New Delhi. Government of India has banned the import of air conditioners in order to boost domestic production.
As per the notification issued by the Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Thursday, split system and other ACs with refrigerants have been moved from “free” to “prohibited” category. The notification states that only the import of air conditioners with refrigerants is prohibited.
This means that an importer can’t fill refrigerant or gas outside and bring into the country. The domestic market for ACs is said to be worth $5-6 billion with a large chunk of ACs being imported into the country.
As per reports, the ban has been issued with the approval of Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal. The curb on the items has been imposed just before the start of festival season when the sales of electronic items witness a boost. It is an attempt by the Indian government to boost domestic production by checking the entry of “non-essential” goods into the country.
Notably, it can be said to be a part of the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign which was launched in May this year. This campaign aims at making India ‘self-reliant’. Under this campaign, the Centre had earlier banned tyres, various colour TV sets and agarbattis to keep a check on the entry of non-essential goods in India.
Source : VSK
