The government rejected an application for the import of refurbished Apple iPhone and iPads as it will expedite e-waste generation in the country, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said that under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20, import of refurbished or re-conditioned spares of refurbished parts of personal computers, laptops is restricted and refurbished or re-conditioned spares of capital goods is free.
In response to question whether the government has denied permission for import of used Apple iPhone and iPads which are sold as Apple Certified and pre-owned after repair by the original equipment manufacturer, Chandrasekhar said, "Yes, Sir.
"An application from M/s Apple India Limited was received in the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in April, 2015 seeking 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."
He said that 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 Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008.
"The Committee so far has not recommended import of old consumer electronic items like mobile, lap-tops, 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 in a short 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," Chandrasekhar said.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU