In a shocking move on 3 August, the government placed imports of laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, and ultra-small form factor computers, and servers under the ‘restricted’ category, making their imports permissible only under a valid licence.
Some minor exemptions were provided but all imports of the computer devices on which India’s digital services and exports are built were brought under government control with immediate effect.
There was an understandable outcry all around. Government officials and ministers first tried to sell the idea that this was done for advancing the cause of Make in India – to make India aatmanirbhar – in the manufacturing of computer devices. Then, they brought the security considerations into play. None of this justification-washing went too far.
Late at night, on 4 August, the day after, the government backtracked to make ‘liberal transitional arrangements’ and postponed the compulsory licensing to 1 November and announced that import consignments will be cleared till 31 October 2023 without a licence for restricted imports.