India on Friday backtracked on its sudden plan to curb laptop and tablet imports without a license, giving companies three months to secure the permits.
The move came after tech giants Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics Co and HP Inc froze new device imports to the South Asian country following an abrupt order on Thursday.
India’s trade regulator surprised the world’s biggest PC makers when it made licenses mandatory for imports of electronics from small tablets to all-in-one PCs.
Photo: Bloomberg
The sudden licensing imposition caught the industry off-guard, forcing it to begin emergency engagements with New Delhi about how to quickly obtain licenses at a period of heightened consumer interest with India’s Diwali shopping season and back-to-school period approaching.
However, on Friday, India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a new order saying companies can import electronic goods such as laptops, tablets and other PCs without a license until Oct. 31.
The new curbs, which require a license to import these devices, will take effect on Nov. 1, the DGFT said in a notification.
New Delhi is simplifying the process of applying for licenses, which can be approved in as little as a day, a senior government official told reporters earlier on Friday.
Officials are also helping companies for the clearance of shipments already in transit to the South Asian nation as the halt threatens to disrupt a multibillion-dollar trade in foreign PCs at a crucial time.
The requirement creates additional compliance headaches for manufacturers in a market that is still largely reliant on overseas shipments.
It is also part of a wider state push to boost local production and create a world-class tech manufacturing industry in India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is seeking applications for a 170 billion-rupee (US$2.1 billion) financial incentive plan to draw makers of laptops, tablets and other hardware to the world’s most populous nation as companies look to diversify supply chains beyond China.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$7.5 billion into its US subsidiary, the Department of Investment Review said in a statement. The department approved TSMC’s application of investing in TSMC Arizona Corp, which is engaged in the manufacturing, sales, testing and design of IC and other semiconductor devices, it said. The latest capital injection follows a US$5 billion investment for TSMC Arizona approved in June. The chipmaker has broken ground on two advanced fabs in Arizona with aggregated investments approved by the department totaling US$24 billion thus far. According to TSMC, the first Arizona
The lethal hack of Hezbollah’s Asian-branded pagers and walkie-talkies has sparked an intense search for the devices’ path, revealing a murky market for older technologies where buyers might have few assurances about what they are getting. While supply chains and distribution channels for higher-margin and newer products are tightly managed, that is not the case for older electronics from Asia where counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product, analysts and consultants say. The response from the companies at the center of the booby-trapped gadgets that killed 37
FRIENDLY TAKEOVER: While Qualcomm Inc’s proposal to buy some or all of Intel raises the prospect of other competitors, Broadcom Inc is staying on the sidelines Qualcomm Inc has approached Intel Corp to discuss a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker, people with knowledge of the matter said, raising the prospect of one of the biggest-ever merger and acquisition deals. California-based Qualcomm proposed a friendly takeover for Intel in recent days, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The proposal is for all of the chipmaker, although Qualcomm has not ruled out buying some parts of Intel and selling off others. It is uncertain whether the initial approach would lead to an agreement and any deal is likely to come under close antitrust scrutiny
SECURITY CONCERNS: The proposed ban on Chinese autonomous vehicle software and hardware would go into effect with the 2027 and 2030 model years respectively The US Department of Commerce today is expected to propose prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on US roads due to national security concerns, two sources said. US President Joe Biden’s administration has raised concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on US drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the Internet and navigation systems. The proposed regulation would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware, said the two sources, who declined to be identified because the