IT Hardware Import Authorisation Regime Still Under Review: Piyush Goyal

Commerce minister Piyush Goyal has said that the electronics and IT ministry is still deliberating the new import authorisation guidelines for certain IT hardware products 

As per news agency PTI, Goyal said, “I think this is still under deliberation. It is handled by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. I am not privy to what is in their mind for the future”.

The comments come as the deadline for the existing import authorisation regime for IT hardware products is set to expire on December 31. In September, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) extended the deadline to the end of the ongoing calendar year and even mandated the importers to apply for fresh authorisations starting January 1, 2025. 

However, earlier this month, a senior government official claimed that the Centre was mulling extending the existing import authorisation regime for certain IT hardware products, including PCs, tablets and servers, till 2025-end. 

“The present scheme has been extended till December 2024. Beyond December also, it is to also continue for one more year for the time being. We will review at the end of that period and somewhere through the calendar year 2025 and figure out what is to be done with the scheme next,” IT ministry secretary S Krishnan said at the time.

Last year, the DGFT imposed restrictions on importing certain IT hardware items, including servers, computers, and data processing machines. Subsequently, the government permitted companies to import these items but mandated prior authorisation to do so, citing national security concerns.

At the time, the Centre said that the import regime has been envisaged to encourage global tech giants such as Apple, Dell, and Lenovo to manufacture in the country and further develop India’s IT hardware industry.

Subsequently, industry players, including Apple, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, urged MeitY to provide greater clarity on the regime and even called for the rollback of the authorisation mandates. Heeding to the demand, the government eventually extended the deadline from September this year to the end of December. 

Meanwhile, since the introduction of the new import regime in October 2023, reports indicate that overall imports of these IT hardware products have decreased. 

Between October 2023 and March 2024, imports fell by 3.4% year-on-year (YoY) to $8.4 Bn. However, imports from China remained relatively steady at $5 Bn , representing 58%-60% of the total imports during that period.