Notebook makers seek minimum import price on ASEAN imports

The same notebooks also attract zero IGST on entry, the outlets reported, compounding the price disadvantage domestic manufacturers said they faced against the ASEAN imports. The association's request, as reported by Business Standard and The Hindu BusinessLine, centred on finished notebooks rather than raw materials used in their manufacture. By seeking a minimum import price, the manufacturers aimed to set a floor value below which notebooks could not be imported, according to the reports carried by the two outlets.

The zero Basic Customs Duty and zero IGST combination, as reported, meant that notebooks entering under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement carried no tax burden at the point of import into India. Business Standard and The Hindu BusinessLine reported that this duty-free and tax-free entry route was the specific channel the manufacturers' association wanted addressed through the minimum import price mechanism. The association's approach to the Commerce Ministry, as reported by the two outlets, linked the request for a minimum import price directly to the zero-duty treatment of finished notebooks from ASEAN countries including Indonesia.