Apple plans to sell used iPhones in India along with locally manufactured ones

Apple is very close to attaining its goal of manufacturing iPhones in India, but that doesn't mean the company is giving up on its plan to sell refurbished iPhones in the country.

As per a report by Bloomberg, Apple met a panel of government officials and told that it would have the required infrastructure to ensure that the used iPhones are compliant with the set quality standards. This way, Apple is trying to address the concerns that India might turn into becoming a dumping ground for the used devices.

The Cupertino tech giant is right now negotiating with the Indian government to get tax concessions for the local manufacturing of iPhones. The company is asking for a tax holiday of 15 years, reveals the report.

For now, it remains unknown if Apple would be let to sell used iPhones in India, but previous requests regarding the same were highly criticized by the competitors and officials alike. The Make in India program lures foreign manufacturers to build their offerings locally in exchange for some attractive incentives. Earlier, Apple tried to take advantage of the increase in local mobile sales by bringing used/refurbished phones to the country.

Apple to manufacture iPhones in Bengaluru, Karnataka

While many people believe that the used iPhones would be priced relatively lower and sell well in the country, there are warnings that the environmental impact would be pretty huge, especially when the batteries in these phones reach the end of their life. But, Apple assures that the refurbished units would also meet the imposed standards.

Despite the company's struggles to bring the refurbished iPhones in India, the government hasn't given a response till date. If the government approves the same, Apple will become the first foreign company to sell refurbished devices in the country.