Notebook makers urge govt to impose MIP; getting hurt from ASEAN imports

The All India Notebook Manufacturers Association has requested the Commerce Ministry to impose a minimum import price (MIP) on notebooks to protect the domestic industry from a surge in imports from ASEAN countries.

In a communication to the Commerce Ministry, the association said the product attracts nil customs duty under the India-ASEAN free trade agreement that came into force in January 2010.

The 10 member states of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

"An MIP on imported notebooks would prevent foreign suppliers from leveraging the zero per cent BCD (basic customs duty) and zero per cent IGST corridor to weaken Indian MSMEs," it said.

It added that without immediate intervention, the domestic players "face inevitable destruction."

The domestic market, it said, is flooded by predatory, low-cost imports of finished notebooks from the ASEAN region, predominantly Indonesia, which take advantage of a completely tax-free import corridor created by the intersection of free trade agreements and domestic tax exemptions.

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