Government Restricts Import Of Laptop, Tablets And Computers To Promote Local Manufacturing

In a notice issued by the central government on Thursday (August 3), the government has imposed immediate restrictions on the import of laptops, tablets, and personal computers in a bid to promote local manufacturing.

"Their import would be allowed against a valid licence for restricted imports," the notice said.

The move's spirit is to push manufacturing to India. It's not a nudge, it's a push," said Ali Akhtar Jafri, former director general at the electronics industry body Manufacturers' Association of Information Technology.

In April-June, electronics imports, comprising laptops, tablets and personal computers, rose 6.25% year-on-year (YoY) at $19.7 billion. Electronics imports range between 7% to 10% of the country's total merchandise imports.

Dell, Acer, Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Apple Inc, Lenovo and HP Inc are some of the prominent companies selling laptops in the Indian market and a significant portion are imported from countries such as China.

Following this development, the shares of Dixon Technologies Ltd surged 6.15% at Rs 4,381.00 per share at 1:18 pm IST. The lift in the stock’s share price was seen as the decision by the union government to ban the import of laptops, tablets and personal computers is expected to promote Indian companies.

Dixon Technologies operates in the electronic manufacturing services (EMS) space in India. The company is a provider of design-centric solutions in consumer durables, lighting, mobile phones, home appliances and security devices. It also offers repair and refurbishment services for different products including set-top boxes, mobile phones and LED TV panels.