Lok Sabha Question No. 1570 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-10
Subject: Import of Pre-owned Apple Products
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: K. Shanmuga Sundaram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION NO. 1570

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.02.2021

## IMPORT OF PRE-OWNED APPLE PRDUCTS

## 1570.   SHRI SHANMUGA SUNDARAM K.:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Ministry has denied permission for import of used Apple I-phone and I-pads which  are  sold as  Apple  Certified  and  Pre  Owned  after  repair  by  the original   equipment manufacturer;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons for the aforesaid decision;
- (c) the guidelines laid down by the Government for the import of electronic items;
- (d) whether the electronic multinational companies will be instructed to manufacture these items in India under Make in India policy of the Government and if so, the details thererof; and
- (e) whether the import of electronic items for warranty replacement will be considered and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

(a)  and  (b):  An  application  from  M/s  Apple  India  Limited  was  received  in  Ministry  of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in April, 2015 seeking permission for import of used Apple IPhones and Ipads which are sold as Apple Certified and Pre-owned after  repair  by  the  original  equipment  manufacturer.  The  matter  was  discussed  in  the Technical Review Committee in its 37th meeting held during June, 2015 which deliberated upon the proposal with respect to HW Rules, 2008. The Committee has not recommended import of old consumer electronic items like mobiles, laptops, televisions etc. for the purpose of trading. The Committee noted that the items proposed to be imported are known to have short functional life and are prone to become obsolete and unusable in lesser period of time. Therefore,  generation  of  e-waste  would  become  quicker  in  the  country.  The  Committee therefore, did not recommend import of such items for trading purpose.

- (c)   and  (d): I mport of  electronic  items  in  the  country  is  subject  to  the  permission/ registration/authorization under the  following regulations wherever applicable:
- (i)   Import Policy: ITC (HS), 2017, Schedule - I (Import Policy)  and Foreign Trade Policy notified by Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
- (ii) Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2012 notified by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- (iii) Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 (HWM Rule) and e-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 notified by the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MOEF&CC).
- (iv)   In  addition,  as  indicated  in Para  2.03  of  Foreign  Trade  Policy,  2015-2020,  Domestic Laws/Rules/Orders/Regulations/Technical  Specifications/Environmental/Safety  and  health norms applicable to domestically produced goods shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to imports, unless specifically exempted.
- (e)   Government  is  promoting manufacturing  of electronic  goods  in  the country. The  steps taken in these regards are placed at annexure.

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Annexure

## Steps taken by the Government to promote domestic electronics manufacturing

1. National Policy on Electronics 2019 : The National Policy on Electronics 2019 (NPE 2019) has been notified on 25.02.2019. The vision of NPE 2019 is to position India as a global hub for  Electronics  System  Design  and  Manufacturing  (ESDM) by  encouraging  and  driving capabilities in the country for developing core components, including chipsets, and creating an enabling environment for the industry to compete globally.

To attract and incentivize large investments in the electronics value chain and promote exports, following three Schemes have been notified under the aegis of NPE 2019:

- (i) Production  Linked  Incentive  Scheme  (PLI) for  Large  Scale  Electronics  Manufacturing notified vide Gazette Notification No.CG-DL-E-01042020-218990 dated April 01, 2020 shall extend an incentive of 4% to 6% to eligible companies on incremental sales (over base year) involved in mobile phone manufacturing and manufacturing of specified electronic components, including Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) units.
- (ii) Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) notified vide Gazette Notification No.CG-DL-E-01042020-218992 dated April 01, 2020 shall provide financial incentive of 25% on capital expenditure for the identified list of electronic goods that comprise downstream value chain of electronic products, i.e., electronic components, semiconductor/ display fabrication units, ATMP units, specialized sub-assemblies and capital goods for manufacture of aforesaid goods.
- (iii) Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme notified vide Gazette Notification  No.CG-DL-E-01042020-218991  dated  April  01,  2020  shall  provide  support  for creation  of  world  class  infrastructure  along  with  common  facilities  and  amenities,  including Ready  Built  Factory  (RBF)  sheds  /  Plug  and  Play  facilities  for  attracting  major  global electronics  manufacturers  along  with  their  supply  chain  to  set  up  units  in  the  country.  The Scheme shall provide financial assistance for setting up of both EMC projects and Common Facility Centres (CFCs) across the country.
2. 100% FDI : As per extant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy, FDI up-to 100% under the automatic route is permitted for electronics manufacturing (except from countries sharing land border with India), subject to applicable laws/ regulations; security and other conditions.
3. Modified  Special  Incentive  Package  Scheme  (M-SIPS) : The  Scheme  was  notified  on 27 th July, 2012 to provide financial incentives to offset disability and attract investments in the electronics manufacturing sector. It was amended in August, 2015 to extend the period of the scheme, enhance scope of the Scheme by including 15 more product verticals, and attract more investment. The  scheme  was further  amended in January,  2017 to expedite the  investments. The  scheme  provides subsidy  for  capital  expenditure  -  20%  for  investments  in  Special

Economic Zones (SEZs) and 25% in non-SEZs. The incentives are available for 44 categories / verticals  of  electronic  products  and  components covering  entire  electronics  manufacturing value chain.  The  Scheme  was  open  to  receive  applications  till  31.12.2018  and  is  in  the implementation mode.

