The government of India is reportedly planning to introduce gradual restrictions on laptop, tablet, and PC imports from next year. According to Moneycontrol, the move aims to reduce import dependency by setting a 5 percent cap giving domestic manufacturing a big fillip in the process. The limit may tighten in subsequent years to promote local production further.
It must be noted that India allows unrestricted import of these items currently. The proposed limits could significantly affect the IT hardware market, which is currently worth around $10 billion and heavily reliant on imports, the report says.
The government is said to have held consultation with industry leaders from companies like IBM, Dell, and Lenovo in early November to discuss the proposed restrictions. During the meeting, government officials assured the stakeholders that the shift to restricted imports would be managed through a streamlined, fully online system with no manual intervention at customs.
The idea is that, by limiting imports, Production-Linked Incentive or PLI-registered companies would be pushed to increase domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on specific regions, particularly in light of security concerns. With an estimated 70 percent of laptops and similar electronics imported from China and Hong Kong at the time of writing, officials highlighted the security advantages of reducing reliance on these sources.
India’s import restrictions on IT hardware trace back to August 2023, when the government announced initial plans to regulate laptop and PC imports. While global tech firms expressed concerns over potential disruptions, the government postponed these restrictions to allow time for adjustments, later extending this free-import window through 2024. As of now, the government has required IT hardware companies to register their imports through an import management system, which will continue to December 31, 2024.