Government May Delay Laptop Import Curbs By A Month

India has not banned laptop imports and companies will get enough time to apply for a licence, according to two top government officials.

The Aug. 3 notification restricting imports came into effect immediately. But the government is now contemplating delaying the implementation of the order, giving companies at least a month to comply with the new norms, the officials said on the condition of anonymity.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has prepared a portal through which companies and traders can apply online. It is expected that the DGFT will issue licences within half a day if details are filled in properly, the officials said.

On Thursday, the government had issued a notification restricting the import of laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, and ultra small form factor computers and servers. Companies and traders will require a licence to import such electronics, it said.

Two companies, including HP Inc., have already applied for the scheme.

Companies can apply for a year-long licence and can apply multiple times for various consignments and parts, according to the officials quoted earlier.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will also be extending support to the industry for clearance of shipments in transit.

The move is styled as a preventive measure for security concerns via hardware, the officials said. Various incidents of cybersecurity threats have also been reported. There have been instances when such consignments had to be stopped, they said.

The government has reached out to several industry players after there were concerns on the import restrictions.

The DGFT's notification and clarification on imports and licensing is expected to come late on Aug. 4.

The curb has nothing to do with interest for the Production-Linked Incentive 2.0 scheme, the officials said. As of July 31, 44 companies were registered on the PLI 2.0 portal, according to them. That compares with about 14 companies for PLI 1.0.