Yesterday, the telecom ministry declined permission for Apple to sell branded refurbished phones in India; an official told Reuters that India does not allow import of used phones. The decision came after the Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association wrote to India's telecom ministry asking to revoke any permission to Apple Under the India Hazardous Waste Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement Law 2008 (pdf), India has banned import of used, second-hand and refurbished computer parts and components. However, in India refurbished iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5s and 6 models accounted for 40% of overall sales for most private refurbished re-sellers in March. We beleive that not only domestic retailers, but brands themselves should be allowed to import used phones, which could have the following benefits for consumers: Give consumers a choice of better performance at the same price: Quality of most budget devices are aren't on par with many mid-ranged and other high-end devices. Allowing re-sale of second-hand refurbished devices will provide an opportunity for consumers to lay their hands on premium devices at a lesser price. Cyber Media Research (CMR) points out that only a little over 0.6 percent of smartphones shipped in India had a 4GB RAM capacity, with the premium (or high-end) segment accounting for just 0.6% of the entire smartphone market in India. Will help bring prices down: Low-end device manufacturers will feel the pressure of better products at a comparable price, and might bring down prices of devices planned for future production, if premium makers are allowed to sell…
