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The Government of India has continued its calibrated approach toward regulating the import of IT hardware and renewed the Import Management System (IMS) for the year 2026 as the calendar year 2026.

The DGFT's earlier notifications from August and October 2023 classified imports of restricted IT hardware.

These regulations encompassed the well-known IT hardware like laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, ultra-small form factor computers, and servers with HSN code 8471.

A comprehensive operational procedure was thereafter defined for 2025. The same has been notified by DGFT now for imports during 2026.

As per the 2026 framework, the importers need to apply for Import Authorization only through the Import Management System available on the DGFT site.

The online application portal will be available from 22 December 2025 to 15 December 2026. The extended period will allow importers to decide and put their needs in tune with the business without interrupting the regulation supervising.

Any authorization granted through the IMS for import of restricted IT hardware will be valid till 31 December 2026 regardless of the issue date which is within the year.

Besides, importers can lodge several applications in the same year, which would be quite a flexible approach for the companies with gradual or changing import needs.

On top of that, they can indeed submit the requests for changes to the authorizations even during the period of their validity, and this can be done via the DGFT portal.

The policy allows for a mid-term review by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) if needed.

The Ministry's inputs can be given to DGFT for the betterment of the Import Management System. DGFT, however, has the power to change, alter, stop, or even withdraw the process in whole or in part, depending on the policy's needs or Government's orders.

This provision guarantees that the process can be changed according to the economic, technological, or strategic considerations.