Government To Not Allow Import Of Refurbished Apple iPhones, Laptops As It May Increase E-waste

New Delhi, Mar 30: The government rejected an application for the import of refurbished Apple iPhone and iPads as it will expedite e-waste generation in the country, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said that under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20, import of refurbished or re-conditioned spares of refurbished parts of personal computers, laptops is restricted and refurbished or re-conditioned spares of capital goods is free.

In response to question whether the government has denied permission for import of used Apple iPhone and iPads which are sold as Apple Certified and pre-owned after repair by the original equipment manufacturer, Chandrasekhar said, “Yes, Sir. “An application from M/s Apple India Limited was received in the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in April, 2015 seeking permission for import of used Apple I-Phone and I-pads which are sold as Apple Certified and Pre-owned after repair by the original equipment manufacturer.” He said that the matter was discussed in the Technical Review Committee in its 37th meeting held during June, 2015 which deliberated upon the proposal with respect to Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008.