Apple is now seeking for extending its manufacturing leg in India for its entire range of products, but is seeking for a tax free period of 15 years so that it can ship the critical components required for manufacturing.
The government on the other hand is unwilling to offer a tax free window and said that Apple has to follow the rules set by it.
What IT secretary said
Aruna Sundararajan, IT secretary, said that, “Apple has big plans for manufacturing in India as part of their next phase of expansion”.
But the government suggests own targets for India. IT Secretary said that, “We have also drawn a roadmap of indigenisation, in consultation with the industry. We had suggested to Apple whether they can align with us. There may not be separate concessions for Apple”.
Company already started manufacturing in India
The company has already started the assemble work at a factory located in Bangalore which is controlled by Wistron, Taiwanese contract manufacturer. Well this step seems a major achievement for indigenization programme of India for the arena of electronics manufacturing. Currently company is only assembling the model iPhone-SE in India.
This model didn’t claim a significant number of sell and the company looks for a need of a more prominent engagement with its worldwide providers for a greater play. Ravi Shankar Prasad, IT minister, said that, “We have had a structured dialogue with Apple’s representatives”.
Company looks for 15-year tax-free import
Sundararajan said that Apple requested for a 15-year duty free window to import manufacturing components in India and made statement that, “They said high localisation cannot be achieved immediately, and will need to be covered over a period of time”.