The government keeps an eye on a hawk imports of laptops, tablets and servers, etc., with an emphasis on the 27 businesses chosen under the production linked incentive (PLI) program 2.0 for IT hardware to receive monthly updates on their progress local production plan.
The government's scrutiny comes as the Center prepares to replace the current one import management systemwhich ends in September, with a import licensing mechanismas part of its goal to make the country a global one production center. As part of the monthly evaluation report ministry of electronics and IT (Meity), all PLI approved companies are required to submit all updates related to manufacturing such as setting up of assembly lines, investments and jobs.
Companies like Dell, PK, Foxconn And Flextronics are among the 27 companies that have been approved by the government to receive SOPs under the PLI 2.0 program for IT hardware.
“We are in regular contact with all companies and are seeking updates on their plans that we received last year,” an official privy to the details told ET.
Under the new regime, companies without local production capacity will be discouraged by limiting the amount of imports through a quota-based system. But those with local production capacity may be allowed to continue importing without any problems.
“The aim is to build an IT hardware manufacturing ecosystem in the country and companies should be supported for this. But if one wants to rely solely on imports without local production, that will not serve the purpose,” said the official. above.
All companies can import an unlimited amount of IT hardware after registration. The government only monitors incoming shipments through the import management system. However, when the import licensing mechanism comes into effect from October, there are certain factors that the companies must comply with.
Officials said import permits will be given to companies based on three parameters: the import value of the previous year or an average of the past three years for IT products, domestic production of IT hardware devices and exports of electronics goods.
Companies with a large manufacturing base in India will get an advantage in importing products compared to companies that have no manufacturing capacity.
It is expected that many companies will start production in April next year. But the government can take the data provided by these companies into account when granting import permits.
“We understand that it takes time to set up a production unit. If the companies work as per the schedule submitted to us, it will be taken into account while granting permission for imports,” said a second official .
In a notification dated August 3, 2023, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade cited security concerns while announcing that imports of certain IT hardware products such as laptops, tablets, PCs and servers, etc. would fall under the restricted category and therefore require a permit , with immediate effect.
