Govt to monitor not restrict PC, laptop, and IT hardware products imports

The government on Thursday unveiled a new ‘contactless’ import authorisation system for laptops and IT hardware products, promising not to restrict import requests. This is a significant step down from its earlier move to issue import licences.

According to an official document, the import permit will be issued in an end-to-end online format, and the government claims this process will require less than 10 minutes to complete. Importers are allowed to apply for multiple authorisations, after which they will receive custom clearance.

The import authorisation will remain valid until September 2024. After the expiry of the authorisation, the government will study the data, continue to interact with stakeholders, and will figure out how to take it forward, providing certainty to the industry. The new system will be in place from 1 November.

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi said the government will not reject any import requests except for companies on the “denied entity list”.

Such a list includes firms that have not fulfilled or defaulted on export obligations by availing benefits of schemes like advance authorisation and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG), or having Directorate of Revenue Intelligence cases against them.

Sarangi, however, said that although an online system has been put in place, these IT hardware products are still “under the restricted” category and “there is no change in that”.

With the import management system in place, the government will collect clear data about specific products, coming in from different sources and monitoring it in consultation with stakeholders. This is to ensure a ‘trusted supply chain’ for electronics in the country amid increasing cybersecurity threats for hardware products.

On 3 August, the Centre had announced that it plans to bring several products in the IT hardware segment under the ‘restricted’ label as part of the country’s attempt to ensure a trusted supply chain and also in its effort to reduce import dependence on China. However, due to serious concerns raised by the industry over the government’s policy decision, the Centre then deferred the implementation until 30 October.

IT Secretary S Krishnan said that the new mechanism was launched after extensive consultation with the industry. The idea is to promote domestic manufacturing of electronic goods. There is no shortage of these goods in the country, and higher production will help in reducing product prices.

“The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and DGFT had multiple rounds of consultation with the trade, and their concerns have been taken into account; some tweaking in policies has been made. The new end-to-end online system will ensure the entire system is online, faceless, contactless, and there will be no hassles for importers to fill in the details,” DGFT Santosh Kumar Sarangi said at a press conference.

Entities such as those from Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Export Oriented Units will not be required to obtain an authorisation for the import of notified IT hardware. The given exemption is allowed only for the captive consumption of the concerned importing units.

The new system will collect details such as an import item summary, data about past imports, exports, and turnover of the importer. To ease the process, the new system will allow the importer to track online their application, and they can share the authorisation with the customs port of registration in an electronic mode.

Spare parts, assemblies, sub-assemblies, components, and other inputs necessary for manufacturing these devices will not need any authorisation under the new system.

Additionally, for the purpose of R&D, testing, benchmarking, evaluation, and product development, up to 20 items per consignment will be exempted from authorisation.

DGFT will also conduct weekly video conferences to address any issues and queries of stakeholders. After the issuance of an import authorisation, the quantity as mentioned on a valid authorisation may also be amended at any point, subject to the overall value of the import remaining unchanged.