India Approves Import Of 2nd Hand Mobiles, Laptops; Refurbished Electronics Market Will Get A Boost!

The growing craze of refurbished goods has made India a rising market power with vast untapped potential. With the import of second-hand products made legal in the country, tech companies can now import second-hand devices, whether refurbished, repaired or reconditioned to India.

The condition here is that these devices will have to get a clearance from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade( DGFT) and Bureau of India Standards (BIS).

Earlier the government had laid a ban on second-hand goods altogether, but no set rules were imposed on the import of refurbished goods. Now, when the buying and selling of second-hand goods is made legal in India, the policy makers are concerned if this notification will change anything as the BIS would not issue approval “come what may”.

What Changes Will The Notification Bring

The notification will make amendments to the section on “Second- hand Capital Goods” under the Foreign Trade Policy. This results into legal importation of desktops, refurbished parts of PCs, laptops, smartphones and other electronic devices under Electronics and Information Technology Goods(Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2012, after proper authorisation.

What Do The New Rules State?

The import of goods is prohibited unless they are registered with the BIS or on a specific exemption letter from the MEIT. The importer shall re-export such prohibited goods, or Customs Authorities shall deform the goods beyond use and dispose of them as scrap after intimating MEITY.”

Apple Taking The Biggest Slice Of The Booming Refurbished Market In India

India saw a rise in the sales of refurbished phones to almost 14 lakh phones, a growth of 14% even when the sale of such devices fell worldwide for the first time in 2018.

Many users are now shifting towards the refurbished market as it’s expensive to buy a brand-new handset and refurbished phones are a great alternative.

Phones companies, especially Apple could benefit from this policy as their products are a great hit in the second-hand market.Chines brands such as Xiaomi and Oppo that dominate the smartphone market in India have fallen short in the second-hand market. The reason being more and more people are preferring iPhones which retain their value for longer and continue to remain in high demand.

Refurbished Phones Making A Place From Themselves In The Online Space As Well

Amazon, Shopclues, Snapdeal, to name a few have a platform that sells certified refurbished products.

After shutting eBay India, Flipkart has recently introduced the venture“2GUD” that will focus on the selling of refurbished products.