Nirmala Sitharaman Gave Warning Alarm to Mobile Companies

With the Finance Ministry rejecting waiver of mandatory local sourcing for Apple, the Commerce Ministry said it will again push the case of the iPhone maker and a consensus decision should be reached soon.

“We are not in favour of any company selling used phones in the company, however certified they may be,” commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at a press conference.

The finance ministry last week rejected a recommendation from the Commerce Ministry to waive 30% local sourcing norm for Apple to sell iPhones in its own branded stores and asked the industry department to formulate specific guidelines defining state of the art and cutting edge technology, both qualifiers under which it had sought to waive the local sourcing condition.

Sitharaman, confirming the same, said, “We would not mind waiving the 30% local sourcing norm for Apple. Now, the finance ministry has taken a different position. We will examine the matter in consultation with the finance ministry.”