made this move.

That said, this will persuade more brands into setting up their manufacturing facilities in India, thus, promoting the ‘Made in India’ initiative. While a lot of companies like Dell and HP have their plants in India, brands like Apple are still importing and thus, this could cause trouble for them. Apple is getting ‘Made in India’ iPhones via Wistron and more but still needs to put MacBooks and iPads on the list.

It remains to be seen how this new change affects brands. We will keep you posted with the details and meanwhile, do share your thoughts on this in the comments below.