India Clarifies Procedures of Equipment Type Approval and Self-Declaration for Some Wireless Product

On March 29, 2019, the Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing (WPC) of India published answers to questions regarding Equipment Type Approval (ETA) and Self-Declaration of certain categories of wireless equipment in license-exempt bands regulated by Memorandum OM № ETA-WPC/Policy/2018-19 published 26.02.2019. This document clarifies the types of devices that can now obtain an exemption from ETA by filing a self-declaration.

The main key points include:

1. Applicability and the scope of mentioned Memorandum:

ETA through self-declaration is permitted for:

• commercial/finished products, such as mobile/computing devices such as mobile handsets, smartphones, electronic notepads, laptops, and smart watches

• short-range devices including accessories, microphones, speakers, headphones, earphones, printers, scanners, cameras, etc.

operating in licensed exemption bands as permitted in India.

ETA through self-declaration is applicable to the products that meet two conditions:

• exempted from import licensing requirements as per the Export and Import (EXIM) Policy of DGFT

• operation in the de-licensed frequency band(s) as per applicable Gazette Notifications

These products may be imported by submitting self-declaration to Customs as per ETA and informing WPC via email.

2. End product test reports or wireless modules reports:

Test report(s) must be issued by an accredited laboratory for the following types of products:

• finished product/end product

• RF module(s) fitted in a particular model

3. Import of wireless modules (not finished products) under self-declaration:

This process is allowed if a wireless module is exempted from licensing requirements in the Export and Import (EXIM) Policy of DGFT

4. Family model grouping under ETA:

One ETA is not applicable to “series model additions”. ETA is required for each product/model.

Online service for obtaining ETA through self-declaration has been available on the Saral Sanchar Portal of DoT since April 12, 2019. From May 1, 2019, applicants should use the portal to obtain ETA/Imports for products falling under the category of "ETA through self-declaration".

Links to the official documents:

Clarification on ETA Through Self-Declaration of 29.03.2019

OM № ETA-WPC/Policy/2018-19 published 26.02.2019

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The information has been prepared by the GMA Consult Group team.

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