Apple to be exempted from 30% sourcing norms by (India) Government Panel

The US-based company has sought approval from the government on setting up single-brand retail stores in the country.

A government panel has recommended exempting Apple from mandatory local sourcing norms, a move which would pave the way for Apple to open single-brand retail stores in the country.

The company had given a detailed presentation to the committee headed by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek on April 19, on its products, technology, innovations and camera.

"The committee has found that the company's products are cutting edge technology and state-of-the-art. It has recommended to exempt them from the local sourcing norms," sources said.

The DIPP would soon send the proposal for final approval to the Finance Ministry.

The US-based company has sought approval from the government on setting up single-brand retail stores in the country.

As per the foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, the government may relax the mandatory local sourcing norms for entities undertaking single-brand retailing of products having state-of-the-art and cutting edge technology and where local sourcing is not possible.

The government had set up a committee to decide whether a product is state-of-the-art and can be eligible for exemption from the mandatory local sourcing applicable for FDI single-brand retail trading.

At present, 100% FDI is permitted in single-brand retail sector but companies are required to take FIPB permission if the limit exceeds 49%.Apple to be exempted from 30% sourcing norms by govt panel

The company sells its products through Apple-owned retail stores in countries including China, Germany, the US, the UK and France.

Apple has no wholly-owned store in India and sells its products through distributors such as Redington and Ingram Micro.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has also submitted an application to open stores in the country. Chinese technology company LeEco also has sought the government's nod to open the stores.

Indian Government panel recommends setting aside home nation local ownership for Apple Stores in India, a major stumbling block to Apple's moving into the huge Indian Cell phone Market. — PING!

Apple Passes Major Stumbling Block in India
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Yeah, that’s one of the big problems with tariffs - the big players can buy any politician they need to to get around them. The small importer just gets squashed.

If is. . . but it also leaves the native population in India with subpar equipment in many instances or in another field I know something about, paying through the nose for things they thought they had to import they actually COULD make for themselves. Our head Dentist at our office is one of the top implantologists in the the world and several years ago was the keynote speaker at the Indian Society of Dental implanvology annual conference in Mumbai where he was speaking on some implants he had developed where the jaws of edentulous patients (those with out teeth) actually regenerated and grew into the implants at the molecular level.

The dentists in India were importing their implants from the US and Europe at a very high cost, plus paying a very high tariff. . . yet no one in India was making local implants. . . which priced the implant technology out of the reach of the very patients who needed it the most in India. Our doctor pointed out to them that he was having his simple screw implants made by an Indian expatriate machinist using standard machine tools and metals that were already available in India with computerized machine tools they already have. All they have to do is properly clean the resulting implant products of all cutting oil and burrs and then sterilize them. He told them how.

Other types of implants are made using techniques that are indistinguishable from the techniques used in making high quality jewelry such as lost wax processes and India is well known as having some of the finest jewelers in the world. So, he asked, why not make the implants yourself at 5% of the cost you pay now for just the tariff? They would just have to up the materials to Titanium and Vitalism Alloys. He got a standing ovation from the over 2000 Indian implant dentists at the conference!

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