MeitY to meet IT hardware firms next week to discuss import rules

Ministry of Electronics and IT is planning to meet IT hardware company to work on import rules for tablet, personal computers, etc, next week, according to official sources.

government has extended existing approval system for import of certain IT hardware products, including laptops and tablets, for three months from September 30 to December 31.

"Meity will call IT hardware companies next week to share plan it has for import of IT hardware," a Meity official told PTI.

IT hardware imports stood at USD 8.4 billion in 2023-24 against authorisation of about USD 9.5 billion. Most of se imports were from China.

On August 3, 2023, government first imposed import restrictions on laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, ultra-small form factor computers, and servers.

After industry flagged concerns over curbs, government in October last year rolled out an import manment/authorisation of se products.

system is aimed at monitoring inbound shipments of se items into country without hurting market supply.

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

new license 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.

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