Notebook Makers Urge Govt for MIP on ASEAN Imports

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Sep 08, 2026 15:48

Indian notebook manufacturers request the Commerce Ministry to impose a Minimum Import Price (MIP) on ASEAN imports to protect domestic MSMEs from predatory pricing due to zero customs duty.

Key Points

The All India Notebook Manufacturers Association requested the Commerce Ministry to impose a Minimum Import Price (MIP) on notebooks.
The move aims to protect the domestic industry from a surge in low-cost imports from ASEAN countries.
Nil customs duty under the India-ASEAN free trade agreement allows foreign suppliers to leverage a tax-free import corridor.
Domestic MSMEs face destruction as the market is flooded with predatory, low-cost finished notebooks, predominantly from Indonesia.

New Delhi, Sep 8 (PTI) 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.

Source: PTI By Rediff Money Desk, New Delhi

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