Govt relaxes local sourcing rule for foreign firms
The Dollar Business Bureau The government will provide exemption to foreign companies such as Apple Inc, which are coming with cutting edge and state-of-the-art technology, from the mandatory domestic sourcing norms under the single-brand retail for up to 3 years. Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said that these foreign companies will be provided a 5-year period to comply with the mandatory local sourcing norms of 30 percent, after the completion of the exemption period. This is being done to generate more jobs and encourage the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country. “For us, local sourcing is an important issue because we need to create jobs and interest of MSMEs is very important. Companies whose ...
Government may tweak single-brand retail policy
The Dollar Business Bureau The government of India may give more time to global companies like Apple Inc. to abide by the sourcing norms for opening of single-brand retail stores in the country. According to officials, the government is not in favor of diluting the mandatory 30 per cent local outsourcing. However, the government is open to the possibility of giving more time to such firms. A finance ministry official said, “The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is looking to tweak the FDI policy on sourcing. 30 per cent local sourcing norm may not be changed, but the time given to comply might be relaxed." The local sourcing norms have seen disagreement between the Commerce & Industry ministry and the Finance ministry. ...
India rejects Apples offer to sell reused iPhones
The Dollar Business Bureau After the Ministry of Finance rejected the waiver of compulsory local sourcing regulations for Apple Inc to establish single-brand outlets in India, the Ministry of Commerce on Monday said it will put forward the iPhone maker’s case again and a decision based on the consensus will be taken soon. The Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, at the same time, said the ministry is not in the favour of the phone maker’s proposal to import refurbished iPhones and sell in the country. She also said that the ministry has made it clear that the 30 percent domestic sourcing requirements can be put aside only for high-end technology products. While briefing the journalists, Sitharaman said, “Now the ...
Government eases FDI norms in 15 major sectors
The Dollar Business Bureau To boost investment environment and attract more foreign investment in the country, the government on Tuesday brought in a set of reforms related to FDI in 15 major sectors, including defence, manufacturing and e-commerce. “The crux of these reforms is to further ease, rationalise and simplify the process of foreign investments in the country and to put more and more FDI proposals on automatic route instead of government route where time and energy of the investors is wasted,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. As per the revised FDI policy in the Defence sector, foreign investment above 49% will be allowed subject to approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on case to case ...
