Government eases import ban on high-tech electronics

Kolkata/New Delhi: The government has agreed to allow electronic companies to temporarily import select high-value components that are now being made locally, a shift from its earlier stance of effectively blocking all such imports, senior government and industry executives said.

The move follows the industry's repeated requests to allow imports until domestic production scales up and prices become competitive vis-a-vis supplies from China, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The quota-and-time-bound mechanism has already been introduced for two high-value air-conditioner and refrigerator components-compressors and inner-grooved copper tubes.

The government is considering a similar mechanism for some high-value smartphone components, including displays, allowing manufacturers to import specified quantities for a limited period, a senior government official said.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) had stopped renewing or issuing fresh approvals to overseas suppliers, effectively preventing companies from importing components for which domestic production had started.

However, industry executives said domestic component prices remain comparatively higher making production cost uncompetitive. The move to temporarily allow imports will also ensure that local manufacturing will continue to scale, they said.

"The direction is correct given the supply-chain disruptions and rupee depreciation due to external factors like the West Asia crisis," said B Thiagarajan, managing director of AC maker Blue Star. "Such moves will help develop the local component ecosystem faster with imports being allowed in a balanced way."

For inner-grooved copper tubes, the government has allowed imports of up to 50% of the average quantity imported by a company in FY25 and FY26, until November. For compressors, imports have been permitted up to 40% of FY25 import volumes for refrigerators and 30% for air-conditioners, both for capacities of up to two tonnes, until March 2027.