Government restricts import of laptops, tablets, PCs except for personal, R&D use

The government on August 3 announced restrictions on the import of laptops, tablets, personal computers, ultra-small form factor computers, and servers.

While the import of these items will be permitted against a licence, certain use cases have been exempted from the restrictions. These include the import of one laptop, tablet, personal computer, or ultra-small form factor computer through online portals, couriers, or post.

The restrictions are also not applicable to imports under baggage rules, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.

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Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a commerce ministry official said the decision had been taken keeping national security in mind, with some hardware possibly posing risks to India's growing IT sector.

"There is enough manufacturing in the country to meet demand," the official further said, adding that "actual users and importers" with a history of imports will be allowed to continue importing the electronic goods.

As per the government notification, an exemption from an import licence has also been provided for up to 20 of these items per consignment for the purpose of research and development, testing, benchmarking and evaluation, repair and re-export and for product development.

"Given imports shall be allowed subject to the condition that the imported goods shall be used for the stated purposes only and will not be sold. Further, after the intended purpose, the products would either be destroyed beyond use or re-exported," the notification said.

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The import of these electronic goods, however, is allowed when they are an "essential" part of a capital good.

The import restrictions come amid pressure on India's trade balance, with the merchandise trade deficit exceeding $20 billion in both May and June.

In April-June, India's merchandise imports contracted by 12.7 percent compared to the first quarter of 2022-23 but exports shrunk by an even larger 15.1 percent.

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Even as the purchase of goods from abroad has fallen on the whole, imports of electronic goods have risen by 6.3 percent year-on-year in April-June to $19.76 billion.

Electronic goods are India's largest import category after petroleum products.

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At the same time, the export of electronic goods by India surged 47.1 percent in April-June to $6.96 billion, the latest data shows.