Apple wants India to relax rules that disturb its minimalist product design

Now that Apple intends to start manufacturing iPhones in India, it has decided to get a few things sorted upfront.

India has strict labeling rules for products and Apple wants its government to relax them. The smartphone giant will not disturb its minimalist design by printing product-related information directly onto devices, the Economic Times reported.

Apple has submitted a proposal to India's Department of Revenue and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeITY) requesting the same.

It will provide product details that are required by law in India as part of the software of the device or on the packaging, instead of tinkering with the product look-and-feel, the report added.

Apple currently prints the bare minimum regulatory information on the back of its iPhones, with other details made available through the Settings menu in iOS.

Apple India refused to comment on the matter when Mashable reached out to them.

Last month, Apple had reportedly sought tax incentives from the Indian government with regards to setting up its manufacturing unit in the country. India currently imposes heavy taxes on imported electronic devices, in order to boost local assembly of smartphones. Governments, both at central and state level, offer tax breaks and other incentives to companies that set up their manufacturing.

India is one of Apple's top-growth markets. iPhone sales shot up more than 50% this year. During an earnings call for the fiscal fourth quarter, Apple CEO Tim Cook had said that the recent improvements in infrastructure and penetration of 4G LTE networks in India could further boost iPhone sales.

Apple achieved this growth despite the fact that India is one of the most expensive countries to buy Apple products since they are not manufactured locally and are subjected to heavy import taxes. And things could only improve when it starts manufacturing in the country.