The government will give a longer transition period to the industry to move to the licence regime for importing laptops, tablets, and all-in-one personal computers (PCs) in response to demand for more time to adjust to the new system, according to officials.

On August 3, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a notification imposing licencing requirements for imports of laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, and ultra-small form factor computers and servers (items falling under HSN 8741) applicable with immediate effect.

‘Dual objective’

“The move is aimed at serving the dual objective of addressing India’s security concerns, especially related to items shipped from China, as well as giving local manufacturing a boost. We want to replicate the iPhone model of encouraging domestic production,” a government official told businessline.

But the notification created confusion among importers who wanted more clarity on the transition phase.

“We have been approached by companies asking, “Should we commence imports”. So we have already told them, Yes, they can. There are no restrictions on imports. The timeline can be extended by a month or so,” Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), told media on Friday.

Also read: As MNCs brace for supply squeeze, local players eye more deals

The industry has asked the government to postpone the licensing requirement by three to six months. “We are ready to give more transition time to the industry. We are looking at how much longer it should be,” the first official said.

As things stand at the moment, even without an extension, consignments can be imported without licence until August 30 if the bill of lading and letter of credit have been issued or opened before August 3, officials clarified. This flexibility is extended under the transition provisions of the foreign trade policy.

Once the licensing regime kicks in, all importers will have to apply for licences to the DGFT through the online portal and can import only when they get the nod. Sharma said that licences can be issued within “five minutes to half a day”. However, much will depend on the discretion of the government, although there are qualification parameters that are laid down.

Since a large part of the $7-8 billion of laptops, tablets, and computers imported annually into the country comes from China, the import restrictions would help in addressing the trade imbalance with the country, the official said.

Also read: Import licence norm could dampen laptop, tablet sales in festive season: Industry

As there is no prohibition on imports and shipments can be brought in by importers after getting licences from the government, there will be no domestic shortages or trouble at the WTO, the official added.

“The government is just trying to watch what is coming into the country and focus on domestic manufacturing because the more domestic production happens, the more secured devices we will have,” Sharma said. For instance, India now has 99.2 per cent mobile manufacturing happening in the country. In a similar way, computers and laptops can be made in India, Sharma added.