Mumbai: The government on Thursday banned the import of color television, which was intended to boost domestic manufacturing and cut inward arrivals of non-essential items from countries such as China.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification, “The import policy of color television is restricted free of charge.”
Placing an item in the restricted category of imports means that the importer of that commodity must obtain a license from the DGFT of the Ministry of Commerce for import.
The major exporters of TV sets include China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, and Germany.
Screen-sized TV sets are fitted with curbs ranging in size from 36 cm to 105 cm. Liquid crystal display (LCD) television sets with screen sizes below 63 cm are also covered under the ban.
India imported $ 781 million color TV in 2019-20. Imports from Vietnam and China were $ 428 million and $ 293 million respectively in the last fiscal year.
Commenting on the development, President and CEO Panasonic India Manish Sharma said that consumers are now going to get high quality assembled TV sets.
“It will definitely have a positive impact on the domestic assembling that happens here. The leading brands already have manufacturing and assembling units in the country. So, it is not going to affect us,” he said.
The move will have a procedural impact, he added.
(With PTI Inputs)
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