The government of India amended its import policy on Thursday, which has essentially banned the import of all kinds of personal computers in India. These include laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, and any kind of small form factor computers. Here’s all you need to know about this new rule and how it will affect consumers for the time being.
Import ban on Laptops, Tablets, PCs: what does it mean for you?
- The products mentioned earlier fall under HSN 8741 code and all devices that are pre-built or fully assembled outside India can no longer be imported to the country for sales. This will affect products from almost all companies such as Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, HP, Dell, Asus, Acer, etc.
- This ban does not affect the import of parts for these products, so in order to further promote Make in India, the government of India hopes that these brands will set up assemblies in the country and continue the release of their products.
- It would take quite a bit of time for other brands to invest in this change and start production in India as most PCs are still imported from countries such as China. Almost 70 percent of laptops and tablets sold last year were reportedly imported from overseas markets.
- To recall, some brands have set up assembly lines in India, which include HP, Dell, and Acer. Apple on the other hand has been looking into this for their products but hasn’t started or confirmed any plans yet.
- But these assembly lines are producing a very select number of models and mostly on the affordable side. So we expect this import ban to affect the overall market majorly. Even affordable tablets from brands such as Xiaomi are imported to the country.
- Consumers will have to face delayed or no launches in India for product lineups such as MacBook, Windows PCs, Samsung Galaxy Tabs, Notebooks, iPads, and iMacs. We might not see any launches at all from companies such as Apple or Xiaomi as almost all of their range is imported unless India gives an exemption to them or they are quick to start a production line.
- As of now, the units that are already imported to India can still be sold. The discounts or offers on them on the other hand may cease to exist. During the sale season or even now, we might not see any relief when purchasing these products.
- The move could potentially raise prices of laptops and tablets in the country, depending on how licensing norms are implemented, The Indian Express reports.
- Consumers can still import up to a single unit of such devices to India for personal use and brands can import 20 units only for R&D or test purposes.
- JioBook laptops were so far being assembled in China and being sold in India. However, 91mobiles has heard from industry sources exclusively that Reliance plans to make its JioBook laptops in the country soon as part of the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
It remains to be seen how many companies will work on this to make changes and accommodate the Indian market. The cost of setting up contract manufacturing or any kind of assembly lines will either have to be absorbed by them as an investment or be passed down to consumers, making the products expensive even without the import taxes. The move however could prove to be beneficial in the long term for the economy.
