Apple hopes India will waive domestic supply norms for its stores

Apple, which is keen to open own stores in India, its biggest market, hopes the government will soon waive the requirement of mandatory domestic sourcing, to enable the company own retail outlets in India.

Apple sees the policy requirement of mandatory sourcing of 30 per cent of goods from within the country as roadblock to operating Apple Stores in the country.

Apple says there is a lack of vendors from whom the 30 per cent goods could be sourced and that is keeping the company from setting up its own stores. Obviously, it is not ready to share the spoils.

Apple says changes in the policy are in the offing and that the company is looking forward to government's nod. Apple says it also meets the conditions of 'state-of-the-art' and 'cutting-edge technology', that are needed for relaxation of the norms.

On Tuesday, Apple had made a presentation before a committee headed by industrial policy and promotion secretary Ramesh Abhishek, which made a strong case for use of the special provision, and a decision was expected in a few days.

The Times of India cited a source as saying taht Apples' products certainly met the requirement for waiving the local sourcing clause.

To bolster its case further, Apple had also indicated that it might start production in India in the future, even as it added that it had no immediate plans of selling refurbished phones in the country.