Inter-ministry meet to discuss Apple demands next month

An inter-ministerial meeting has been scheduled for next month to discuss and deliberate on certain incentives sought by technology giant Apple Inc to set up a manufacturing unit in the country. The meeting will be attended by senior officials from the ministries of finance, commerce, revenue, environment and forest, electronics and information technology, among others.

According to news agency PTI, the iPhone maker has requested the government for certain tax and industrial benefits to enter India's manufacturing sector. The government, however, believes Apple shouldn't seek additional support to set up manufacturing plants.

"Several companies are manufacturing mobile phones in India. Nobody is asking for additional incentives. Currently, the government provides sufficient support to boost electronic manufacturing," PTI quoted government sources as saying.

According to The Economic Times, another recent request made by the company seeks relaxation of India's labelling laws so that the aesthetics of Apple products are not affected when it reaches consumers.

As per Indian packaging standards, all pre-packaged commodities imported to India must carry information including the name and address of the importer, generic or common name of the commodity packed, month and year of packaging in which the commodity is manufactured or packed or imported, and the maximum retail price (MRP) in English or Hindi.

As of now, all Apple products sold in India carry details including model number, IMEI number, designing and manufacturing details printed on the rear panel.

Apple presently manufactures its products in six nations, including South Korea, Japan and United States, without these details on the rear panel.

Apple Inc's chief executive officer Tim Cook had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 21 May this year to discuss the multinational's future plans and intent to enter India's manufacturing and retail sectors.

Apple had earlier asked for a 30 per cent relaxation in domestic sourcing norms as a pre-condition to set up single-brand retail outlets in the country, which was rejected by the finance ministry. The Centre had also refused to allow Apple's proposal to import and sell refurbished mobile phones in India.

Apple has no wholly-owned store in India and is dependent on distributors like Redington and Ingram Micro for sales.