Govt may extend import management system for laptops, tablets for 3 months

The government is expected to extend the existing import management system for imports of certain IT hardware products including laptops and tablets for three months, an official source said. The deadline for review of the system is September 30.

The official said that these imports stood at USD 8.4 billion in 2023-24 against the authorisation of about USD 9.5 billion. Most of these imports were coming from China.

In October last year, the government rolled out an import management/ authorisation for imports of laptops, personal computers and certain other IT hardware products. The system is aimed at monitoring inbound shipments of these items into the country without hurting market supply.

The importers are allowed to apply for multiple authorisations and those authorisations would be valid up to September 30, 2024. The authorisations will be issued for any number of consignments for imports till September.

On November 1, 2023, the government cleared over 100 applications, including those of Apple, Dell and Lenovo, which sought permission for imports of these IT hardware products worth nearly USD 10 billion, on the first day of implementation of the new system.

“A formal request is coming for extension of the existing system. With three months extension, this whole year will be covered. So this current year, I do not see any disruption,” the official, who did not wish to be named, said.

The new licence regime is applicable to laptops, personal computers (including tablet computers), microcomputers, large or mainframe computers, and certain data processing machines to ensure India’s trusted supply chain.

The country has imported personal computers, including laptops, worth USD 5.33 billion in 2022-23 compared to USD 7.37 billion in 2021-22.