New import authorisation system for laptops, PCs, tablets now open for companies

While, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology held a meeting with the industry on September 22, Directorate General of Foreign Trade held a similar meeting on September 25

With the import management system for laptops, tablets and PCs now live, manufacturers and importers are set to seek authorisation for their products and components on the portal hosted by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), sources said.

This comes after the Indian government, a fortnight ago, approved the free import of laptops, tablets and computers till late 2024 but said that manufacturers would have to feed into their organisation and import data details for three years in the online import management system.

This development was necessitated since the Union commerce ministry, much to the chagrin of the industry, in August, announced curbs on import of such items and said that manufacturers would need a valid license and pay a duty on the import of such components. The aim of this move "was to ensure a trusted supply chain for India's growing digital economy", Minister of State for MeitY Rajeev Chandrasekhar had earlier said.

"It has been a few days since the portal became live. Manufacturers have not yet applied for authorisation, and it is expected that they will start soon," said a source.

After applying for authorisation on the online import management system, the turnaround time for granting an import authorisation is expected to be within 24-72 hours, said industry body NASSCOM. This was conveyed to the industry body by the DGFT in a recent meeting on the issue.

The authorisation fee will be between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1 lakh and it will be valid for a year. The import application is likely to not be rejected for reasons other than deficiencies in the application. Once approved, the authorisation will be shared with customs authorities, doing away with the need to obtain port-wise authorisations.

While the industry begins to feed in their details in the system, laptop and tablet makers have requested several clarifications from the government. They have requested DGFT and MeitY to publish a FAQ on the import authorisation system, and MeitY reportedly will come out with such a document soon.