Government of India to provide relaxation in import policies for IT Hardware

The government announced on Thursday that the authorization process for import of IT hardware, such as laptops, tablets, personal computers, and servers, has been simplified. However, the government remained adamant that its August decision to place these items under “restricted” imports beginning on November 1 be enforced, primarily for three reasons: to promote domestic production, to stop the influx of made-in-China goods, and to ensure cyber security.

Online permissions to be granted to import IT hardware

Two senior officials said on Thursday that the most recent action entails a web-based system to enable quick online permission for imports under the tariff head 8741 because these commodities would be placed in the “restricted” category on August 3, 2023.

A restricted item may only be imported into the nation, in accordance with the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023, “only after obtaining an authorisation” from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) offices.

According to Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) secretary S Krishnan, the new setup was implemented following “extensive interaction” with the sector and “consultation with all stakeholders.”

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Government wants to ensure trusted supply chain

On August 3, the government changed these specific commodities’ import status from “free” to “restricted” with immediate effect, but on the industry’s request, it postponed the change until October 31.

Santosh Kumar Sarangi, the director general of foreign trade, stated that certain IT hardware was added to the restricted list “as part of India’s effort to ensure trusted supply chain” and the new regime is scheduled to start on November 1 with “some tweaking” for ease of compliance through a “end-to-end online system”.

A government official present in the meeting, who asked not to be named, said: “Besides online system to facilitate importers, only wording has been changed from ‘license’ to ‘authorisation’, but both have similar connotations as per the FTP 2023. Till October 31, these items are under the free category, hence do not need any authorisation or license or permission for imports”.