The government banned the import of air conditioners on Thursday in its latest attempt to boost domestic production by checking the entry of “unnecessary” goods into the country.
The notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) moved split and “other” ACs from the “free” list with refrigerators to the “prohibited” category. These include products such as tyres, TV sets, and Agarbattis, which are subject to import restrictions.
This means that importers cannot fill out the refrigerator or gas and bring it into the country, which translates into a ban.
AC’s have been identified as potential commodities to focus on domestic manufacturing as components are being imported in large quantities. The domestic market value is said to be worth $5-6 billion. Separately, depending on the segment, 85-100% of the shares, the market share is estimated to be around 2 billion.
According to the report on June 3, there is support for domestic industries over import restrictions and plans to transform India into a manufacturing hub. On June 30, the sources reported that rising tensions with China would prompt the government to assess the licensing of certain imports, including ACs.