India Publishes Memorandum on Self-Declaration of Some Wireless Equipment

The Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) Wing of the Ministry of Communication & Information Technology of India issued an Office Memorandum number ETA-WPC/Policy/2018-19  “Equipment Type Approval (ETA) through self-declaration for certain categories of Wireless Equipment in license-exempted bands.”

This Memorandum was published on February 26, 2019 and came into effect immediately.

According to the Memorandum, the requirements for equipment type approval (ETA) do not apply to the wireless equipment that is imported to India for testing as prototypes, samples, and pre-launch units and operating in the license-exempted bands.

The following types of wireless equipment can be referred to as exemptions from ETA requirements:

mobile phones

laptops

electronic notepads

smart watches

short-range devices and accessories

microphones

speakers

headphones

earphones

printers

scanners

cameras

testing and measurement equipment operating in license-exempted bands as permitted in India

Thus, when any of the equipment is imported to India for the above-mentioned purpose, self-declaration from an importer or an authorized Indian representative may be treated as sufficient evidence to process such clearances by the Customs and Central Excise Authorities.