Central Govt amends Import Policy of Second Hand Laptops, Desktops, Monitors and Printers from SEZ to DTA [Read Notification]

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), vide notification no. 56/2023 dated January 01, 2024 has notified the amendment in the import policy of the second hand IT Assets (Laptops, Desktops, Monitors and Printers) from the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to Domestic Tariff Area (DTA).

The import of used IT assets from SEZ to DTA is now restricted by the central government. Nevertheless, under the specified conditions outlined in the notification, the import of hardware is allowed without constraints.

The Conditions are:

1. Used IT Assets may be moved from SEZ to DTA without a Licence for Restricted Imports for the purpose of further use in their DTA operations only; given that there is a minimum usage of 2 years in the SEZ area and that the goods are not older than 5 years from the date of manufacturing.
2. In cases where a unit is closing down its operations in SEZ, and relocating to the DTA, the import of Used IT Assets from SEZ into DTA is allowed without a Licence for Restricted Imports, given that the goods are not older than 5 years from the date of manufacturing. However, IT assets that have entered the SEZ area in second hand/used/old condition and have been used in the SEZ area for less than 2 years are not covered.
3. The relaxation for import from SEZ to DTA under condition 1 & 2 above, shall be applicable given that no exemption from any regulatory requirements (i.e., CRO, WPC, RoHS) was availed at the time of import of the Used IT Assets into the SEZ.
4. Import of any Used IT Assets which do not fulfil the above-mentioned criteria shall be subject to a Licence for Restricted Import.

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