Dell responds to Government circular

In response to the circular released by the Ministry of Finance last week, Dell India has issued a statement. Reacting on the government circular, Mahesh Bhalla, executive director and GM, CSMB, Dell India, said, "The latest circular issued by the Ministry of Finance clarifies to the Customs department that the existing notifications and the provisions of the relevant statutes are to be kept in mind while deciding cases on parallel imports. We are satisfied to see that the authorities are seriously looking into the matter. As communicated to the Customs department and various parties involved, we reiterate our stand against 'grey market' imports, also known as 'parallel imports', of Dell-branded products into India."

However, the present circular does not direct the various field formations to permit 'parallel imports' or to stop all 'parallel imports'. There is an existing dispute on the interpretation of Sec 30 (3) (b) of the Trade Marks Act as to whether Section 30(3)(b) exempts cases of 'parallel imports' from infringement and this question of interpretation has not been foreclosed by the circular, to the extent that the said provision has been interpreted and applied by the High Courts/Supreme Court in a certain manner, the Customs will have to follow the said interpretation.

"We continue to do what we were doing earlier from a legal perspective. We continue to maintain that the current action is only directed against importers who do not have the permission or authorization to use the ‘Dell' trademark as registered in India. Dell enjoys a great brand reputation in India, and our customers here expect a high degree of support and service. The interpretation of the circular made by the ADCTA is premature in nature. The current allegations being made against Dell are defamatory in nature and we are contemplating legal action in this regard unless these statements are withdrawn," asserted Bhalla.

According to Dell, 'parallel imports' involve the illegal distribution of legitimate Dell-branded products manufactured for a specific country or market into another country or market. Products manufactured for a specific country or market have specific and unique warranty support, which may create significant differences in the user experience based on the products having been tailored for a specific country or market.