4. Electronics  Manufacturing  Clusters (EMC)  Scheme :  Electronics  Manufacturing  Clusters Scheme  was  notified  on  22 nd October,  2012  to  provide  support  for  creation  of world-class infrastructure along with common facilities and amenities for attracting investment. Under the Scheme, 20  Greenfield  EMCs  and  3  Common  Facility Centres (CFCs) measuring  an  area of 3,565 acres with total project cost of INR 3,898 crore including Government Grant-in-Aid of INR 1,577 crore have been approved.
5. Electronics Development Fund (EDF) :  Electronics  Development  Fund  (EDF)  has  been  set up as a 'Fund of Funds' to participate in professionally managed 'Daughter Funds' which in turn  will  provide  risk  capital  to  startups  and  companies  developing  new  technologies  in the area of electronics and Information Technology (IT). This fund is expected to foster R&D and innovation  in  these  technology  sectors.  INR 409 crore  has been  committed  through  EDF  to 9 Daughter Funds with a targeted corpus of INR 2,626 crore.
6. Phased  Manufacturing Programme (PMP) has  been  notified to promote  domestic  value addition in mobile handsets and their sub-assemblies / parts manufacturing. As a result, India has  rapidly  started  attracting  investments  into  this  sector  and  significant  manufacturing capacities  have  been  set  up  in  the  country.  The  manufacturing  of  mobile  handsets  has  been steadily  moving  from  Semi  Knocked  Down  (SKD)  to  Completely  Knocked  Down  (CKD) level, thereby progressively increasing the domestic value addition.
7. Tariff  Structure has  been  rationalized  to  promote  domestic  manufacturing  of  electronic goods, including, inter-alia, Cellular mobile handsets, Televisions, Electronic components, Set Top Boxes for TV, LED products and Medical electronics equipment.
8. Exemption  from  Basic Customs  Duty  on capital  goods : Notified capital goods for manufacture of specified electronic goods are permitted for import at 'NIL' Basic Customs Duty.
9. Simplified import of used plant and machinery :  The import  of  used  plant  and  machinery having a residual life of at least 5 years for use by the electronics manufacturing industry has been  simplified  through  the  amendment  of  Hazardous  and  Other  Wastes  (Management  and Transboundary  Movement)  Rules,  2016,  vide  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate Change Notification dated 11.06.2018.
10. Relaxing the ageing restriction : The Department of Revenue vide Notification No.60/2018Customs dated 11.09.2018 has amended the Notification No.158/95-Customs dated 14.11.1995, relaxing  the  ageing  restriction  from  3  years  to  7  years  for  specified  electronic goods manufactured in India and re-imported into India for repairs or reconditioning.
11. Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order : To encourage 'Make in India' and to promote manufacturing and production of goods and services in India with a view to enhancing income and employment, the Government has issued Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order 2017 vide the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal  Trade  (DPIIT)  Order  dated  15.06.2017  and  subsequent  revisions  vide  Orders  dated 28.05.2018,  29.05.2019  and  04.06.2020.  In  furtherance  of  the  aforesaid  Order,  MeitY  has notified  13  Electronic  Products  viz.,  Desktop  PCs,  Laptop  PCs,  Thin  Clients,  Tablet  PCs, Computer Monitors, Dot Matrix Printers, Contact and Contactless Smart Cards, LED Products, Biometric Access Control / Authentication Devices, Biometric Finger Print Sensors, Biometric Iris Sensors and Servers vide Notification dated 07.09.2020.
12. Compulsory Registration  Order  (CRO) :  MeitY  has  notified 'Electronics  and  Information Technology  Goods  (Requirement  of  Compulsory  Registration)  Order,  2012'  for  mandatory compliance to ensure  safety  of  Indian  citizens  by  curbing  import  of  substandard  and  unsafe electronic goods into India. 63 Product Categories have been notified under the CRO and the order is applicable on 44 product categories. .
13. National Centre of Excellence in Large Area Flexible Electronics (NCFLEX) has been set up in IIT-Kanpur with the objectives to promote R&D;  Manufacturing; Ecosystem;
11. Entrepreneurship; International Partnerships and Human Resources and develop prototypes in collaboration with industry for commercialization.
14. National Centre of Excellence for Technology on Internal Security (NCETIS) has been set up at IIT-Bombay with the objective to address the internal security needs of the nation on continuous  basis  by  delivering  technology  prototypes  required  for  internal  security  and  to promote domestic industry in internal security.
15. National Centre of Excellence for Next Generation AMOLED Displays, OLED Lighting and  OPV  Products has  been  set  up  at  IIT-Madras  with  a  mandate  to  collaborate  with stakeholders to develop next-generation, state-of-the-art, high-volume and cost effective electronic  components  based  on  organic  devices  to  address  requirements  through joint technology developments, to realize indigenous technologies for manufacturing.
16. Centre on Excellence (CoE) on Medical Electronics and Bio-Physics has been approved to set up at Andhra pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ), Visakhapatnam with a mandate of carrying out various R&D  activities, strengthening innovations, IP creation, prototype modelling  for  Medical  Device  Manufacturers,  including  Electro-Biomaterial  technology product manufacturers etc.

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