Why Is Garmin Illegal In India? Athletes Tracking Sports Activity With These Popular Devices May Land In Trouble

(MENAFN- Live Mint) From cycling to hiking, Garmin is a popular name among athletes looking for a reliable device to track their sports activities. However, using certain Garmin devices landed two foreigners in trouble in India.

A Canadian and a Scottish national were detained at Indian airports within a month in two separate incidents for carrying a Garmin device. The Scottish hiker shared her ordeal in an Instagram story, claiming that she was detained at Delhi Airport for carrying a Garmin in-Reach.

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The Scottish hiker, who operates Instagram with the handle 'Hiker Heather ' warned people to not to travel to India with a Garmin inReach or any other satellite communicator because they are illegal.

“I was eventually told that the Garmin was illegal here and that they were handing me over to the Police, I called the Embassy whilst waiting for the Police and I await their further guidance, however, they are not able to intervene with legal proceedings,” the hiker shared in the post on Instagram.

Are all Garmin devices banned in India?

No, Garmin devices without satellite communication technologies can be used in India.

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Garmin inReach GPS devices are not allowed in India without authorisation. In December, a foreign national was detained for carrying a Garmin Edge 540. The device is a GPS -enabled cycle/bike computer that tracks speed, distance, and other metrics. Hence, people must prevent the use of devices with built-in satellite transmitters to avoid legal repercussions.

Why are Garmin devices banned in India?

Certain Garmin devices come with in-built satellite communication technologies which allow 100% global coverage. Many of the sports devices, especially inReach, operate on the Iridium satellite network.

According to the Garmin website, prior permission or acquiring a Registration Code from the government is mandatory in certain countries for the authorised use or activation of satellite communication. The website also added that such devices are banned in some countries.

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