Bloomberg:

India has rejected Apple Inc.’s request to import and sell refurbished iPhones to the world’s second largest mobile population, a telecommunications ministry official said Tuesday.

The U.S. company’s application has been turned down, the official said, asking to not be identified, citing official policy. Apple has been seeking permission to import and sell used phones to court price-conscious consumers with a similar proposal rejected in 2015 by the environment ministry.

This might be a serious blow to Apple’s plans in India. The Indian consumer is much more price conscious and less concerned with brand image than China and Apple was counting on refurbs to help them get a foot in the door.