Govt scraps mandatory registration for some electronic chip imports

Under the Chip Import Monitoring System (CHIMS), the importers of certain electronic integrated circuits, would have to provide advance information in an online system for import and obtain a registration number by paying a specific amount of registration fee.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has announced the removal of mandatory registration for certain integrated circuits (ICs) under the Chip Import Monitoring System (CHIMS). This decision nullifies the 2021 DGFT gazette notification, which required compulsory registration for importing ICs through CHIMS.

The recent notification, approved by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, officially discontinues the compulsory CHIMS registration for certain ICs and related components, including memory chips and amplifiers. 

The notification said, “The requirement of compulsory registration under the Chip Import Monitoring System (CHIMS) has been discontinued with immediate effect.”

As of November 29, 2024, the policy conditions for these items have been removed, reinstating their status as “free” imports. CHIMS requires importers to provide advance information online, generating a unique registration number automatically, thereby eliminating the need for manual submissions to other authorities. Importers could register up to 60 days before the expected import date, including the day of arrival.

Since October 2021, the import policy for items classified under ITC (HS) codes 85423100, 85423200, 85423300, 85423900, and 85429000 was revised from “free” to “free with mandatory registration” under CHIMS.

(The registration fee for CHIMS was set at Rs1 per Rs 1,000 of the CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) value of imports, with a minimum fee of Rs 100 and a maximum of Rs 500. Failure to comply with the registration requirements earlier attracted penalties under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992.)