The Director General of Foreign Trade vide notification dated 9 February, 2021 has revised the import policy for drones in sync with Finance Act, 2021. The revised import policy provides that import of drones in Completely-Built-Up
(CBU), Semi-knocked-down (SKD) or Completely-Knocked-down (CKD) form is Prohibited, with following exceptions: –
- Import of drones by Government entities, educational institutions recognized by central or state government, government recognized R&D entities and drone manufacturers for R&D purpose shall be allowed in CBU, SKD
or CKD form subject to import authorization issued by DGFT in consultation with
concerned line ministries. - Import of drones for defence & security purposes shall be allowed in CBU, SKD or CKD form subject to import authorization issued by DGFT in consultation with concerned line ministries.
- Import of drone components shall be ‘Free’.