Apple, Xiaomi, and others facing import hurdles in India due to China tussle
- India is holding up imports of Apple, Xiaomi, and other Chinese-made devices.
- The delay is due to pending approvals from the Bureau of Indian Standards.
- Delayed products include smartphones, smartwatches and laptops.
Made-in-China devices from Xiaomi, Apple and other tech companies are apparently facing import delays in India due to mounting tensions between the two countries.
According to Reuters, Apple’s iPhone 12 series and other Xiaomi and Oppo products are stopped in India at the level of quality control.
The publication reports that applications submitted to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) – a regulatory agency that must certify all consumer devices sold in India – are delayed. Applications usually take around 15 days to process. However, due to the ongoing territorial disputes between India and China, processing times for applications from China have increased to at least two months.
The BIS is holding back import permits for smartwatches, smartphones and laptops made in China. The development follows the recent ban on several Chinese apps in India, including popular ones like PUBG Mobile, Aliexpress, and hundreds of others.
also read: The Best Android Smartphones You Can Buy In India
Apple executives apparently urged BIS to speed up approvals after delays in imports of iPhone 12s from China. The Cupertino giant assured the Indian government that it will expand its existing iPhone assembly operations in India to reduce reliance on imports from China.
Reuters reports that as of November 25, 1,080 applications for laptops, tablets and other devices were pending with the BIS. 669 of them were held for more than 20 days, according to the agency’s website. Some applications have been pending since September.
“While the BIS is delaying the approval of products like smartwatches, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology is pushing companies to manufacture these devices in India,” a source said Reuters.
BIS, Apple, Xiaomi and Oppo did not respond to requests for comments from the outlet.
