27,000 Vivo Phones Held By DRI Over Suspected Violations Released
The Indian government agency owns about 27,000 Vivo Mobile Communications Co. He dropped his smartphone. For export after delivery was delayed by more than a week due to alleged violations of regulations.
The federal Treasury's Revenue Intelligence Unit authorized the seizure of the device Wednesday night at the New Delhi airport over allegations the phone's model and price had been misrepresented, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified. The name alludes to a delicate matter. Vivo is trying to export the device to neighboring markets.
A government agency issued a release order for the smartphone, a day after Bloomberg News reported that the device was under inspection. It is not yet known if the IRS will file charges against Vivo.
The people said shipments worth around $15 million could not be exported because the packaging on many phones was damaged and devices were working to verify unique identification numbers.
The Treasury Department and Vivo did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
An industry lobby group called the phone seizure "one-sided and pointless" and urged India's technology ministry to help, warning that such a move could derail India's ambitious plans to become an export hub. .
The political divide between India and China widened in the summer of 2020 after the two nuclear powers clashed over a disputed border in the Himalayas. New Delhi has also tightened controls on Chinese companies operating in India, including MG Motor SAIC Motor Corp Ltd. India Pvt Ltd and the local division of Xiaomi Corp. and ZTE Corp.
The supply choke could embarrass other Chinese smartphone makers in India, where the nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has forced them to ramp up exports and build domestic supply chains. This could jeopardize the ambitious electronics export target of $120 billion by the end of March 2026.
In early November, Vivo launched its first batch of Indian-made smartphones in markets like Saudi Arabia and Thailand. But the latest setback could cloud the company's future in the world's second-biggest smartphone market, where it remains under scrutiny over money-laundering allegations that have yet to be proven in court.
