In a move to boost the Make in India initiative, the Government of India has imposed restrictions on importing colour TVs set in the country. The government has imposed restrictions on the import of televisions sets and has put them into the restricted list.
The government has revealed that imports of TVs in certain categories will now require a licence from the government. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) revealed this information in a notification. The DGFT further revealed that it will issue the procedure for the grant of the licence separately. The restriction is imposed on the Colour category of TVs, however, there is no restriction on Monochrome TVs.
The move is said to boost the Make in India movement and it will help to boost domestic production of TVs in the country. The move will help in investment in assembly lines and component production. The move will impact the business of multiple TV manufacturers including Vu Television and TCL. The move will also impact on some high-end Smart TVs from brands like Sony, Samsung, Xiaomi, LG and more.
Many industry experts believe that the move will stop the indiscriminate import of TVs from China and other countries like Thailand and Malaysia. For the unintended, India has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the ASEAN countries including Vietnam. However, it is suspected that electronics goods from China are imported to India through the Southeast Asian country.