Word about Apple’s plans to open at three retail stores within 18 months but a new ruling needs to be satisfied for that to push through.
Per Reuters, Apple needs to satisfy a certain requirement which calls the company to sell at least 305 locally-outsourced goods for them to open the three retail stores.
Apple plans to open retail stores in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai before 2017 comes to an end as reported by Factor Daily.
Apple was hoping to get a recommendation from the country’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion but the ministry of finance concluded that the company does not fall in the cutting-edge technology category.
The exemption was part of the legislation made last year. Apple was hoping to gain an exemption with a new application but a source reveals that Apple was unable to provide sufficient materials to justify that they deserve an exemption.
"They did ask for a waiver but didn't provide any material on record to justify it. The decision was taken only after a thorough examination of their application," the source said via Reuters.
With this development, Apple may be left with no choice but to channel out their products (iOS and Mac devices) through third party distributors. It also leaves a big dent on Apple’s plans to expand its business in India, considered one of the company’s largest untapped market.
The unfortunate development comes just after Apple CEO Tim Cook’s four-day trip in India where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as other local personalities.
Apple was planning to open a $25 million technology development site in Hyderabad, India, which would have housed more than 125 people who would focus on maps development. Earlier plans also included the unveiling of a startup accelerator in India that would be designed to incubate ideas for new iOS apps.
