According to Reuters, Apple has asked the Indian government to exempt existing iPhones from new regulations that require smartphones sold in the country to be equipped with USB-C charging ports. India hopes to replicate an upcoming EU regulation requiring all smartphones to adopt the USB-C charging standard. However, according to a new report, Apple has told India that its local production targets will be difficult to meet if the country requires all iPhones to have USB-C charging ports.
At a closed-door meeting hosted by India's IT ministry on November 28, Apple asked officials to exempt existing iPhone models from the rules, warning that otherwise it would be difficult to meet production targets set by India's Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) program, according to minutes seen by Reuters.
Currently, only the latest iPhone15 series is equipped with USB-C port. The problem Apple faces is that many consumers in India prefer to buy older models such as iPhone 12 and iPhone 13, and Apple produces these models in India for local sales and exports as part of Apple's plan to comply with India's PLI.
The minutes of the meeting quoted Apple's regulatory and product compliance executive as saying: "If this rule is implemented on early model phones, they (Apple) will not be able to meet the PLI target."
The EU regulations will come into effect in December 2024, while India has said it hopes to meet the standards by June 2025. According to the report, Apple told officials it could comply with that timeline if existing models are exempt from the rules, but if not, Apple would need to comply within 18 months after 2024. It is reported that the Indian IT Ministry has decided to review Apple's request based on this meeting and will make a decision at a later date.