Government considering fast-tracking licenses to monitor increase in laptop and PC prices

NEW DELHI: Amid fears that prices of laptops, personal computers and tablets may rise 4-5% or more due to import licensing, the government maintained that it did not expect an increase as the number of units shipped into the country would not be capped and asserted that clearances would be given in a matter of minutes.

Besides, some of the overseas players as well as domestic suppliers had capacity to produce the devices in India, which could be put to use, at least two senior officials told TOI on Sunday. “Companies can import as much as they want, can get multiple products from multiple locations,” an official added.

While maintaining that the import curbs would be reviewed periodically and would not be in perpetuity, officials said that the second production-linked-incentive scheme for the sector was also expected to result in more players coming into the market, which would be a boost to domestic manufacturing and reduce the import requirement.

Companies were, however, keeping close tabs on the licensing process put in place by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and expected at least some of the Chinese players to face scrutiny. “Over the next three months, there is going to be a rush to import for retail sales as well as for institutional players, some of whom have already placed orders and would want them expedited, given the uncertainty caused by the government action. People are going to seek licences for a larger number of units because we are unsure if DGFT will give permission for the entire number,” said an executive with a leading company.

With higher demand, companies expected retailers to push up prices which could be in the region of $20-40 (Rs 1,700-3,400) for a basic laptop and more for the high-end devices that are used by gamers.

While companies expected nine to 12 months to set up a basic “screwdriver” assembly unit, officials said, the PLI scheme offered them the option to work with domestic players to begin production with some of the investment in the Indian entities counted towards capex.

Companies are expected to begin with assembly of entry-level sets and then move up the value chain in the coming years. Creating the vendor base would take time as they currently source some elements of display, wiring, key caps and packaging material from India with a bulk of the requirement for parts and devices met from China, with Malaysia, Vietnam and South Korea chipping in.