India rejects Apple's plan to import used iPhones

A man speaks on his mobile phone as he walks past an Apple iPhone SE advertisement billboard in a street in New Delhi, India, April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee

MUMBAI: India has rejected a plan by Apple Inc to import used iPhones, government officials said, a blow to the US tech giant that has been seeking to revive waning sales of its flagship smartphones. 

Apple sells what it calls refurbished iPhones at a discount in some countries, including the United States. Extending this practice to India would have likely helped it increase its share in one of the world's fastest growing smartphone markets against competitors with much cheaper offerings.