The US, China, South Korea and Taiwan had raised concerns on the issue at the WTO. India told the multilateral watchdog that the administrative purpose of the measure is to “protect public morals, quota administration, regulate imports of arms, ammunition or fissionable materials and safeguard national security”. Protection of patents, trademarks and copyrights, and the prevention of deceptive practices was the other purpose of this measure. India imported IT products worth $8.7 billion in FY23 against $10.3 billion in FY22 and $7.1 billion in FY21. Dell International Services India, Apple India, HP India Sales Pvt Ltd, Lenovo (India), ASUS India, IBM India, Samsung India Electronics, Xiaomi Technology India, Cisco Commerce India, Siemens Ltd and Bosch Ltd are some of the countries that have received the authorisation.

Source: Economic Times December 12, 2023 13:31 UTC