Government Imposes Immediate Ban on Importation of Laptops, Tablets, and Servers

The Indian government has implemented immediate restrictions on the import of laptops, tablets, and servers, according to a notice issued on Thursday. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has announced this crackdown, stating that the import of laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, ultra small form factor computers, and servers falling under HSN 8741 will now be “Restricted.” Importation of these items will only be permitted with a valid license for restricted imports.

Previously, the import of goods such as personal computers, microcomputers, automatic data processing machines and mainframe computers was free of charge. However, their import is now restricted.

The center further announced that the restriction does not apply to imports under the baggage rules as amended from time to time.

Are there exceptions?

The announcement stated that the products will be granted an exemption from import license requirements under certain conditions. “Import of 1 laptop, tablet, all-in-one personal computer, ultra-compact computer, including those purchased from online shopping portals, by post or courier” is allowed against the applicable import duty.

The government has also granted an exception to Import Licenses for a maximum of 20 items per shipment for R&D testing, comparison and evaluation, repair and re-export, and product development. According to the notification, the imported goods must be used only for the stated purposes and must not be sold. In addition, at the end of its use, they must either be re-exported or destroyed after use.

A restricted import permit is not required for the reimport of goods repaired abroad. In addition, laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, microcomputers and servers are exempted from these restrictions.