With the deadline to review the ‘import management system’ for laptops and other IT products nearing, the firms which received authorisations have imported products worth more than $4 billion this fiscal, an official said seeking anonymity.

Imports were at $8.4 billion in FY24, mostly from China, the official said.

In October 2023, the Centre rolled out import management/authorisations for laptops, personal computers and certain IT hardware products. The system aims to monitor imports of these items without hurting market supply.

Importers can apply for multiple authorisations and they would be valid up to September 30 for any number of consignments.

On November 1, 2023, the government cleared more than 100 applications, including those for Apple, Dell and Lenovo. They sought permission for IT hardware imports worth almost $10 billion, on the scheme’s first day.

“Last year, imports stood at $8.4 billion out of $10 billion worth of approvals. So far this fiscal, the imports stood between $4-5 billion,” the official said.

When asked about plans after September 30, the official said the Commerce Ministry will entirely go with Meity’s (the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) view on the matter.

The new licence regime is applicable to laptops, personal computers (including tablets), microcomputers, large or mainframe computers, and certain data processing machines to ensure India's trusted supply chain.

India imported personal computers, including laptops, worth $5.33 billion in 2022-23 compared with $7.37 billion in 2021-22.

The main countries from where these goods were imported in 2022-23 included China ($5.11 billion), Singapore ($1.4 billion), Hong Kong ($807 million), the US, Malaysia, Taiwan, Netherland and Vietnam.