Not easy to do business in India, says Volkswagen Group MD

German auto major Volkswagen Group's India head has said that the country lacks in ease of doing business. Gurpratap S Boparai, MD of Volkswagen Group’s India businesses and companies (Skoda, VW, Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche) said restricting or delaying imports of critical components from China is a retrograde measure.

Restricting imports will harm India’s domestic competitiveness and also hamper the country's export prospects, he said.

"Any knee-jerk reaction can hurt us more. If we want to be an exporter, certain imports, including that of electronics is required for export competitiveness," Boparai told The Times of India.

Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates on the novel coronavirus pandemic

The Volkswagen Group has two factories in India, located in Pune and Aurangabad, and locally manufactures, assembles models from brands such as Skoda, Volkswagen and Audi. The company also imports vehicles from Porsche, Lamborghini, apart from Ducati motorcycles.

Also Read: Volkswagen finalises 3-prong India strategy, overhauls retail set up

Boparai said automobile companies need "well-defined, long-term policy direction from the government and not sudden changes to regulations."

Speaking about the possible restrictions on imports from China, Boparai said it is difficult to implement and not practical.

"We are a globalised world. Global supply chains are inter-dependent. If we want to be an exporter, we also need to import. You can't say that I will not open my market to everyone, but I want everyone to open their market for me," Volkswagen Group’s India head said.

The government is reportedly planning to raise quality standards of imports, impose quantity restrictions, mandate stringent disclosure norms and initiate more frequent checks at ports of entry for goods coming from many Asian countries.

India has long had an uneasy relationship with China and the Galwan Valley border dispute escalated into the worst clash in decades in June.

China is also India's second-biggest trading partner, with trade worth $87 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2019, and a trade deficit of $53.57 billion in China's favour, the widest India has with any country.

Click here for Moneycontrol’s full coverage of the novel coronavirus pandemic